Some people don’t think before they ink.
On Monday afternoon, passersby and park employees alike marveled at a man getting a chest tattoo inside Mathews-Palmer Playground, located between 45th and 46th Streets in Hell’s Kitchen.
“That s–t was pretty funny,” remarked Darian Ramjit, a tattoo artist who told The Post he was impressed with the unknown tattooist’s work. “It was a little unsanitary, but this is New York, bro. This kind of thing happens every day.”
The prison-style ink itself “was this lion tribal piece, done in grayscale — just shading in blacks and whites,” Ramjit, 29, added. “It was fire. I thought it looked good.”
In New York State, one needs a professional license to cut hair, tattoo, or perform orthodontic work. The Department of Health issues licenses to tattoo artists.
Additionally, in order to work in New York City, tattooists need to complete a written test and a three-hour Infection Control Course.
Videos and photos shared with The Post confirm the unlicensed ink session unfolded at around 4 p.m., just inches from the playground equipment.
The man getting the tattoo is seen in the footage and pictures laid out on a concrete ping pong table, while another man can also be seen laying on the opposite side of the table. It was unclear if the second man also received a tattoo.
“I talked to the guy, but he didn’t speak much English,” Ramjit said. “They were both Latinos, and the guy he was tattooing was his friend.”
Fabian Johnson, 40, told The Post Monday’s scene was one of the weirdest he’s witnessed in his eight years working for the city Parks Department.
“I always send videos to my wife whenever I see weird stuff going down in the park,” Johnson said, noting the tattooist’s needles and inks had been placed directly on the concrete table, which was covered in cooing pigeons when The Post visited the park this week. “It’s seriously crazy to get a tattoo in the park. It’s just weird.”
The playground has become a hangout spot for delivery drivers, addicts, and the homeless, park employees said.
“You’ll see guys getting haircuts [in the park], but that goes on in most of the parks,” Johnson said. “Two weeks ago, there was a lady here and she was putting braces on two Spanish adults. She was at the bench, putting the metal parts on their teeth. It was crazy.”
“Providing any services for a fee on parkland without a concession license from Parks is illegal,” a representative for the city Parks Department told The Post in a statement. “When we receive reports of illegal activity, Parks Enforcement Patrol officers are dispatched to correct the condition and issue summonses as needed.”
The statement notes tattoo artists need to be licensed, and urges people who witness illegal activity in public parks to submit a 311 request.
This is the second time someone’s been tattooed in public in New York City within the last two months.
Disturbing footage from July, shot outside the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, showed a man wearing just one glove, tattooing another man’s neck on a bench outside the public housing development.
