Why the LES Dwellers Are 'the Most Feared Community Group in the City'

The bane of drunk Santas and many LES bar owners, neighborhood group the LES Dwellers gets a lengthy profile today's Post. Diem Boyd started the group three years ago in a campaign to keep potential occupiers of a space next to her apartment from getting a liquor license. She won. Today, as the Post describes it, LES Dwellers is "the most feared community group in the city." The collection of neighbors fights against the addition of bars and clubs in Hell Square (Houston to Delancey, Allen to Essex). Herein, five reasons to fear the group:

1. The group are regulars at Community Board meetings, but were once banned from proceedings for three months because they were so combative.

2. Some members of the group are — gasp — the same age as those going out and partying. They stage "undercover operations" to record the debauchery.

3. "They're Internet-savvy, too. The group maintains a Web site and social media accounts documenting bar infractions."

Here's one video the group posted to YouTube:

4. The group has been linked to the recent shutter of Derby, and is the reason LES nightlife figure Rob Shamlian has been unloading properties rapidly in recent months. He says he was targeted by the Dwellers and can't take it anymore. "It's a quality-of-life issue, and I've had enough of the hostile neighborhood groups," he told Bowery Boogie.

5. Night-life professionals fear the group: "My fights with the Dwellers go deep," says one man. He wouldn't give his name because: "I don't need any fuel for that fire."