Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Park Crime Surges - Calls For Increased Security

On Thursday June 9th, five people were shot on the Park Department's Brighton Beach Boardwalk including a 16-year old East Harlem girl who was tragically killed.

Over the last twelve weeks alone, there have been twelve shootings, including five deaths, and more than a dozen stabbings and muggings and numerous sexual assaults. Since January there have more than 150 arrests on park land including 98 in Union Square Park alone. And the Summer has yet to begin.

"Frankly, I think it's a shame for people to sort of gin it up

and try to panic people into believing that parks are not safe," Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

"They're

safer than they've ever been."

There were only 2 Park Enforcement Patrol officers (PEP) officers available for patrol for nearly 7, 000 acres of park land today. This deployment number stands in sharp contrast to so called "contract parks" which pay for dedicated PEP assigned permanently to work in one park.

"Friday's attack in Inwood Hill Park has brought new attention to a problem people in my community have known about for years: the shortage of Park Enforcement Patrol officers in working and middle class neighborhoods," said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez.

City Wide

By Geoffrey Croft

City Council members including Julissa Ferreras, Robert Jackson and Ydanis Rodriguez, Parks Chair Melissa Mark- Viverito, Peter Vallone, Jr., Park Enforcement Patrol Officers, Community members, NYC Park Advocates and union representatives from local 983 including vice president Joe Puleo called on the City today to increase the security presents in our park system.

The recent explosion of crime on city parkland has once again highlighted the severe need to increase safety in our park system.

On Thursday June 9th, five people were shot on the Park Department's Brighton Beach Boardwalk including a 16-year old East Harlem girl who was tragically killed.

Within 24 hours three people were stabbed, and a woman raped in other park incidents throughout the city.

Over the last twelve weeks alone, there have been twelve shootings, including five deaths, and more than a dozen stabbings and muggings, numerous sexual assaults and more than 150 arrests on park land since January. Police have made have made 98 arrests in Union Square Park alone. And the Summer has yet to begin.


It is no secret that having a uniformed presence acts as a deterrent.

The Parks Department's Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP), whose responsibility is to ensure "the safe use of parks," is severely understaffed.
















Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez (l) joined Park Enforcement Patrol Officers, Community members, park advocates and union representatives from local 983 including vice president Joe Puleo (r) to call on the City to increase the security presents in our park system.

"Friday's attack in Inwood Hill Park has brought new attention to a problem people in my community have known about for years: the shortage of Park Enforcement Patrol officers in working and middle class neighborhoods. While Battery Park is able to protect its visitors with 34 officers, Manhattan north of 110th St has to make do with only 2 to patrol all of its parks. We will no longer stand for this discrepancy, and demand an increase of Park Enforcement Patrol officers to once again make our parks safe" said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez.

In 2010, crime in parks grew 24%, yet the mayor's proposed budget includes just $10.6 million in city funds for 151 PEP positions. The number of full-time officers has declined dramatically from a high of 450 in the mid-1990s. On June 3, Park Commissioner Adrian Benepe testified there are only 98 City funded PEP officers. This is alarming, considering they are responsible for securing more than 29,000 acres (14% of the city's land).

It is also very important to note that the City refuses to comply with Local Law 114 (2005) which mandates the reporting and tracking of crime in parks and playgrounds 1 acre or larger. The City currently tracks crime in only 30 of the city's 1, 700 parks and playgrounds.

"While our parks offer New Yorkers beautiful open spaces and the chance to be alone, that same solitude may place them in danger. With a depleted police force it's more important than ever that we have enough PEP officers, " said Peter F. Vallone Jr, Chair of the Public Safety Committee.

Investing in PEP also makes financial sense because it costs considerably less than deploying NYPD officers to park patrol, and PEP frees the police for more pressing issues. There are also 8, 000 fewer NYPD officers available for patrol than a decade ago.

"Parks are in chaos," said Joe Puleo, Vice President of Local 983 who represents PEP officers. "We demand the City allocate an additional ten million dollars for park safety. Millions of dollars were baselined for PEP a few years ago but that money has disappeared."

Compounding the problem, the city has repeatedly tried to mislead the public and the media on PEP deployment numbers as well as downplay the amount of crime.

"Frankly, I think it's a shame for people to sort of gin it up

and try to panic people into believing that parks are not safe," Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe told WNYC radio in response to

outraged elected officials, community members and the Local 983 demanding greater protection in our parks.

"They're

safer than they've ever been."

Benpe told WNYC that crime in the parks has gone

down over the past ten years - and that hiring more officers is simply

not an option with the department facing a 25 million dollar budget cut.

