Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, a popular and busy spot for people looking for relief from steamy summer streets, will no longer have its own police patrol, Queens Daily News has learned.
Instead, cops patrolling other parts of the 110th Precinct and borough task force units will keep an eye on activity in the sprawling 1,255-acre park.
The dedicated detail was pulled due to staffing woes at the 110th Precinct, sources said.
City police officials downplayed the impact of the change, saying the park will still have a strong law enforcement presence.
"The park is being patrolled by task force officers along with the Conditions Unit of the 110th Precinct and the Citi Field detail," the NYPD said in a statement.
The Conditions Unit monitors quality-of-life issues.
But civic leaders and elected officials are not convinced and said this is another example of Queens residents being shortchanged.
"While we recognize that police resources are limited, there is no question that the best deterrent to crime in the park is a uniformed officer on patrol," said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.
Marshall and others said the problem is exacerbated by the low numbers of Parks Enforcement Patrol, or PEP, officers available in Queens.
Joe Puleo, vice president DC 37 Local 983, which represents PEP officers, said only a handful are available to work the 7,000 acres of parks across the borough.
Most of the PEP officers have been assigned to the city's packed pools and beaches.
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