Upper East Siders Launch Petition To 'Stop The Spitting Lady'

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Thousands of Upper East Side residents have signed a petition calling on local elected officials to do something about a woman who wanders the neighborhood harassing residents and scaring children.

"This woman is not only a nuisance, but she is a threat as she is assaulting people vilely with saliva. She mainly spits on children, while also hissing and yelling at them," reads the petition.

The woman — dubbed the "spitting lady" — often prowls the area from East 74th to East 82nd streets between First and Lexington avenues, according to the petition. For years the woman has screamed, yelled and spit at pedestrians and the situation has "become uncontrollable," according to the petition. The petition alleges that police have told Upper East Siders to "turn a blind eye" to the woman.

The woman is often accompanied by a larger man, possibly her son, who acts like a bodyguard, according to the petition.

As of this writing the petition has more than 1,200 signatures. The creators of the petition plan to send the signatures to City Councilmen Ben Kallos and Daniel Garodnick as well as Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"Please take action on this, as the Upper East Side is becoming a dangerous place to walk around, out of fear this woman will assault pedestrians. NYPD arrests other assaulters, so why not this?" reads the petition.

With city officials and police unable to deal with the spitting lady, Upper East Siders have been forced to band together to track the woman's movements on Facebook. A "forum for spottings,"has been created on the social media site. Locals use the forum to alert their neighbors about the spitting lady's whereabouts.

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