Man Arrested for Carrying Gravity Knife Outside Delancey Burger King

Another instance of illegal knife ban enforcement here on the Lower East Side. Clayton Patterson sent in the following report of a man arrested outside the Delancey Burger Kingfor carrying a gravity knife in the pocket of his cargo shorts. The officers were undercover.

A man unlocking his bike by the Burger King on Delancey had a gravity knife sticking out of a pocket in is cargo pants. The undercover cops jumped out of their car – frisked the guy – the blade of the knife was longer than what is legally allowed [i.e. 4" in NYC]. They arrested the man.

This type of crackdown is nothing new, really. Larger names were pinched last year for the same crime – for instance, former Pulino’s chef Nate Appleman and East Village artist John Copeland. At the time, the latter spearheaded a Federal Civil Rights lawsuit against New York City by teaming up with the Arizona-based advocacy group Knife Rights. That case will soon proceed to trial, as motions for summary judgement by DA Cyrus Vance, Jr. were denied by U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones on September 10 of this year.

By law, New Yorkers cannot carry knives that open via centrifugal force and sport a blade that automatically locks in place.

Knife Rights reminds you:

Never carry your knife clipped to your pocket in New York City. Even when covered by a jacket, simply moving the jacket aside to get to a wallet has been enough to get folks arrested. Always ensure your knife is completely concealed at all times.