A Walk in the Park

GoogaMooga Cancelled Today Due To Bad Weather

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:26:00 +0000

Damaged Grass. (Photos: via gothamist)

Brooklyn

Due to the rain GoogaMooga is cancelled for today according to an announcement just made.

"Due to poor weather, the New York City Parks Department, Prospect Park Alliance, and Googamooga have decided to cancel today's festivities in the interest of safety and prevention of damage to the park grounds, the Propect Park Alliance just anounced.

All Sunday VIP ticket purchases will be refunded in full.

Critics have repeatedly pointed out that the vast majority of the event takes place on greenscape. Grass for instance is far more susceptible to damage from heavy equipment and from large sustained pedestrian uses when it rains.

- Geoffrey Croft

GoogaMooga Cancelled Today due to WeatherGoogaMooga Cancelled TodayDue to poor weather, the New York City Parks Department, Prospect Park Alliance, and Googamooga have decided to cancel today's festivities in the interest of safety and prevention of damage to the park grounds. All Sunday VIP ticket purchases will be refunded in full.

Read More:

Today's GoogaMooga Festivities Are Cancelled
gothamist - May 18, 2013 - By Christopher Robbins & Lauren Evans

GoogaMooga Rears Its Ugly Head Again. Park To Get Less Money - Cops $ More
A Walk In The Park - May 18, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft

GoogaMooga Rears Its Ugly Head Again. Park To Get Less Money - Cops $ More

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:31:00 +0000

"This is a hijacking of the public park, plain and simple, and it only has a minimal payoff for the park itself, with just a few dollars per head actually go to the Prospect Park Alliance, which seems to believe it can rent the park for whatever purposes it deems fit."

Just what Olmsted & Vaux had in mind. Customers line up at the disastrous Googa Mooga event last year. It was such a calamity that the event's organizers were forced to offer refunds for those who paid $ 267 dollars for VIP tickets which even further privatized the park. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Adovcates)

A couple stroll past enormous Coors Light tractors at last year's GoogaMooga event in Prospect Park. Besides damaging the park, denying access to dozens of acres of parkland other than to ticket holders, and dealing with the noise, critics also point out the event impacts the park's wildlife including birds nesting nearby.

Brooklyn

By Geoffrey Croft

For a good example of grass commercialization at its finest in a public park head over to Prospect Park this weekend for the NOT SO Great GoogaMooga event.

For the second year in a row the city is allowing the Prospect Park Alliance - the Park's self-imposed steward - to pimp out the historic public space to a large commercial event that monopolizes the park during a particularly special time of the year, spring. The food and booze fest serves no purpose other than to enrich the promoters and destroy the peace and sanctity of a wonderful Park.

Various campers and vehicles along a path this morning in the park. (Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze)

The GoogaMooga event is clearly a non-park purpose that severely impacts Prospect Park, impacts that the park has still not fully recovered from last year. Privatizing park land in order to enrich promoters is certainly not why the park was created. And to add insult to injury the park receives a pittance for this inappropriate use.

In fact according to the license agreement FINALY obtained by NYC Park Advocates the Prospect Park Alliance (PPA) is actually set to get $ 25,000 less than last year!

Yes, less money after last year's debacle.

The Alliance will receive $ 75,000 dollars this year compared to $ 100,000 last year. The City is also requiring that the Police Department be reimbursed to the tune of $ 347, 147,00 dollars, compared to $ 300,000.00 to cover expenses at last year's event.

Or put another way the City is receiving more than three times the amount to police it than the park is getting to host the event!

On that issue - besides trying to minimize the impacts, since last year the Alliance's spokesman Paul Nelson has also been desperately trying to spin it that somehow the park's creators Frederick Law Olmsted & Calvert Vaux envisioned the park be used for these types of purposes -ie. private events. (It's safe to say if the City agreed they wouldn't be requiring it to be reimbursed for police services.)

SuperFly New York Festivals, the event's creators, are entitled to keep all revenues including money from concessions and sponsorship sales.

The agreement also requires SuperFly to prevent damage to the park and to reimburse and Parks Department and or the PPA to repair the area to the condition existing prior to the commencement of the set-up. An issue that Brooklyn residents have complained about since last year.

