Crime Blotter

EGG-CHUCKIN' DOG If we could back up a bit further than usual for a moment here, there was an incident during the last week of October that needs to be recognized.

According to the Post, shortly after 10 a.m. on Oct. 27 (the day of the full moon) police were called to Coney Island. It seems a 41-year-old woman named Williema Alston was laying in the middle of W. 16th St. She hadn't been hit by an SUV or anything; she was just having herself a little rest. Traffic was backing up, and people were getting cranky. But when a cop suggested that Alston might find a better place to rest, she responded by standing and dropping her drawers. Alston, who apparently considers underpants a binding inconvenience, is currently being charged with public lewdness and disorderly conduct.

Halloween was less lively than usual this year, but we did witness a few notable tricks.

At about 1:30 a.m. Halloween morning, a man in his 20s and three female companions were leaving a West Village pizza joint when they were approached by a bum in his 50s. Some say the bum asked the women for money; others that he made a pass at them. Whatever the case, their stalwart protector gave the bum a mighty shove, sending him sprawling to the pavement, where he struck his head. He was knocked cold, and rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The shover and his gang of she-thugs walked away, and are still being sought.

Around 5 that afternoon, a Bensonhurst couple was arrested after going all Andy Capp on each other. The Post reported that 54-year-old John Cianci, though already soused, was preparing to pay another visit to his neighborhood tavern. This didn't sit well with his girlfriend, who did what any cartoon fishwife would do. Not having a rolling pin handy, she kerranged him on the head with a frying pan. Cianci then knocked her around some, the cops were called and now both are facing assault charges.

If there's one rule that Halloween pranksters should know before they get started, it's that tricks can go both ways. It's a lesson, the Post reports, 19-year-old Mitchell Vasquez should take to heart. He and a friend, in traditional Halloween fashion, were out on a Bronx street, whipping eggs at passers-by. The above rule came into play when one of Vasquez's targets-a pedestrian-stopped, pulled a gun and began firing. Vasquez was shot in the ass and another teen (it's unknown if he was also an egg-chucker) was struck in the arm. The gunman spirited away, presumably seeking more Halloween fun elsewhere.

Democracy proved itself alive and well at least for a few minutes on Nov. 2, when 41-year-old Virginian David Nash flopped ashore on Governors Island. Nash, who was wearing a wetsuit, raised a pirate flag and attempted to claim the misbegotten rock in the name of the Blue Tulip Party. As soldiers led Nash quietly away to Bellevue, his mother admitted to reporters that he is, yes, a little touched in the head.