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Man arrested for shoving West Village diner cook into plate glass window
An unhinged man flew into a dyspeptic rage Saturday morning when he was asked to leave a West Village diner, shoving a 77-year-old cook into a plate glass window and then running off to Washington Square Park — where three brave employees found and held him until cops arrived, workers told The Post.
The man was chased away to Washington Square Park, where he was eventually detained by police.
The disturbing incident unfolded around 9:45 a.m. in the Washington Square Diner on 6th Avenue and West 4th Street when the man — who police identified as Gregory Conwell, 27, of Red Hook — began bothering customers, workers said.
Workers said Conwell has been in the diner multiple times before, annoying patrons and even pretending to be one of the waiters. On Saturday, they said, he came in to use the restroom.
When he was asked to leave, he flew into a rage, the NYPD and diner workers said.
The cook was left with a gash to the back of his head.William Farrington
“He started cursing and screaming and yelling and doing whatever he wanted, and then he grabbed the chef and threw him on the window” [on the West 4th Street side of the building], diner manager George Takos told The Post.
The NYPD said the 77-year-old cook was tossed into the glass after he tried to escort Conwell out of the diner.
Conwell fled but was chased by three diner employees to nearby Washington Square Park, where they detained him until police showed up, said the workers, one of whom claimed a crack pipe fell out of the man’s pocket during the tussle.
The vagrant also damaged a window in the process.
The injured man, who only gave his first name, Constantino, suffered a gash to the back of his head and was being treated at a nearby hospital following the ruckus, workers and police said. One of the diner workers who chased the attacker down said the man bit him in the arm during the tussle in the park.
The manager said this isn’t the first time mayhem has been on the menu.
A diner employee told The Post that the restaurant is prone to these types of incidents due to its proximity to Washington Square Park.
“That window has been broken at least five times in the past five years. Same situation. They get upset, and they see the best way to hurt you is to break your windows,” Takos said.
Workers too were frustrated by the surge in violence in the neighborhood.
“This happens a lot and the cops can’t do anything unless someone gets hurt,” one employee told The Post, adding that the restaurant’s proximity to troubled Washington Square Park makes them a frequent target for troublemakers.
An NYPD spokeswoman said Conwell was being charged with felony assault because his victim was over 65.
Police could not immediately say if Conwell had any prior arrests or had been homeless, as suggested by the diner workers.
“Everything’s fine,” said a man who answered the phone at the diner later Saturday. “It’s very busy. “