The agreement also allows the Parks Commissioner and or the Prospect Park Alliance president the opportunity to "briefly address the audience."

Golf carts galore. The seizing of public parkland. (Photos: By Matthew Wils)

The stage is located next to a Green Heron nest according to Matthew Wills. "I hope the brooding mother isn’t thrown out because she lacks a VIP Backstage Pass," he writes.

The April 19, 2013 agreement was signed by Bloomberg family friend and DPR revenue and marketing head - Betsy Smith, as well as PPA president Emily Lloyd.

This Prospect Park Alliance privatization issue comes on the heels of another privatization scheme - the closing of the park's beloved nature center in the historic boat house on weekends so the PPA can rent it out for private functions.

The Alliance is also using the event to sign up addtional members with bribes to score "free tickets."

Join the Prospect Park Alliance now for as little as $35 and you can get 2 free tickets to the Great GoogaMooga.

"After last year's fiasco, the Prospect Park Alliance is allowing the disorganizers to add an extra day of events, commented Anne- Katrin Titze who has been raising the alarm since last year's disastrous pay-to-play blow-out.

"The free tickets to allow you to wait on long lines to buy beverages and food are gone, unless you agree to become a member of the Prospect Park Alliance. They have closed off access to try to get naive park visitors to feel as if they are being treated special, when all they are doing is selling, selling, selling."

Map of event. (Click on image to enlarge)

Michael Powell weighed in on the controversial event today in a terrific piece for the NY Times.

"In 2004, I spoke with Adrian Benepe, who was then the parks commissioner, about the desire of hundreds of thousands of Americans to protest the Iraq War and the Bush administration by marching through the streets of our city for a rally at Central Park’s Great Lawn," Mr. Powell writes.

Mr. Benepe and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg were adamantly, passionately opposed to letting protesters set foot in the park. We have, Mr. Benepe said, resodded and relandscaped. Our grass is lush and green and precious.

“Central Park is a respite from the city, a place for people to lay out and picnic,” he told me. “They have a right to protest, but they don’t have a right to destroy the Great Lawn.” Allowing tens and tens of thousands of foodies to descend on Prospect Park’s sylvan Nethermead for the insistently, cacophonously commercial Great GoogaMooga festival is another matter altogether. A march to the Great Lawn was about free speech and dissent; GoogaMooga is about good old commerce," Mr. Powell wrote.

However when it came time during the legal proceedings to remember why Bloomberg had denied the group's access to Central Park the Mayor's memory conveniently collapsed. Thank goodness his Parks Commissioner Adrain Benepe put it in writing.

Public/Private Partnerships

And why is an event like Googa Mooga which cleary has no park purpose being allowed in the park in the first place and who is making these decisions for our public parks? That's easy, not the public.

We are in this position because of a lack of accountability. Our parks are not funded as an essential city service. The City is increasing relying on so called public/private partnerships to plug in enormous funding gaps due to the elected official’s refusal to adequately our parks.

Many officials have attempted to pass the responsibility off on private groups or concessions. The city continues to try and abdicate its responsibilities by entering into these agreements which the elected officials are not only allowing but actively encouraging. Besides the enormous disparity these public/private partnerships deals create, they also hand over enormous power, decision making ability and policy to these groups with little transparency and accountability on what is supposed to be public land.

Accountability & Transparency

Despite repeated requests last year the Prospect Park Alliance including Emily Lloyd and spokesman Paul Nelson refused to answer basic financial questions relating to the event including how much they are receiving.

Officials have continued to obfuscate. The Parks Department has withheld documents relating to this event. In early January NYC Park Advocates FOIL'd the Alliance and the City for all correspondences including emails relating to the googa mooga event. Four days ago - after reminding them that not a single document was received the agency sent the license agreement but not the vast majority of what was requested. The Parks Department then said they needed "till the end of June" to fully comply.

Impacts

"The Nethermead, the geographical heart of Prospect Park, has been a construction zone for a week now in preparation for the idiotically named Googa Mooga," said Matthew Wills a Brooklyn resident for 20 years who has been chronicling the seizing of the park.

