Unsanctioned Boxing Matches Are Happening In New York's Washington Square Park At Night

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In response, the NYPD instituted a 10 p.m. curfew for the park on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

But when cops clad in riot gear tried to enforce the early shutdown last Saturday, defiant parkgoers fought back, with some throwing glass bottles at officers.

In the ensuing scuffle, 23 revelers were arrested and eight cops were injured, according to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, who discussed the clash during a pair of TV interviews Wednesday morning.

“Many of them, in fact probably most of them, have been arrested multiple times over the last year,” Shea told WPIX, referring to the 23 arrestees and noting that “not one lives in that community.

“The Parks Department has tried to enforce and close the park — which is their job, by the way — on multiple occasions and they’ve come under fire and had bottles thrown at them,” the top cop continued. “So they came to other city agencies, including the police department, and said, ‘We need your help.'”

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