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Article snippet: Juan Fermin was anxious that he might be assaulted because of his job — selling tickets for sightseeing cruises of New York Harbor. Approaching tourists at Manhattan’s southern edge hardly seems dangerous. But it places Mr. Fermin in the midst of an escalating and at times dangerous turf battle over — of all things — the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty belongs to all. But being on an island, it belongs most of all to the boat companies that carry millions of tourists on sightseeing trips around the harbor each year. The competition to pack those boats is fierce — and likely to grow fiercer with the arrival of summer. Mr. Fermin, 30, is part of a swelling army of street hustlers who can earn around $20 for each tourist they steer onto a particular boat. Wearing brightly colored shirts and vests, they are a loud, in-your-face presence around Battery Park and, often enough, in police reports. There have been reports of a slashing; beatings, including one so severe a tourist suffered a fractured skull; and most recently, in April, a shooting that wounded two. The victims include other ticket sellers as well as tourists, the police and others say. “I worry about it,” Mr. Fermin said of the potential for violence. “You don’t want to be caught up in those cross hairs.” The police and politicians have a variety of explanations for the violence. Some point to ticket sellers recently released from prison or jail. Others place responsibility on the boat operators, ... Link to the full article to read more