Clean Up Drive Underway on E. 14th St. Finally After Recent Stabbing Death

Days after an individual believed to be suffering from serious mental health problems killed one man and injured another man and woman in a frenzied knife attack, the city is finally taking action.

The block between First Ave. and Ave. A has long been the subject of resident complaints.

At his weekly press avail on June 23, Mayor Eric Adams said, “Fourteenth St., I know it very well. I’ve been out there personally several times, and anyone who lives in that area, the councilmen over there [Keith Powers and Carlina Rivera] have reached out to me. I’ve reached out with a team over there.

“If anyone knows that area, they know how terrible it has been for years,” Adams said. “I don’t think any mayor has ever walked that block like I have, and how we have cleaned up the encampments, illegal vending. We have been doing operations over in that area repeatedly to clean it up.”

Police arrested Alehandro Piedra, 30, from Brooklyn and charged him with first degree murder for killing Clemson Coxfield and two counts of attempted murder for stabbing a 51 year old woman in the leg and stabbing a 32 year old man inn the back. Coxfield was pronounced dead after being rushed to Bellevue Hospital. The two other victims were also brought to Bellevue and were being treated for their injuries.

Adams said of the suspect in custody, “That person from preliminary reports is dealing with severe mental health issues.”

Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy added that the 9th Pct which patrols the south side of 14th St. where the incident took place has been stepping up foot patrols in the area.

“I would also add that in that specific precinct, while the felony crimes have dropped by 30 percent, that’s obviously not enough because we’re still having situations like we saw this weekend, so the NYPD is going to be implementing a foot patrol over there that will be specifically focused on quality of life issues and having a visual presence there in the neighborhood.”

That same block was also the scene of an earlier stabbing incident back in January when a church caretaker, John Mach, at Immaculate Conception was stabbed in the neck by a homeless person that he attempted to stop from urinating between two parked cars while Mass was underway.

Mach managed to drag himself at the soon-to-close emergency room of Beth Israel Hospital with a bloody towel wrapped around his neck. The wound required 18 stitches to close.

Police arrested Robert Ortiz at a homeless shelter days later.

In another earlier incident, one of the sidewalk vendors collapsed from a drug overdose on the street but was revived by another unlicensed vendor who administered NARCAN before EMS workers arrived. That incident came only days after police had attemted to clear the street of illegal vendors, only to have the vendors return to set up an unkempt bazaar selling canned goods, electronics, clothes and household items from blankets set up on the street.

The Immaculate Conception School closed down a year ago due to declining enrollment, but church leaders said that presence of the street bazaar and homeless had hurt the school’s chances to recover from the enrollment decline that occurred during the pandemic. The school had been in the neighborhood for over 100 years.

City Council Member Carlina Rivera after the latest stabbing incident had said: “We are also upset that this area remains chaotic and unkempt since the pandemic.”

Days after the stabbing incident, the block had been swept of debris. Blood stains from the stabbing had been washed away. The gate was down on an unlicensed weed store called StuyHigh that was only feet from the stabbing and a coffee cafe, Gemina, once again had outdoor tables set up. Down the block, shoppers were frequenting a bustling Trader Joe’s and Domino’s Pizza outlet.

But the question for many locals is: how long will the clean up action last this time?

Council member Carlina Rivera