Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Alleged Washington Square Bomb Plotter Has Always Enjoyed Blowing Stuff Up
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 11, 2013
Modified Jan 11, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 11, 2013
Modified Jan 11, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Aaron Greene
The man accused of plotting to blow up the Washington Arch in Washington Square park has had a lifelong love of explosives, according to those who knew him in his youth. Aaron Greene, the 31-year-old Greenwich Village resident charged with felony criminal possession of a loaded firearm and criminal possession of an explosive substance with intent to use, was reportedly "obsessed" with blowing things up in his youth. “We had several incidents with him that I would characterize as kind of experimenting with explosives,” a police chief in Grand View-on-Hudson, where Greene grew up, tells the Times. “There were reports of someone detonating small explosives in the wooded area in the rear of his house.”
Greene was never charged after any of those youthful explosives dalliances, but it seems he hasn't outgrown his love for making things go boom. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said yesterday that Greene informed friends that he was busy making bombs to blow up the Arch, and allegedly gave a demonstration in Washington Square Park by placing a small amount of HTMD powder on the ground and striking it with a rock. Here's what happens when you do that:
The Post, which has falsely reported that Greene went to Harvard and was an Occupy Wall Street activist, is now reporting that Greene is a pseudo-Nazi. A police source tells the tabloid that "Greene told his girlfriend’s parents that his grandfather was a Nazi during World War II,” and that he sometimes signed letters with a lightning bolt symbol that MUST be a reference to Hitler's SS, unless it's not! Today the Post finally stopped describing Greene as an Occupy Wall Street Harvard grad, but no correction was published, and today the tabloid calls Green a "Nazi-loving junkie." As Nick Pinto at Runnin' Scared observes, "Eurasia has always been at war with Eastasia."
In a letter to Greene's childhood friend Daniel Whitaker, Greene reportedly said his parents had sent him to Greece for a spell because they were worried he would "kill 100 people." Greene allegedly told police he had more weapons stashed in Whitaker's house in Orangeburg, and after searching the home investigators found 21 guns (including an Uzi), brass knuckles, stun guns, and a switchblade. Whitaker, a correctional officer who was suspended following a 2010 arrest for possession of cocaine, has not been charged.
Asked how serious a threat Greene posed, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters, "I think you should always take a statement like that seriously. Particularly when in that person’s apartment there were manuals that talked about explosives and demolition. There also was ‘The Terrorists Encyclopedia.' There were two shotguns. There were high-capacity magazines. I think that gives us pause for thought as to whether or not we should pay attention to the statement about whether or not someone is going to blow up anything. He also had a quantity of HTMD in his possession, so yeah, we take that statement seriously."
Tagged
aaron greene
explosive powder
morgan gliedman
washington square park
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
Prosecutors say the 22-year-old damaged property outside the Fresh Meadows shop twice in May.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 6:07 p.m. ET
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
News
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits
By
Caroline Lewis
Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .