YouTube giveaway promise of PlayStations leads to unruly crowd in Manhattan, police say

Over 1,000 cops were needed to gain control of a unruly crowd in Union Square Friday afternoon after a YouTuber summoned followers online with promises of PlayStation video game consoles, the NYPD said.

Fistfights broke out in and around Union Square Park as the crowd swelled into the thousands and grew violent, according to the NYPD. Youths climbed onto cars, threw chairs and broke into a nearby construction site to steal objects to brandish, police said..

Overwhelmed cops in riot gear chased and tackled youths and made arrests.

NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said at a news conference Friday evening that an exact number of arrests was not available. Several officers were injured by objects thrown by young people, Maddrey said, along with some people in the crowd who were also hit with thrown objects.

"I personally observed young people walking out with their heads bleeding … bleeding from on their faces. I observed young people having panic attacks, anxiety attacks, asthma attacks. People were suffering out here," Maddrey said. "There were a lot of people. It was uncontrolled. It took us awhile to get it under control and a lot of young people got hurt," he said.

By early evening, the police had regained control of the Union Square area, which was shut down and ringed with barricades and cops brandishing batons. Maddrey said NYPD officers were following roving groups of youth on foot, in helicopters and with drones as they dispersed in Manhattan.

Inside the park, trash was strewn about. Nearby, a bus of handcuffed youths passed by the area.

The unrest began, Maddrey said, after an online post surfaced claiming a YouTuber would be in Union Square Friday afternoon giving away PlayStations. An illustrated post titled "New York City Giveaway" that went viral shows two young men atop a vehicle, with electronics at their feet, for Friday at 4 p.m. 

During the melee, some youths broke into a construction site and used tools and paint cans to throw at the police, he said. He said that legal action could "absolutely" be action taken against the influencer, or influencers, for incitement of a riot and other charges.

Several influencers — including one who initially posted online, were with the police, although it was not clear whether anyone was in custody, Maddrey said.

Maddrey said he didn't know if any of the promised giveaway actually happened.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.