The commissioner

did not however explain how he came to the supposed park crime reduction data

considering the city only began tracking crime in a handful of parks four years ago. He also did not explain the relevance of comparing crime 10 years ago with what's happening today.

"We recognize it’s the union’s job to maximize positions for its members, but our job is to put taxpayer dollars where they’re most needed to maximize quality of life in our parks,” Parks Department spokesperson Vickie Karp told the Daily News.

"Apparently public safety is NOT a quality-of-life issue according to the Park Department," Local 983 who represents PEP responded in a statement. "The Parks Department's repugnant and callous response typifies the lack of accountability in the Bloomberg administration."


During the summer the already low number of officers declines dramatically as the majority of PEP personnel are deployed to beaches and pools.

Over the last few weeks, Queens lost three officers, the Bronx two and Brooklyn five. This leaves the vast majority of city parks completely unprotected. Some days there are no officers available for patrol. These numbers are shocking considering the tens of millions of people who use our parks annually.

There is an enormous disparity between the number of dedicated PEP in publicly funded parks than in those parks that receive substantial private funds. The city's increasing reliance on these schemes has resulted in a vastly unequal distribution of services.

Despite having the least amount of park space and the third highest population, Manhattan has more than 15 times the number of Parks Enforcement officers as other boroughs. At full strength, only seven full-time dedicated PEP officers are available to patrol more than 6, 700 acres of parkland in Queens, five for 6, 970 acres in the Bronx, seven for Brooklyn's 4, 336 acres, and five for Staten Island's 7, 400 acres. These numbers drop further when you factor in vacations, sick days and days off.

By sharp contrast, an increasing number of public parks - almost exclusively in Manhattan - have a dedicated security presence, some 24/7. More than 50% of PEP officers are now permanently assigned to "contract parks" - parks run by select private nonprofits, or other government agencies that buy what are supposed to be a basic city service. A few shell out more than $2 million annually. Contractually, these parks are required to have a minimum number of officers deployed.

For example, Battery Park City has more than 40 officers for 35 acres, Hudson River Park has more than 30 officers for 150 acres. Madison Square Park has three, plus seasonals for 6 acres: Bryant Park spends $900, 000 annually for 22 private security personnel, including 12 patrol officers for its 6 acres. The Bloomberg administration had assigned 11 full-time officers to the High Line's 2.8 acres.

Central Park also has multiple PEP officers assigned, in addition to having its own police precinct with more than 125 officers.

These numbers highlight the enormous disparity between publicly funded parks and those that receive substantial private funds. The city's increasing reliance on these schemes has resulted in a vastly unequal distribution of service. Experience over the last 20 years has proven that private subsidies to individual parks have created an enormous gap between the haves and the have-nots, while ignoring the real problem - that our parks are not funded as an essential city service.

Compounding the problem, the city has repeatedly tried to mislead the public on the deployment numbers.

It was revealed at a recent City Council hearing that the number of PEP officers hired from city funds fell far short of the amount adopted in the budget. A senior Parks official said this was to due to a hiring freeze. That is not accurate. There have been four PEP academy classes over the last year. However, the officers hired have been diverted to contract parks.

All communities deserve safe, well-maintained parks, not just those that can afford to pay extra. This is a basic quality-of-life issue. We need our elected officials to allocate the necessary funds and to make sure they are distributed equally.

“PEP officers have a critical role to play in preventing criminal activity in our parks,” said Parks & Recreation Committee Chair Melissa Mark-Viverito. “The recent high-profile incidents on our City’s parkland – including the recent killing of 16-year-old Tysha Jones at Brighton Beach – have reminded us that we must develop a strategy to make our parks safer as we head into the summer, and that strategy should include PEP officers. This fall, I will be working with my colleague, Public Safety Chair Peter Vallone, to convene a hearing on issues around crime in parks and the coordination between PEP officers and the police. I thank all of our city’s PEP officers for all of the important work they do in helping to make our parks safe and enjoyable for all New Yorkers.”
"The city has basically abandoned the idea of securing its 29,000 acres of public parkland. All neighborhood parks deserve to be safenot just those created by the wealthy and well-connected," said Geoffrey Croft, President of NYC Park Advocates. "In good economic times and bad It is astonishing that the city's elected officials continue to put the public in harms way by allocating a fraction of the expense dollars needed to maintain and secure our vast park system. It simply isn't a priority. The City must allocate proper funds."

