Parks Dept. Retaliates Against Hero Park Ranger After Taking Dangerous Gun Off The Street

A hero Park Ranger who took a loaded 9mm hand gun with an illegal 15 bullet magazine from a pervert in Prospect Park has been retaliated against by the Parks Department and put on desk duty.

"They don’t like it when we do enforcement,’ Marsala said. ‘All they had to do was say, ‘Good job,’ and I would have been happy with that.’ (Photo by Andrew Hinderaker /The Chief-Leader)

On November 3rd, a female park patron flagged down Parks Department Urban Park Ranger Andrew Marsala who was driving on a path near the picnic house. The woman complained that the man had repeatedly exposed himself to her in the past. The Ranger gave chase after the suspect started to run. Ranger Marsala apprehended Glen Perouza, 53 after a struggle which required the assistance of a park patron who helped subdue the perpetrator who was resisting arrest.

Upon the initial search an eight inch box cutter was recovered, and marijuana was found in the suspect's coat pocket.

After escorting the prisoner inside the 78Pct, a NYPD desk Sgt. suggested Marsala double-check the vehicle Perouza was transported in. The ranger went back to the car where he discovered a loaded Taurus Pt. 99 hand gun wedged between the seat in the back of his vehicle.

For at least the last three years Urban Park Rangers management have not given rangers enforcement training according to numerous park sources. Rangers say they have been requesting it.

One of Mayor Bloomberg's major initiatives has been taking illegal guns off the streets.

"They want us to look the other way and not get involved, " said a PEP officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. - Geoffrey Croft

Brooklyn

IN A CASE of no good deed goes unpunished, an Urban Park Ranger who nabbed a gun-totting pervert in a wooded area inside Prospect Park, has been pulled off the park beat and assigned desk duty, according to the New York Daily News.

Ranger Andrew Marsala, 26, landed in hot water after he nabbed Glen Perouza, 53, for exposing himself in the Brooklyn park on November 3.

Investigators believe Perouza was carrying a loaded gun at the time of his arrest and Marsala missed the gun while searching him, said sources. Although he didn’t find the gun, Marsala did find a stash of marijuana in Peruza's coat pocket.

The loaded 9-mm handgun with 15 rounds of ammunition was later found by Marsala wedged between the seat in the back of his vehicle after he transported Perouza to the 78th Precinct in Park Slope, said police.

"He took his life into his own hands," said Joseph Puleo, vice president of Union Local 893, which represents NYC Urban Park Rangers.

"Instead of saying you risked your life and your own personal safety and you did this alone, they turn around and interrogate him and put him behind a desk."

Marsala has been a Parks Department employee for two years and has an impressive on the job record, said Puleo.

He solved a bizarre case of urban poachers in Prospect Park last year, tracking down and issuing summonses to a group of homeless people, after they were caught trapping and eating ducks, fish and other small animals, while living in a wooded area inside the park.

Marsala declined to comment.

The NYC Parks Department also declined to comment on Marsala’s assignment.

Read More:

Caught perv, missed gun and ends up on desk duty

Ranger Andrew Marsala pulled off beat in Prospect Park

New York Daily News - November 30 2011 - By John Doyle

Park ranger who caught pervert gets jerked around

The Brooklyn Paper - November 28, 2011 - By Natalie O'Neill

Parks Dept. Reprimands Hero Park Ranger For Stopping Sexual Criminal With Gun In Prospect Park

A Walk In The Park - November 22, 2011

Prospect Park Gun Scare: Park Ranger Apprehends "Indecent" Man With Loaded Gun

A Walk In The Park - November 4, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

Crime Wave Hits Coney Island Boardwalk - Lifeguard Station Torched

Destroyed lifeguard station. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Brooklyn

Coney Island’s fabled beachfront just got hit with a huge wave -- a crime wave.

Authorities are investigating a recent string of at least five seaside crimes at lifeguard stations and other city Parks Department-run facilities, including burglaries, vandalism and a suspected arson, according to the New York Post.

The boardwalk’s main bathroom facility at Stillwell Avenue – which came under fire in July after the Post busted workers rationing toilet paper there – was closed for days for repairs before recently reopening after saboteurs on Nov. 18 cut a series of electrical power lines and wires under the boardwalk, causing a loss of power.

Charred lifeguard equipment.

The late-night incidents began Nov. 2 – weeks after the boardwalk’s season ended -- when a burglar cut open secured gates at a West 22nd Street lifeguard station and spray painted the walls and lockers inside, NYPD sources said.

Two days earlier on Nov. 16, burglars cut through a locked door at a boardwalk utility room on West 5th Street and stole 30 feet of electrical wire, which can be sold for big bucks because of the copper inside, NYPD sources said.

The next day a suspicious boardwalk fire broke out at lifeguard station and bathrooms at West 33rd Street. It took 60 firefighters to put out the blaze but not before the most of the station and its rescue equipment were destroyed.

FDNY sources said someone cut a padlock to get in and that fire marshals are investigating it as arson.

On Nov. 4, a burglar attempted to break into a West 16th lifeguard station but failed to pry open a locked gate.

