"Figures show that in the first five months of the year there were just a handful of arrests for public lewdness in and around Penn Station in midtown Manhattan, a popular cruising spot, but since June close to 200 people had been detained by the transport police, Amtrak. According to The City and The Gothamist, the arrests took place close to the train station entrance at Eighth Avenue and 31st Street, which is listed on gay hook-up app Sniffies."
"A spokesperson for the NYC-based Legal Aid Society, which tracked the arrests, told The City that there had 20 arrests for public lewdness in just one day. Sniffies users have reportedly tried to warn one another about the police sting, with one writing: "Undercover cops in bathroom" and someone else advising: "Stop playing in [Penn Station]. They have undercover cops hiding in the bathrooms arresting people. It's not funny, it's scary.""
"One man man said he was just relieving himself before boarding a train visit a friend in New Jersey. David, who is gay and was wearing a Pride wristband, felt he was being watched at the urinal and was subsequently approached by a man who told him he was under arrest for public lewdness. He was handcuffed to a cell in Penn Station where he said he heard officers say: "Got three more f*g pervs.""
Nearly 200 people were detained by Amtrak police in and around Penn Station bathrooms since June, after only a handful of arrests earlier in the year. Arrests clustered near the Eighth Avenue and 31st Street entrance, a location listed on the gay hook-up app Sniffies. Legal Aid tracked the arrests and reported as many as 20 public lewdness arrests in a single day. Sniffies users posted warnings about undercover officers in bathrooms. Several men described being observed, arrested and handcuffed; one detainee reported officers using homophobic slurs. Some detained men carried ICE detainers, raising deportation concerns.
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