Another Brooklyn park has become a battleground between fearful residents and neighborhood toughs who parents charge are smoking, drinking and cursing in front of their kids, according to the New York Daily News.
Parents started complaining this summer about teen boys and men in their 20s hanging out in the Park Slope Playground on Lincoln Place - intimidating mothers like Lillian Ramirez, who scolded two young men for nearly knocking down 18-month-old Candy.
Two teens said, "Who the f--k are you, old lady?" Ramirez said, adding, "Two men had to chase them out of the park."
Mom Mervat Mohamed said when she spots the baggy-pants group, she takes her kids to the opposite end of the park.
"If they are sitting and playing [cards], it's not a problem," said Mohamed. "But if they are screaming bad words, you have a right to complain. It's a shared space."
The Daily News reported this week that Brower Park in Crown Heights has been taken over by teen gang members, forcing some frightened residents out.
Cops told residents the Brower Park Gang, aka the Brower Park Boys, had made the park their base.
In Park Slope, the males said they are part of a crew called TNG - Top Notch Gentleman - whose members grew up and live nearby.
Parents who complained to cops charged that after 6 p.m., the stench of weed and the sound of loud cursing takes over the playground, forcing them and their children to leave early.
"At six, there is a transition," said mom Jay Cardona. Older kids "hang on the tables. Smoking pot. Cursing up a storm. You feel intimidated."
TNG members said they had no intention of leaving the park.
"We wait till six or seven o'clock so the kids have time here after school. Then we come here and play spades and basketball," said John Slambo, 23. "This park is home to everybody. We ain't moving."
Police said they have issued summonses for marijuana possession when they catch teens and young men smoking pot in the playground.
A Parks Department spokesperson said adults can only be in a playground accompanied by a child younger than 12.
TNG member Steezen Johnson, 21, said cops constantly stop and frisk them.
"They arrest us; check us for warrants and we are home 2 hours later," said Johnson, who had this advice for Park Slope parents: "For all those people who want peace and quiet, "Brooklyn isn't the place for you."
Read More:
Moms vs. teens turns plaground into battle zone
New York Daily News - September 21, 2011 - By Simone Weichelbaum
Lowlife pieces of dirt are everywhere. Even lovely Park Slope.
ReplyDelete