Lower East Side residents frustrated by crime uptick

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - The Lower East Side of Manhattan is bustling with restaurants and nightlife, but for some residents it is not all fun and games.

The NYPD's 7th Precinct is less than a mile in size, yet accounts for a large chunk of crime in New York City. The NYPD said robbery arrests are up 100 percent compared to the same time last year and burglary arrests are up more than 100 percent.

"They keep telling us crime is down and down but when you begin to break it down by precinct that the real question you have to ask about New York City," said Diem Boyd, the founder of LES Dwellers, which is working to raise awareness about rising crime in the area. The group singles out the section from Broom to East Houston and Allen to Norfolk, infamously coined as "Hell Square" by locals.

Boyd said the oversaturation of liquor licenses and lack of enforcement is the root of the problem. "I think once you bring down the bad operators who are breaking the laws then you begin to see things will level off," Boyd said.