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Someone Keeps Spitting On People In Prospect-Lefferts Gardens
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 6, 2016
Modified Jan 6, 2016
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 6, 2016
Modified Jan 6, 2016
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New Yorkers have long dealt with every imaginable variation of city-cultivated precipitation (see: leaking air conditioner fluid, movie theatre floods, subway condoms, uh, pigeon droppings), but lately, residents around Prospect-Lefferts Gardens near Prospect Park have found themselves being baptized in the foul saliva of a mysterious spitter.
According to a local Facebook group, there have been over a dozen incidents of the spitter hocking his DNA onto unsuspecting passersby since November. "Be on the lookout," one woman wrote on Nov. 19th about an incident at Flatbush Avenue near Lincoln Road. "About 20 minutes ago a young man wearing all black randomly decided to scream 'fuck you,' and spit in my face."
Another man wrote that he was standing outside Planet Fitness on Flatbush Avenue near Lefferts Avenue when a man asked if he was following him: "I answer, 'No' and he spits in my face,” the victim wrote, adding that he watched as the spitter then crossed the street and "quickly spat in the face of a girl who looked about five years old."
One man claimed the spitter (who the group has started referring to as the "PLG Spitter") targeted "my seven-year-old son," while another person said he spit on their child at the Prospect Park subway station.
Leslie Ward told CBS that she saw the man spit on a 3-year-old as the boy sat on the back of his mother’s bike. "She was like: 'Did you see that guy? He just spat on my kid! He spat on my kid!' She was like: 'Oh my God, you’re so disgusting!’ and she was in tears,” Ward said.
She added: "You think maybe in your mind, 'Oh, maybe he meant to spit on the sidewalk and did it accidentally, but felt bad and didn’t apologize,' but the way she reacted, it was as if he had just spat right on her kid."
The News reports that at least four people have reported the incidents to the NYPD. Seth Kaplan, who helps run the Facebook page, also created a map showing where some of the incidents happened: "It’s something that really affects people emotionally. They’ve been spit on," Kaplan told CBS, "and the problem is from a procedural issue, it’s not that high of a big deal."
It doesn't seem like much can be done: Frank Bulzoni, the community affairs officer for the 71st Precinct, told Ditmas Park Corner that spitting on someone isn’t considered assault by cops. "An officer can only arrest someone if they’ve observed it themselves," he said. However, if you do have a run in with the PLG Spitter, you can contact Bulzoni at (718) 735-0527 or [email protected].
Tagged
phantom spitter
plg spitter
prospect park
prospect-lefferts garden
spitter
spitting
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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