Read/View More

NY 1 - June 15, 2011 - By Dean Meminger

New York Daily News - June 15, 2011 - By Alex Katz

WPIX 11 - June 15, 2011 - By Kaity Tong

gothamist - June 16, 2011 - By John Del Signore

WNYC - June 15, 2011 - By Brian Zumhagen (transcript below)

Bx Residents Call For More Officers In Parks
News 12 Bronx - June 15, 2011 - By Gilma Avalos

Bk
Residents Call For More Officers In Parks
News 12 Bronx - June 15, 2011 - By Josh Chapin

El Diario NY - June 16, 2011 - By Christina Loboguerrero

El Diario NY - June 16, 2011 - By Christina Loboguerrero (
Spanish translation by Emily Leavitt)

Residentes de Inwood y el alto Manhattan piden más vigilancia a las autoridades
El Diario NY - June 14, 2011 - By Jose Acosta

A Walk In The Park - March 13, 2011


WYNC

Some City Council members and activists are calling on Mayor Bloomberg
to add 10 million dollars to the city budget to hire more parks patrol
officers, citing a concern with crime..

Geoffrey Croft of New York City Parks Advocates Croft says, as the
number of park enforcement officers has gone down, crime has gone up.

[CROFT: over the last nine weeks alone, there have been twelve
shootings, including five deaths, and more than a dozen stabbings, on
parkland. And the summer has yet to begin.]

But Parks commissioner Adrian Benepe says crime in the parks has gone
down over the past ten years --and that hiring more officers is simply
not an option with the department facing a 25 million dollar budget cut.

[BENEPE: Crime has not increased in parks. Over the last decade it's
gone down dramatically, as it has all over the city. Frankly, I think
it's a shame for people to sort of gin it up and try to panic people
into believing that parks are not safe. They're safer than they've ever
been.]

The city's budget is due June 30th.

Who's Protecting Our Parks

NYCPA has obtained numbers for full-time dedicated Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) personnel, broken down by borough and park acreage, that reveal a striking disparity. (As of April 21, 2011) The figures were confirmed by DC 37 Local 983 which represents PEP and CSA's.

Bronx - (For 6,970 acres)
5 PEP
2 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

Brooklyn - (For 4,336 acres)
7 - PEP
3 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

MaCarren Park (35 acres)
1 PEP - (Privately funded)

Brooklyn Bridge Park (25 acres)
6 - PEP
3 - Sgt.
(Park privately funded through Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS) from residential charges)

Manhattan - (2,704 acres)

Union Sq. (3.5 acres)
2 PEP
(privately funded)

Washington Sq. (for 10 acres)
2 PEP
(Privately funded)

Madison Sq. (For 6 acres)
3 - PEP plus Dedicated Seasonal
(Privately funded)

Riverside Park (South) (For 7 acres)
5 - PEP
1 - Sgt.
(Privately funded through residential charges)

Riverside Park (North) - (For 316 acres)
0 - PEP

Morningside Park (30 acres)
1 - PEP (Privately funded)

Hudson River Park - (For 150 Acres)
26 PEP
4 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

High Line (2.8 acres)
4 - PEP
2 - Sgt.

Battery Park City - (For 35 acres)
35 PEP
6 - Sgt.
1 - Capt.
Plus desk CSA's
(City/State park privately funded through Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS) from residential charges)

Central Park
7 - North Meadow
3 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

West Harlem Piers - (2 acres)
4 - PEP (Privately funded)

Manhattan North - 125th Street to Tip - (Acres N/A)
3 - PEP
2 - AUPR (Sergeants - Supervisors)

Manhattan South - 59th Street - to the Battery (Acres N/A)
3 - PEP
1 - Sgt.
1 - Capt.

Central Park* - (For 843 acres)
102 available for patrol
20 Supervisors
*Note: Central Park has the only NYPD precinct located in a park.

Randall's Island
2 -PEP
1 -Sgt.
(Privately Funded)

Queens (For 7,300 acres)
7 PEP
3 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

Staten Island (For 7,417 acres)
5 - PEP
3 - Sgt.
1 - Captain

Mounted (for events)
2 PEP
1 Sgt.
(On patrol less than four hours out of eight hour tour)

City-Wide
14
NYC Park Advocates Inc. is a non-profit, non-partisan watchdog group dedicated to improving public parks, restoring public funding, increasing public recreation programs, expanding open space and accessibility, and achieving the equitable distribution of these vital services in New York City for all. We are the only non-profit park advocacy group dedicated to all City, State and Federal parkland in New York City. For more information please visit us at http://nycparkadvocates.org

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2 comments:

  1. Adrian is a pathological liar. The question is, what are the elected officials doing about it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. There is a word for the parks department's two tier PEP policy - it's called EXTORTION! What they are saying to neighborhoods is that if you don't pay us, we won't send patrols to your parks to keep you safe.

    ReplyDelete