Some people will do ANYTHING for a little attention. A wannabe rapper who wanted to meet singer Alicia Keys climbed atop a traffic light and stalled traffic in Times Square for nearly two hours this morning after he was thrown out of MTV’s studios, police said.
Raymond Velasquez, 34, of Brooklyn, climbed the 20-foot pole at about 9:30 a.m. and refused to come down after cops were called to West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue.
This past February, Velasquez caused a commotion on West 48th Street after he jumped a metal barrier into the “Today” show plaza at Rockefeller Center and shouted, “I’m God’s gift to music!”
He got within mere feet of hosts Meredith Vieira and Al Roker. At the time, cops took him to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital for psychological evaluation.
As for today’s stunt, cops stopped traffic and set up an inflatable cushion under the pole for fear Velasquez would jump.
Hundreds of onlookers packed the streets to gawk at the man as cops tried to coax him into coming down. He eventually came down from the pole.
Velasquez — who uses the name “CI Joe” — had climbed onto the light pole to promote his CDs after he had failed in his quest to meet Keys.
Keys had performed nearby at ABC’s studios during an appearance on “Good Morning America.”
“He went into MTV and got kicked out and decided to get up on the pole and was trying to get heard. He’s been rapping to the crowd,” said witness Allison Soloman, 33.
Jason Krywko, a tourist visiting from Sarasota, Fla., said the man tried to hand out CDs when they kicked him out.
“He was rapping to the police officers, rapping to everybody. He was lifting his shirt up. It was all for attention,” he said.
Velasquez was taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation.
Cops said he faces reckless endangerment charges for tossing copies of his CD onto the street.
NYP