"A big fence has encircled the middle of the park, essentially privatizing the public meadow and weighing it down with stages, porta-potties, food vendor tents, plus all the generators, cell phone towers (!) and related services necessary for such a massive undertaking. This is a hijacking of the public park, plain and simple, and it only has a minimal payoff for the park itself, with just a few dollars per head actually go to the Prospect Park Alliance, which seems to believe it can rent the park for whatever purposes it deems fit,"

Wills says.

"This is definitely the wrong purpose. The company profiting off our park says it will pay for the inevitable damages such an invasion causes, but who holds them accountable?"

Besides damaging the park and denying access to dozens of acres of park land to only those that have tickets, critics have also repeatedly pointed out the impacts to the various wild life caused by among many things the ear shattering noise in close proximity to nesting birds.

"This thing does not belong in Prospect Park," Mr. Wills continues.

"And the timing of this blight could not be worse, in the middle of spring migration and the beginning of nesting season, a vital time for the dozens of bird species who depend upon the park as an oasis of food, shelter and water; it’s unconscionable that no environmental impact statement was before scheduling this event. "

The complaints have been coming in all week as frequent park users have watched the construction take over more and more land.

"My biggest issues with this event are that they cut off access to the most secluded part of the park to the general public for over a week to set up for this event, then charge people inflated prices to attend the event and eat food and drink alcohol," said Jennifer Schwartz, a Brooklyn resident for the past six years originally from Iowa city, Iowa.

"When they finally opened up this public space back to the public last year, the turf was completely destroyed and last year it took them weeks to address the issue of the turf. This year while they are setting up, the turf STILL hasn't completely healed from the damage of the year before.

The blatant disregard for the intended function of the park (ie enjoying quiet time in nature for FREE) is totally immature. It's like a bunch of loud teenagers barging into a library, completely unaware on unconcerned that there are people there already, trying to enjoy the environment of a quiet reading space," she said.

Ms. Schwartz said other events in the park are not as intrusive and are free and open to the general public without a ticket.

"Even a blind squirrel can see how wrong-headed this misadventure is," said Anne- Katrin Titze.

"What already has been done and is allowed by the Prospect Park Alliance/Parks is beyond the pale and clearly shows a disregard for the park that they are paid to protect from harm. The barricades are set up to close off the woodlands and other areas to the public.

The NOT SO Great GoogaMooga - Dozens upon dozens of poles stuck into the Nethermead Meadow and surrounding areas. Dozens upon dozens of boards and heavy plates crushing down the grass. This going on in a public park when it should be held at a concrete parking lot, not harming a Prospect Park meadow. This is another glaring example of how ineffectual the Prospect Park Alliance/Parks is when it comes to protecting the natural beauty we all enjoy.

The NOT SO Great GoogaMooga is back and has already fenced off the Nethermead Meadow loading in huge refrigeration boxes, structures being built since last week.

In addition, there is a lack of committment of resources to maintain the lakeside and landscape. Allowing any entity to come in during the spring migration of countless species of birds through Brooklyn, is one more illustration of the disconnect from the beauty of Prospect Park shown by those who are paid to protect its value for all," Ms.Titze writes.

And where are the local elected officials on this? They have been silent for the most part.

The Bloomberg administration and the Prospect Park Alliance should be ashamed of themselves for even considering this event and especially at that location in the park.

The public needs to come together to make sure this does not happen again.

Lawn Damage - May 29, 2012 (Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze)

New York Times - May 17, 2013 - By Michael Powell

NY Times Film Critic Still Hates GoogaMooga: "Olmsted Is Spinning In His Grave"

gothamist - May 18, 2013 - By Jen Chung

Some Prospect Park-goers fear second coming of Great GoogaMooga
The Brooklyn Paper - May 9, 2013 - By Natalie Musumeci

Prospect Park Alliance Shuts Audubon Center At The Boathouse

To Rent It Out For Private Events

A Walk In The Park - April 15, 2013

Surveillance Cameras Sought For Prospect Park

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:16:00 +0000

Brooklyn

Sunbathers in Prospect Park could soon be smiling for surveillance cameras.

