Exclusive video shows vandal causing thousands of dollars of damage to Central Park's SummerStage
CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan (WABC) -- For four straight nights, a man has been vandalizing the SummerStage grounds in the middle of Central Park.
Video obtained exclusively by Eyewitness News shows a human wrecking ball destroying everything he could find.
Calling himself homeless and mentally ill, 25-year-old Nikolas Evans is a repeat offender in Central Park, vandalizing the SummerStage grounds however possible.
"Sometimes he finds a large object and tries to pick them open," said SummerStage employee Kahlil Goodwyn. "Sometimes he picks up rocks and just throws rocks at the doors. Once he gets in, he rummages through the food, drinks, smashes things, and then runs away and comes back to do it again."
Goodwyn confronted the man as he smashed into a storage container repurposed as a concession stand.
"I told him he had to leave," Goodwyn said. "He said this is his home."
That specific attack ruined all the snacks and drinks intended to be sold to raise funds for SummerStage, which provides free, live music performances in the middle of Central Park. Every day, his vandalism makes it harder for this beloved summer tradition.
"To have to continue to come in and have this be a reset for us every day is a frustrating thing," said SummerStage employee Chris Fink. "We work hard to put these shows on and make a great act for New York City to come and see, and to come in and see that happening is definitely disheartening."
Despite causing what SummerStage Executive Director Larry Siegel estimates is more than $15,000 in damage, he has continued to avoid punishment. That is not for a lack of trying on the effort of the Central Park cops.
"They keep doing their job and taking him in, and he just keeps getting released and coming back for more," Siegel said. "It's just disheartening to say the least."
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute at least two of Evans' arrests from earlier this week, saying there were no witnesses to the crime. When cops did catch him in the act on Monday, Evans was arraigned. They asked for bail, but a judge let him go.
SummerStage expects the park has not seen the last of Evans.
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