Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Gang Members Mug For The Camera At Times Square TKTS Booth
By
Lauren Evans
Published May 13, 2013
Modified May 13, 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
Lauren Evans
Published May 13, 2013
Modified May 13, 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
Gang members—they're just like us! Along with newlyweds and college grads, members of some of the city's most violent street gangs apparently flock to the TKTS staircase in Times Square to pose for smiling group shots, the Daily News reports.
“They take team photos there like they are the Yankees or the Mets,” Assistant Commissioner Kevin O’Connor of the NYPD’s Juvenile Justice Division told the tabloid.
Though no one sounded particularly perturbed by the presence of gang members on the steps ("What are you going to do, let them scare you away?" one man asked), we would personally prefer that rather than just mugging for the camera, they take a cue from other groups and stage a performance—perhaps an impassioned excerpt from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Picture day on the steps isn't the only curious tradition honored by street gangs. Easter Sunday is also known as Gang Initiation Day, wherein gang members and gang member-hopefuls flock to Midtown for the NY Auto Show.
Tagged
gangs
Times Square
tkts
Lauren Evans
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
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 .