Brooklyn residents are calling on elected officials to set up security devices around the green space, citing their role in drastically reducing crime in Central Park, according to the New York Post.

“I think they deter crime,” said Park Slope activist Marco Castillo, noting: “Central Park is almost littered with cameras.”

Prospect Park is host to several events that attract major crowds, such as a half-marathon and the Great Googa Mooga food festival.

“The cameras would definitely help keep crime down, and unlike Central Park, which has its own police precinct” there is no specific precinct policing Prospect Park, said Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates.

Central Park has more than 30 recording devices.

The idea also has the support of the Prospect Park Alliance. The group’s spokesman yesterday said cameras inside the park would help cops do their jobs.

“God forbid if something happens, you can gather evidence to help a conviction,” Castillo added.

Not all voters are willing to spend money on cameras, though.

In April, they shot down a $200,000 plan to use some of Councilman Brad Lander’s discretionary capital funds to install four cameras on the outskirts of the borough’s largest park.

Lander (D-Brooklyn) said he hopes the city can find money to arm the 78th and 72nd precincts with new cameras, adding he would leave it at the NYPD’s discretion to determine where to position them.

Both precincts have previously proposed installing cameras by park entrances.

New York Post - May 16, 2013 - By Rebecca Harshbarger and Rich Calder

3 Men Stabbed On Hudson River Park At Pier 84

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:57:00 +0000

Manhatan

By Geoffrey Croft

Three men were stabbed Wednesday evening in Hudson River Park at approximately 8:30 pm. According to the police.

The incident occurred near West 44th St. three days after a tourist was mugged and beaten in the park up less than a block away.

According to the police the victims were walking along 12th Avenue when they bumped into each other. One of the victims says, "what are you looking at?"

One of the two assailants pulled out a knife and attacked all three men.

The first victim, age 22, was stabbed in the ear, neck, chest, right thigh and right hand.

The second victim, age 18, was slashed in the neck and the third victim, age 18 was stabbed in the right shoulder and refused medical attention.

Police said non of the injuries were life-threatening.

The weapon was recovered.

Police arrested two suspects - Victor Flores, 19, charged with assault and weapons possession and Leo Ramirez, 21, charged with assault and weapons possession.

Read More:

3 Men Stabbed At Pier 84 On Hudson River
CBC - May 15, 2013

Tourist Robbed On Hudson River Park Bike Path
A Walk In The Park - May 15, 2013

Tourist Robbed On Hudson River Park Bike Path

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:02:00 +0000

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

A tourist was robbed early Sunday morning in Hudson River Park on the bike path at 43rd Street and 12th Avenue near the Intrepid Museum, NYC Park Advocates has learned.

The man, in his 40's, was in town with his wife from Lake George NY had been taking in Hudson River views around 2am when he said he was attacked.

Park Enforcement Patrol Officers heard a man screaming for help and responded. When they arrived they saw a bloody man walking around without a shirt.

According to law enforcement sources two black male teens approached the white male from behind and put him in a choke hold, repeatedly punching him in his face and body.

He was able to escape by slipping out of his shirt. The victim sustained cuts to his face and arms elbows. He refused medical attention.

The assailants took his wallet containing $ 440 dollars, credit cards, and identification.

Suspects fled southbound on 12th Avenue wearing red and white jackets.

Hudson River Park has only two officers on the overnight shift.

Porta-Potty Bag Checks Initiated For Park Events In Wake Of Boston Marathon Incident

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:09:00 +0000

A man working for a private security firm (red shirt) was conducting bag checks before entering porta-potty line near the Japan Day festivities in Central Park on Sunday May 12th. (Photo: Courtesy Robert K. Chin via gothamist)

"The City in all five boroughs is working with event organizers to ensure the highest security measures are being put in place to keep the public safe," according to a statement from the Parks Department. "Some of measures include security at porto-sans when they are set up in close proximity to the public and event participants. As they always have, security measures at events vary depending on size and scope of the event.

