A chaotic street takeover in Malba, Queens, escalated into violence over the weekend, leaving a local couple injured and a car on fire, footage and eyewitness accounts show.
According to Fox News, the disturbance began around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, on the corner of South Drive and 141st Street, when drivers were reportedly performing stunts, including donuts, across residential lawns.
City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino said a private security guard first tried to intervene but was assaulted, and his vehicle was set ablaze.
Larry Rusch, a local security company owner, said he rushed outside after hearing the commotion and found about 40 cars in the street.
“As soon as I did that, everyone started leaving,” Rusch told the New York Post. “Then two individuals go up to the car. Somehow, they threw some kind of firework or something and lit the car up. Then melee started again.”
Another resident, Blake Ferrer, told the Post that he was attacked after confronting the group on his property. Video shows Ferrer and his wife allegedly being beaten, with Ferrer reportedly sustaining a broken nose and ribs. Additional footage shows a vehicle ablaze as another car circles it.
Paladino expressed concern on social media, saying Ferrer was “lucky he wasn’t killed,” and criticized the initial response by law enforcement. Residents who called 911 were reportedly told that a “quality of life team and 311 should handle the situation.”
“Unacceptable. In fact, these violent street takeovers should be met with maximum force by the police department,” Paladino added.
The NYPD told Fox News Digital that the initial responding officer had been rerouted to a higher-priority call. Once the incident was upgraded, an officer was dispatched.
The department explained that other units were handling multiple priority jobs, including an arrest for DWI, an assault, a vehicle collision with injuries, and a hospital transport.
Paladino also criticized the city’s lack of accountability for such street takeovers, saying, “These incidents are happening citywide, and they’re happening because there are no longer any real consequences to this kind of criminality.”
She noted that some armed residents had exercised “extreme restraint,” warning that such restraint “is not guaranteed” if the city fails to act.
In addition to Ferrer and Rusch, a third resident reported that objects were thrown into his car when he tried to stop the drivers, highlighting the widespread danger these street takeovers pose to neighborhood residents.