Geoffrey Croft of the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates blamed the crimes on a lack of cops and peace officers assigned to monitor beaches and other parkland – especially overnight.

“There’s no enforcement of our park facilities, and it is worse overnight,” he said.

The Parks Department says it is working with NYPD to address the vandalism.

Read More:

Coney Island cyclone of crime

New York Post - November 28, 2011 - By Rich Calder and Doug Auer

Injured Pedestrian Being Sued By Cyclist Who Hit Her In Central Park

On June 15, 2011 triathlete Sabine von Sengbusch, 46, crashed into Lawyer Meghan Rohan, 28, (above) who was walking near 69th Street and East Drive in Central Park in the early morning. The accident shattered the walker’s elbow but the bike rider is contending she’s the injured party and is now suing the pedestrian in a lawsuit that shows just how heated the turf wars between the city’s booming biking population and everyone else has become.

The cyclist claims she suffered “great physical pain and mental anguish” after the crash, was unable to work, and was left with “painful and permanent” injuries — even though finished in second at an Oct. 1 triathlon in Montauk, LI.

The lawsuit comes on the heals of a number of serious bike accidents involving pedestrians in Prospect Park.

Manhattan

Hey — I’m cycling here!

An irate pedal pusher claims she was hurt after slamming into a pedestrian — who had the audacity to step into the bike path in which she was rolling in Central Park, according to the New York Post.

Incredibly, the cyclist is now suing the pedestrian she hit, in a lawsuit that shows just how heated the turf wars between the city’s booming biking population and everyone else has become.

The walker’s elbow was shattered in the resulting collision, but bike-riding triathlete Sabine von Sengbusch, 46, contends she’s the injured party.

Von Sengbusch, a health-care administrator and marathoner, insists she was using the utmost care on her 6:30 a.m. ride on the park’s looping Upper East Side bike trail.

She argues that the pedestrian, lawyer Meghan Rohan, 28, caused the June 15 crash when she recklessly walked into the bike lane near 69th Street and East Drive.

The athlete claims she suffered “great physical pain and mental anguish” after the crash, was unable to work, and was left with “painful and permanent” injuries — even though finished in second at an Oct. 1 triathlon in Montauk, LI.

State law gives pedestrians the right of way, but Von Sengbusch is seeking unspecified damages in her head-scratcher of a lawsuit.

Longtime personal-injury lawyer Susan Karten, who is not involved in the case, called the biker’s suit “outrageous” and “disgraceful.”

“The bicyclist has the obligation to watch out for pedestrians — it’s not the other way around,” she said. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. It’s like a pedestrian getting hit by a car, and the [motorist] suing the pedestrian and saying, ‘You didn’t get out of the way.’ ”

With 10,000 bikes set to flood the streets next year under the city’s proposed bike-sharing program, cyclists are asserting their right to share the road — while pedestrians just try to survive.

Yesterday at 69th and East Drive, Heather Meissner’s 7-year-old daughter, Celia, nearly got creamed while struggling to ride her small bike as cyclists whizzed by her.

“They ride in groups, they don't stay in their lanes, they cut you off, and they scream at you to move,” fumed Meissner, 44. “Even when we’re on our bikes they scream at us, because they are faster.”

Dancer Chuck Davis, 42, a daily park visitor, agreed, saying “they’ve taken over. They curse you out and don’t even slow down. It’s really dangerous.”

Rohan’s lawyer, Louis Adolfsen, said the cyclist’s suit was unusual.

“The idea that someone would sue you, when they hit you with a bike, seems to me unthinkable,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

A recent study by two Hunter College professors found at least 1,000 bike-pedestrian accidents every year statewide, with most concentrated in the five boroughs.

Cyclists aren’t the only ones who should watch out, one peeved Central Park rider told The Post.

“Pedestrians drive me up the f--king wall,” Edmund Bogen said. “They don’t get out of my way. Some of them don’t look when they are stepping into the street. They need to be aware that a bike can be, and often is, more dangerous than a car.”

Read More:

Her logic is half-biked Cyclist hits pedestrian ...and sues her!

New York Post - November 27, 2011 - By Kathianne Boniello and Kevin Fasick

Prospect Park Cyclists Continue To Ride At Unsafe Speeds Despite Recent Accidents

A Walk In The Park - November 27, 2011

Woman Hit By Cyclist In Prospect Park Sues City For $3M

A Walk In The Park -November 18, 2011

Enforcement, Rule/Design Changes Sought For Unruly Prospect Park Cyclists After Spat of Serious Accidents

A Walk In The Park - November 17, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

Woman Struck By Bike In Prospect Park In Coma

A Walk In The Park - November 9, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

Prospect Park Cyclists Continue To Ride At Unsafe Speeds Despite Recent Accidents

Bike riders and pedestrians in Prospect Park. A Daily News reporter with a radar gun clocked bikers going as fast as 31 mph. The fastest was on the down hill slope. During a four-hour period last weekend, eight out of about 50 bikers spotted by The News surpassed the 25 mph speed limit. Nearly all ran red lights, though some slowed down. Pedestrians have been hit by cyclists and seriously injured in the park recently. (Photo: Debbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News)

Brooklyn

Two women were nearly killed in collisions with bicyclists in Prospect Park in the last six months — but that hasn’t slowed down riders, the Daily News has found.

