YouTube personality, “Ely the People’s Guy” was verbally threatened this week while filming maintenance on School Street; an incident that resulted in a City of Yonkers worker stealing and damaging the citizen’s phone.
Ely films his interactions with local officials in the name of public transparency and accountability. His firm belief in his constitutional rights echo in the numerous videos posted to his YouTube channel. He summarizes his position as such:
The purpose of The freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment, is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. A free media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government wrongdoing. It is also a vibrant marketplace of ideas, a vehicle for ordinary citizens to express themselves and gain exposure to a wide range of information and opinions.
The incident
On Tuesday, August 15th, Ely stood at the intersection of Park Hill Ave and School Street to film maintenance on a manhole. Initially, the handful of workers were mostly unfazed by Ely’s presence. But, a Senior Project Manager in Engineering then questions why Ely is filming at all. The exchange between the two yo-yo’s with passive-aggressive taunts followed by calls to back away. The incident concludes when the city worker forcibly takes the resident’s cell phone; allegedly damaging it in the process. A nearby Yonkers Police Officer then returns the phone to Ely. The video below summarizes part of the interaction:
Then, this same YPD officer calls for a supervisor to arrive at the scene. Soon, twice as many police officers as there were construction workers arrived. The Police took statements from both the COY worker and Ely. While a report was promised to be filed, an officer stated they would not be making an arrest until video footage was reviewed. Ely noted that he had famously been arrested on the spot without a review of footage only a few months ago.
We spoke with YPD Public Information Officer Frank DiDomizio about this incident. He stated that the report was still in process by detectives. But, he assured us that regardless of the complainant’s social media status, and the other party’s employment with the City, that they “treat every incident equally.”
Unfortunately, negative interactions with City of Yonkers employees are not unique to Ely. Last year, the YouTube channel Good guy Activism was also challenged while filming within Yonkers City Hall itself. Thankfully, in that case there was no escalation or police report necessary.
Once the facts from yesterday are confirmed and report submitted, the Westchester County District Attorney may choose to take action. Furthermore, punitive action may also be taken by the City of Yonkers regarding this employee’s tenure. We will contact both of those offices when the report is in-hand.
