An unhoused man known around Greenwich Village for wearing a tail, along with his girlfriend, has set up a new furnished encampment on a Bleecker Street sidewalk, and nearby residents say the disruption has only intensified.
The man, who goes by Tiger and has been described by neighbors as frequently smoking marijuana, drinking and dancing provocatively in public, was removed from Sullivan Street last month after The Post reported on his elaborate sidewalk setup. Now, residents say, he has returned to the area just a short distance away.
Tiger, whose nickname comes from the striped orange tail he sometimes fastens behind him, allegedly took over a roughly 10-foot-by-5-foot stretch of sidewalk on Bleecker Street outside the closed Cafe Español about two weeks ago.
With help from his girlfriend, who identified herself as Nina, the space has reportedly been outfitted with a chaise lounge, two nightstands, a rug, decorative items and glass bottles.
Neighbors say the couple’s conduct has become increasingly troubling, alleging that Nina has repeatedly used Sullivan Street as a bathroom and recently cursed at and followed a resident who said the encounter left her shaken.
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A 27-year-old lawyer who lives nearby said Nina followed and threatened her for more than 10 minutes as she walked home from her boyfriend’s apartment on the morning of June 9.
“I’m continuing to walk down Bleecker Street and I hear her screaming. And I turn around. She’s pointing at me,” said the woman, who asked not to be named because of safety concerns.
The woman recalled Nina shouting, “F–k you n-word b–h,” while following her, adding that the slur felt “kind of ironic because we’re both black.”
She reported the incident to the Sixth Precinct.
The frightened woman now avoids Bleecker entirely, adding she walks along Houston Street because city officials have not yet bounced the menacing pair.
“If that happened last time, what’s stopping them from coming back?” she wondered.