The Parks Department said security at the Googa Mooga event will run as it did last year. "Only those with tickets will be allowed in and bags will be given soft checks. All garbage will be collected in clear bins with clear lids. "

Mannhattan

New Yorkers must now submit to bag checks before entering portable restrooms in public parks during events. A tipster passed along a photo he tweeted of the porta-potty line near the Japan Day festivities in Central Park on Sunday and noted that the man in the red shirt worked for a private security firm and was conducting bag checks. "Pretty much everyone was searched, including small purses, backpacks," Robert Chin wrote in an email, according to gothamist.

A spokeswoman for the Parks Department, Tara Kiernan, confirmed the policy. "These are added security measures being implemented by the City and event organizers in the wake of the incidents in at the Boston marathon," Kiernan wrote in an email. "All large events are following this protocol now in an effort to keep event goers and park patrons safe."

Kiernan added that the event organizers, private security firms, or the NYPD would be conducting the searches, depending on the circumstance.

Last month Mayor Bloomberg said that after the Boston marathon bombings, New Yorkers should learn to tolerate increased intrusions on their Constitutional right to privacy in exchange for some semblance of safety. "We live in a complex world where you’re going to have to have a level of security greater than you did back in the olden days, if you will," the mayor said.

Chin expressed skepticism that the policy would actually make New Yorkers safer. "It's gonna be a major inconvenience when you need to go 'drop a bomb,' the government will want to know where you did it, and when."

gothamist - May 14, 2013 - By Christopher Robbins

Bloomberg Says Flushing Meadows Parkland Wanted For ML Soccer & Concert Stadium Is Replaceable

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:30:00 +0000

Passive recreation area in the park that would be destroyed in order to build replacement artificial turf fields under Major League Soccer's plan. The Mayor said it would be an "improvement."

The Mayor once again made comments on a park issue that he appeared not be particularly familiar with. On Monday he told reporters the proposed 35,000 seat soccer and concert stadium would improve the area while also disparaging the current condition of that section of the park. He also stated that lot of people wanted a stadium in the Flushing Meadows Corona Park without indicating who.

Queens

Countering an increasing chorus of criticism, Mayor Michael Bloomberg today defended his administration's plan for a Major League Soccer stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, pointing out that the league intends to build a new park to make up for the space it plans to occupy in the existing one, according to Capital NY.

Critics, including, most recently, the city's main parks advocacy group, have argued that the parkland in question is irreplaceable to the surrounding communities, many of them poor.

"It's not irreplaceable," said the mayor today, during an event in Gowanus. "In fact, there's…Flushing Airport, which is gonna be turned into a park. So the total parkland will be the same."

Flushing Airport is a 70-acre decommissioned airfield in College Point, next to the Whitestone Expressway.

"Nature has thrived on the site since the airport’s closing," reported the Times in 2009. "Proposals have been floated to use it for a heliport, a warehouse, batting cages, driving ranges, even a blimp port, echoing the site’s use as a docking station for Goodyear blimps in the 1960s and ’70s. None of the ideas amounted to anything, and the property remained closed."

According to precedent, Major League Soccer would replace whatever parkland it displaces to build a new arena.

The league has been scouring the borough for replacement parkland, and the old airport, which used to be the city's largest, has been mentioned before as a possible site, but never confirmed.

"M.L.S. continues to work closely with the City to bring professional soccer to New York City; however, there is no deal yet and therefore we can't comment on any specifics," said the league's spokeswoman, Risa Heller, in a statement.

But Will Sweeney, a spokesman for the Fairness Coalition of Queens, which opposes the stadium, said the Flushing Airport site raised several red flags.

"It's only accessible by car, and a supermajority of the users of Flushing Meadows Corona Park walk there," said Sweeney. "It has chronic flooding problems, which is why they closed the airport. ... And to take land that is readily accessible to people of color and to replace it in a white community, we think it's an environmental justice issue."

The mayor today argued that the Flushing Meadows Corona Park parcel that would be used for the stadium is not particularly good parkland, anyway.

"Keep in mind, that that end of the park has seen its better days," said the mayor today, referring to the under-maintained, yet heavily used Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

"There's not a lot of money to fix it. This will improve that area. The new parkland will be great parkland. And there's a lot of things that people want, to enjoy life and recreation. Some is organized things in stadiums, like soccer, which has become very popular as our immigrant community has become larger here."

