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Eclectic People Watching Abounds in this Infamous East Village Semi-Green Space
& why it made the Carpe City list
Daniel Rakowitz earned the nickname “The Butcher of Tompkins Square” when he murdered Monika Beerle, his ex-girlfriend, in the park in 1989. Murders in 1989 were sadly a dime a dozen, so why the notoriety? Well, after killing his victim, he then made a soup out of her by cooking her head and brains. He then proceeded to serve the soup to the homeless people living in the park. Rakowitz, who declared himself a cannibal, was arrested and put on trial with much fanfare, hence the nickname. Found not guilty due to insanity, he has been living in the Wards Island psychiatric facility ever since.
The memorial fountain, located in the north end of the park, is dedicated to the 1,000 people who were killed in what’s known as the General Slocum boat disaster. On June 15, 1904, a local German church hired a steamboat to bring members of its community out to the North Shore of Long Island. Tragically, the boat, which was made of wood, caught fire after leaving its pier on the East River. The passengers were mostly women and children. The 1906 fountain remembers their lives, lost in the deadliest incident in New York City before 9/11.
Tompkins Square Park is full of beautiful elm trees, but one in particular, found in the south end of the park, is famous for a very unusual, very spiritual reason – it’s a holy tree. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Indian spiritual leader, founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York, not long after he arrived in the US in 1965. Prabhupada established the Society’s headquarters at a storefront on 2ndAvenue and in 1966 would often walk over the Tompkins Square Park to meet with his disciples. It was here, under an old elm tree, that, on October 9, 1966, Prabhupada introduced the famous mantra, still heard all around the Village and beyond:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
The practitioners chanted for nearly two hours, danced, and played cymbals, tambourines, drums, benches, whatever was around. This day is recognized as the origin of the American Hare Krishna religion, which continues to be a diverse group of devotees. Its adherents treat the, now aptly named, Hare Krishna tree as a holy place and a pilgrimage site because of its special history.
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