neighborhood news

Jam Band Show Turned Williamsburg Into Druggy Whippet Wonderland

At least one Brooklyn resident with a camera was horrified over the weekend as her street was flooded with concertgoers streaming out of a show by the too appropriately named band, Widespread Panic. She heard “loud popping sounds, sounds of gas rushing and the roar of large crowd” and stepped outside to see a bunch of white guys sucking nitrous oxide, a.k.a. “whippets” or “hippie crack,” from balloons in order to achieve a temporary high. She told the blog New York Shitty:

There was not ONE SINGLE COP to be seen anywhere. I called 911 and explained what was taking place. The 911 operator was having difficulty understand the situation so I gave him the location and pleaded, ‘Just send the police now. We need help here!’, and hung up. Then I grabbed my camera and stepped out on my stoop. It was a horror show. Afraid for my safety while filming on my stoop, I used my heel to keep the door open behind me just in case I had to escape. In one of the last clips you can see a couple of men coming toward me in a menacing way.

The woman says she has lived in New York City her entire life “in some of the worst drug neighborhoods,” but has “never seen anything like this before.” Just wait until she hears the band.


From The New York Shitty Inbox: Saturday Night [NYS via Runnin’ Scared/VV]

Jam Band Show Turned Williamsburg Into Druggy Whippet Wonderland