Tompkins Square Park Chess Table Shootings Related to Drug Trade Say Cops (& Everyone)

New facts have emerged in the July 12 Tompkins Square Park chess tables shootings case, that left one man shot dead in the back, another wounded, and the bucket hat-wearing gunman—publicly unidentified at press time—somewhere in the wind.

The shooting occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m. in the chess tables are of the park, just off East 7th Street and Avenue A, a few steps from the inspiring statue of former Ohio and New York Congressman, Samuel S. Cox (1824-1889). Ironically, though the statue, sponsored by the United States Postal Service, honors him as “The Letter Carrier’s Friend,” Cox himself was most proud of his work on behalf of the Life Saving Service, a forerunner of today’s Coast Guard.

Despite his proximity to this monument, Cox’s beneficence wasn’t enough to save 74-year-old shooting victim Fermin Brito, of Kips Bay, from death, nor from the conflict-filled life of drug dealing that was likely the reason he was shot in the first place. The same goes for the second shooting victim, who survived his multiple wounds, 44-year-old Edwin “Chunky” Rivera.

Both men were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where Rivera, recovering and in stable condition, is said not to be cooperating with police.

It is believed that Frito sold crack and heroin in the park, and that Rivera was his “steerer,” according to reports.

According to police sources speaking to the popular East Village blog, EVGrieve, “This is a targeted attack against a perceived drug rival.” The source went on, stating, in Joy’s summary “that this is what happens if you engage in drug activity... if you are buying or dealing drugs.”

The rest of the park, the source offered, is “safe”—an opinion which seems predicated on luck, and gunslingers with excellent aim, which isn’t always the case.

Back in March, it will be recalled there were two shooting incidents in the park. One, on March 17, wounded two innocent bystanders.

Five days later, the same suspected gunman fired shots near the chess tables, one of which struck a nearby apartment window. Afterwards, the shooter, dressed in black and wearing a ski mask, is fled on a Citi Bike. Four days after the second shooting, cops arrested 28-year-old Waldemar Alverio, 28 in connection with both shootings and charged him with three counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and one count of reckless endangerment.

As for the Chess Table Killer’s present anonymity, some suggest this is a sign that the cops know who he is and don’t need the public’s help—or interference—to apprehend him.

Visiting Tompkins Square Park on Saturday July 20, Our Town found the scene relatively uneventful. The nearby bars and restaurants at East 7th Street and Avenue A were humming and, with two cops standing guard on Tompkins’ south side, the various sections of the park performed their respective functions: kids’ playgrounds, lounging, a trio rock band, skateboarding, basketball, calisthenics, dog run; West African men congregating in the southeast corner at Avenue B, across from the St. Brigid migrant intake center, waiting for the “work permits” and “asylum hearings” they are unlikely to receive this decade.

The park’s mini-pool is closed for the second year in row; the fieldhouse is closed and its restrooms are also closed. Three temporary porta-potties, installed last September, quickly deteriorated and were removed in January, never to be replaced. So it’s tough luck if you or your child have to “go.”

Also tough luck since the July 12 shootings: anyone who wishes to sit in the chess table area. While the litter and other detritus that accompanied its occupation by known drug dealers was cleaned out after the crime and crime scene investigation, what could now be a pleasant area to sit and play chess or other table games is now off-limits.

Said one EV Grieve commenter:

“It’s so crazy how that little corner with the chess tables attracts the drug trade. Back in the 90s, I had a neighbor who actually played chess there and would bring the dealers and users back to our building to get high and crash at his place. It was insanity. I would love for the neighborhood to be able to reclaim that section of the park so anyone can use it.”