A reporter with a radar gun clocked bikers going as fast as 31 mph — even through a red light at a crosswalk — on the often-crowded drive that loops the Brooklyn park.

The speed limit for cars and bikes in the park is 25 mph, although signs at park entrances incorrectly state that it’s 15 mph.

After inquiries from the Daily News last week, a team of NYPD cops and park police officers on Saturday set up a barricade inside the park and handed cyclists documents outlining the rules. No tickets were issued, sources said.

During a four-hour period last weekend, eight out of about 50 bikers spotted by The News surpassed the higher speed limit. Nearly all ran red lights, though some slowed down.

The NYPD has ticketed just 22 cyclists in the park all year. Most were riding the wrong way; five were cited for “reckless operation.”

After inquiries from The News last week, a team of cops and park police officers on Saturday set up a barricade inside the park and handed cyclists documents outlining the rules. No tickets were issued, sources said.

Those who use the park for pursuits that don’t involve two wheels say that many bicyclists are Spandex-wearing speed demons who travel in packs and treat the drive like a velodrome, intimidating or berating those on foot.

“Move from here! Move from here!” one cyclist clad in racing gear yelled at a reporter who was not even in a bike-only lane.

“The park is a danger zone because of these cyclists,” Jennie Modica, a retired psychologist from Windsor Terrace said as she tried to get across the drive after a power walk. “The cyclists need to control themselves.”

The conflict isn’t limited to Prospect Park.

“They think they own the world,” Roberto Linares of Midwood, Brooklyn, said of cyclists while watching his 3-year-old son ride a tricycle in Central Park. “They’re overconfident.”

A task force to tackle the competition for road space in Prospect Park was launched in June after Brooklyn actress Dana Jacks, 37, was hit by a bicyclist and spent almost a month in the hospital.

Her husband, Forrest Cicogni, said that while much of the debate about safety has revolved around cars in the park, “the culture of racing” is just as big a threat.

“The cars are stopping at stoplights,” he said. “The cyclists are not.”

The couple has sued the city and the cyclist who slammed into her. The biker, who could not be reached for comment, countersued Jacks, claiming she was in the wrong place.

Jacks is recovering from her brain injury. Park volunteer Linda Cohen, 55, however, is still in intensive care, but out of a coma, after a collision with a bicyclist on Nov. 3.

Her close friend, Nancy Moccaldi, said Cohen used to walk 5 miles in the park every day.

“She knows it intimately. She knows when to be safe, when to cross, how to take care of herself. That’s what makes it so shocking,” said Moccaldi.

She would not talk about the extent of Cohen’s injuries, but said the urban planner “doesn’t understand what happened.”

There have been two more accidents since the crash that injured Cohen — one involvedinvolving a child. The injuries in both cases were minor.

In a statement, the Parks Department said it’s working with other agencies to “implement new safety strategies and enforce bike regulations.”

Orange barrels were put down to narrow a lane and slow speeders. Crosswalks were painted with high-visibility paint, but that doesn’t guarantee cyclists will respect them.

“There’s no silver bullet,” admitted Prospect Park Alliance spokesman Peter Nelson.

The confusing signs that say the speed limit is 15 mph — when the real limit, as set by the Transportation Department, is 25mph — will be taken down.

The NYPD is also planning “roving enforcement” actions against cyclists who don’t yield to pedestrians, park officials said.

At cyclist hangouts near the park, some riders complained they’re being demonized.

“Pedestrians just go wherever,” said Birgitcq Reeves, 38, a member of the Finkraft cycling team who trains on a $5,000 Italian bike.

“You don’t see cyclists going into the pedestrian lane,” added the Sunset Park chemist.

Indeed, last weekend, some runners and walkers veered from their designated lane, apparently thinking that when the drive is closed to cars, they can go free-range.

Ronald Goode, 32, strolling with his wife and 6-year-old, admitted he did not know bicyclists were allowed on the main road.

“They still don’t have the right to run into you,” he said, shooting nasty looks at passing cyclists.

“Pedestrians have the right of way, even with cars.”

Geoffrey Croft, president of the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates, said “education backed by enforcement is key.”

“There is an attitude with some cyclists that they own the road,” Croft said. “This culture must be changed.”

Read More:

Brooklyn cyclists continue to rip through Prospect Park at unsafe speeds despite crackdown News investigation spurs increased police presence

New York Daily News - November 27, 2011 - By Tracy Conner, Tina Moore, John Doyle & Simone Weichselbaum

Woman Hit By Cyclist In Prospect Park Sues City For $3M

A Walk In The Park -November 18, 2011

Enforcement, Rule/Design Changes Sought For Unruly Prospect Park Cyclists After Spat of Serious Accidents

A Walk In The Park - November 17, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

Woman Struck By Bike In Prospect Park In Coma

A Walk In The Park - November 9, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft