A bold drug dealer has found himself back on the streets just a day after his arrest for dumping marijuana from a tent on a busy sidewalk in the Bronx.
On Saturday, the makeshift tent was gone, but the dealer and his associates were clearly asserting their dominance, insisting that their efforts had not been wasted.
“Get the hell out of here!” he shouted angrily at a female reporter from the Post, who was trying to talk to locals about the removal of winter grass tents on University Avenue in Morris Heights.
“You’re going to steal my business. You shouldn’t be here. Let’s see what happens. Do you think this is funny?”
The man claimed he was one of two individuals arrested by the NYPD alongside three other men.
“I just got locked up yesterday for this nonsense, but I’m not scared of going back,” he added.
He recorded the reporter and photographer with his phone and, at one point, physically confronted the photographer, poking him in the cheek three times. Afterward, he followed them for nearly a block as they hurriedly walked toward West 176th Street.
“White mother, fur!” he yelled, “Go back to Manhattan! I won’t tell you. I’ll tell you.”
Police first noticed the outdoor drug tents around 2 PM on Friday. One tent blatantly advertised a “cannabis deal” along with a handwritten menu. This incident followed previous confrontations between other reporters and illegal vendors.
Two tents—one black and one red-orange—were observed on the snowy sidewalk, with orange electrical cords running to nearby telephone poles, likely providing power.
An NYPD spokesperson stated that officers dismantled the tent and are “continuing to address the situation in the area.”
Michael Lightley, 41, and Dawson Short, 39, were arrested and charged with theft of services and unauthorized sales. Lightley also faced a charge of resisting arrest, according to law enforcement.
This tent gained attention on social media earlier this week after a TikTok user shared a video featuring a slumped occupant, tagged with the phrase “Only in the Bronx.” The video quickly became popular, particularly among critics of New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani. He has faced backlash regarding moderate Democratic Socialists’ policies on crime, despite some local business owners claiming the dubious operation had emerged two or three years back.
A spokesperson for Mamdani, who was in Albany that Saturday, did not respond to inquiries.
The alleged marijuana vendors were also displeased with the attention from reporters on Friday.
At the scene, a reporter and photographer noted two tents on the snowy sidewalk. One tent had a sign reading “Shop Open” and prices for pre-rolled joints and bags available for up to $100.
As the reporters got closer, a masked individual confronted the photographer aggressively, demanding to know why he was taking pictures.
The photographer left the scene, while the dealer continued to bang on his car window.
Additional reporting by Vaughn Golden.
