Harlem quiet; 500 arrested
Property damage estimated at $5 million
New York (UP) –
Harlem was quiet today as authorities investigated yesterday’s riot which resulted in five deaths, more than 500 injured, 500 arrests and an estimated $5 million in property damage.
Police stood guard over the thickly-populated Negro district to prevent recurrence of fighting, looting, arson and robbery.
Backing up police were 8,000 New York State Guardsmen who assembled at their armories last night in readiness to enter the debris-littered area should the disturbances break out again.
Volunteers on duty
A volunteer civilian patrol of 1,500 residents, mostly Negroes, helped keep the peace. City patrol units, military police and air-raid wardens were on guard.
A 10:30 p.m. curfew imposed by Mayor F. H. La Guardia kept virtually all of the district’s 300,000 Negro residents indoors all night.
And for the first time in months, lights in Harlem shone brightly as the Army permitted suspension of dimout regulations to help police keep order.
Five arrested
Only one incident has reported during the night. Five Negro youths were arrested for throwing a stone through a store window.
Police reported that seven Negroes were injured last night and early today in scattered fistfights and stabbings.
Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine said police were investigating reports that hoodlums from southern cities had been sent into Harlem to cause trouble. Police have not been able to confirm these reports, he said.