Since Wednesday 16 people have been arrested in pool related incidents throughout the five boroughs. A parks employee, who did not want to give her name, said she’d seen three fights so far this summer at city pools. “It was just chaos,” she told Metro. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
City-Wide
This weekend, an unprecedented 16 people were arrested at city pools, according to Geoffrey Croft, head of NYC Park Advocates, according to Metro New York.
The violence included arrests for an alleged assault on a lifeguard in Sunset Park, a 15-year-old girl slashed with a knife at Kosciusko Pool in Bedford-Stuyvesant and two switchblades found at the bottom of Thomas Jefferson Pool in Manhattan.
The police reported seven arrests in pools Saturday and Sunday, but said most of the other arrests took place near, but not in, pools. For example, the 15-year-old girl was slashed outside the pool gates.
“I’ve never seen numbers like this,” Croft said. “It seems like every time you go, there’s some police activity, and it gives the city a bad name. [People] should not feel afraid to come to a public pool.”
When uptown mom Laury Dyke takes her two kids to the pool, she makes sure to leave by 1 p.m. “There are older kids that are roughhousing,” she said. “Usually I’m only there for an hour or so.”
More police at pools would help deter crime, Croft said. But he also blamed a dearth of pools in a sweltering city, creating packed water in 100-degree heat.
At Lasker Pool yesterday, located in the middle of Central Park and the scene of two weekend arrests, Stephanie Rodriguez, 18, said she is no stranger to poolside problems.
“When there are fights, I just leave,” Rodriguez told Metro.
Danger zones
Lasker Pool, Manhattan
Police arrested two men for disorderly conduct, one Friday and another Saturday.
Sunset Pool, Brooklyn
Police made an arrest for a Friday assault on a lifeguard.
Thomas Jefferson Pool, Manhattan
Two switchblades were recovered from the pool Friday night.
Howard Pool, Brooklyn
Police arrested a man after a fight broke out around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Near Kosciuszko Pool
A 16-year-old girl was arrested for assaulting another girl, 15, with a knife.
– Source: NYPD
Read More:
Metro New York -
July 25, 2011 - By
Alison Bowen and Emily Anne Epstein
A Walk In The Park - July 24, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft
Pool Violence
1010 Wins - July 25, 2011
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