Moms and dads bear the blame for the shocking riot that rocked Union Square Park more than the social media influencer who sparked the chaotic incident that left seven hurt and 66 people arrested, according to Mayor Adams.
Twitch star Kai Cenat, didn’t have a permit before putting out word to his 20 million followers that he’d be giving away PS5 video game consoles in the famed Manhattan spot, prompting thousands to show up and wreak havoc.
But the Mayor, who called the situation “something we should all be alarmed about,” didn’t see Cenat as the real problem.
“This is not a policing issue, [it] is a parenting issue. And we need to be clear on that. Police is the response after an incident happened. But this should be a proactive approach.”
After learning about what was unfolding, the mayor said the first thing he did was text his son and ask, “Where are you? Are you in Union Square?”
“And I wonder with the thousands of children who were there hurling dangerous objects at police officers disrespecting the residents in the area attacking each other? How many parents text their children?” he continued.
Union Square “looked like we were under war,” a terrified witness told The Post on Saturday of the chaos, which included rioters throwing fireworks into the crowd.
“It was just bedlam here. You couldn’t move,” noted one.
Vera Frumumsachi, 67, who lives on 19th Street between Irving Place and Park Ave South recalled “calm” when she arrived at the park shortly before noon Friday but noticed “a lot of young people in line” in the portion of the park that line East 14th Street.
“In the beginning, I thought it was a concert or something…It was amazing to see all of these young people here” at first, she said.
“Then, it wasn’t like earlier — people were hopping up on the subway [pavilion], jumping and throwing things. They started throwing things — bottles, cones, things from the street. …When they started throwing things, I left but I could still hear all of the sirens from the house. After that, I went out again and it was much more — even the police were saying ‘Stay away. Don’t go there.'”
Micki, 63, a dog walker who has lived in the Union Square area for 40 years, called the riot “the biggest shi-t show I’ve ever seen in my entire life. There were people everywhere. They were hanging on top of [the pavilion] — like five of them. They were throwing bottles, they were throwing whatever was from the floor.”
She felt bad for the cops.
“This shouldn’t have happened. It was stupid. It wasn’t thoughtful. It was ridiculous.”
Area stores, including the Whole Foods, closed for a few hours because “you couldn’t get in anywhere,” Micki said.
Sergio, 25, who sits at the same table in the park on E. 14th St. every day with pal Jahava, was familiar with Cenat and aware of the giveaway.
He said he was watching the Twitch stream when at around 3 p.m., people starting talking about Cenat sighting.
“Somebody threw a bottle, and it was up after that. Everybody started throwing bottles. The bottles never stopped. The bottles turned into chairs, chairs turned into tables, tables turned into cones,” Sergio said.
People “were just mad thinking about someone else getting the PS5.”
Added Jahava, 33: “It just takes one idiot to start throwing sh-t and a bunch will follow. That’s just life. “
Stunned onlooker, Garrett Deaton, 24, was set to meet up with some buddies when he encountered a mob of people throwing chairs, cones and “all kinds of sh-t. I was scared someone was about to pull out a gun or something to be honest, man. It was crazy.”