The mayor also pointed out that his administration has, "created an enormous amount of new parkland all along the waterfront, Brooklyn, and the west side, and now the Lower East Side. There's new parks in every borough. You're gonna have the biggest new park in a century at Fresh Kills. There's new parkland up in the Bronx. Every borough is getting new parkland. So total, on balance, there's an enormous aount of new parkland. But, it's not the only thing people need. A lot of people want a stadium to enjoy soccer."

Fountain of the Planets. Families enjoying the area where Major League Soccer hopes to build a controversial $ 300 million, 35,000-seat soccer stadium/concert venue in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park located on the Flushing River. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

Capital NY - May 13, 2013 - By Dana Rubinstein

Fake park advocates think fake parkland swap is great

Queens Crap - May 8, 2013

How phony park groups, the press and elected officials are conspiring to develop FMCP

Queens Crap - March 15, 2013

HRP's Pier 84 Fountain To Re-Open After City Spends $488,000 For Health Issue Retrofit

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:04:00 +0000

In 2011 the state Department of Health shut down the fountain at Pier 84 in Hudson River Park after it was discovered that its water recyclers didn't have a proper UV filter, posing a risk of contamination by Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause vomiting, diarrhea and cramps. The sprinkler system opened in 2006, less than a year before the state created new regulations requiring spray parks to have the filters, in response to a 2005 outbreak of Cryptosporidium at Seneca Lake State Park. (Photo: Freinds of Hudson River Park via DNAinfo)

Officials say the fountain should be re-opened by mid-June.

Manhatan

After staying dry for nearly two years, water at a popular play fountain in the shadow of the Intepid Sea, Air & Space museum is set to start flowing again by mid-June, officials said, according to DNAinfo.

The fountain at Pier 84 was shut down by the state Department of Health in 2011 after it determined its water recyclers didn't have a proper UV filter, posing a risk of contamination by Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause vomiting, diarrhea and cramps.

With local parents complaining that their kids were roasting in the summer heat, the city ponied up the cash — a whopping $488,000 — to retrofit the fountain.

"The system now automatically shuts down if there's bacteria," said John Doswell, a board member at Friends of Hudson River Park, at a recent Community Board 4 meeting.

Doswell added that the retrofit work is done, but the electrical system at the pier was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Repair crews were hoping to have it fixed within the next two weeks.

The state established new regulations in 2007 requiring spray parks to have filters for Cryptosporidium after an outbreak at Seneca Lake State Park.

The Pier 84 sprinkler, which opened in 2006, was voluntarily shut down after the Department of Health determined there was a risk of an outbreak there, though the parasite was never detected at the site.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story said the fountain would re-open by Memorial Day. It should actually reopen by mid-June.

Pier 84 Fountain in Hudson River Park. (Photo: Mathew Katz/DNAinfo)

DNAinfo - May 13, 2013 - By Mathew Katz

Parks Dept. vs. DOT In Bike Fight As Soho Residents Blast Bike Share Station Installed In Artist Exhibit Space In Park

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:14:00 +0000

May 2013. A 32-dock Citi Bike docking station was surreptitiously installed in Petrosino Square in the middle of the night on April 27th blocking a popular artist exhibition space in the tiny city park and taking away a 1/3 of the park's length. According to the Parks Deparement, Petrosino Square, formerly known as Kenmare Square, is one of the most programmed parks in the city for art with 35 exhibitions of temporary public art since 1985.

The parks commissioner for Manhattan wrote to DOT Manhattan commissioner Margaret Forgione and the Director of Bike Share program last year saying this was not an appropriate location for a bike station. The original site was switched and the DOT installed it in Petrosino Square. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) click on images to enlarge

There are also rumblings of a possible property dispute with DOT claiming the property belongs to them. Angry residents have claimed this was yet another Bloomberg initiative that was rammed down their throats and lacking in community input. The City hopes to have the program up by Memorial Day weekend.

July 2012. Carole Feuerman’s exhibition Survival of Serena in the artist space located in the northern part of Petrosino Square, a public park located on Lafayette Street and Cleveland Pl. between Kenmare & Spring Streets at the intersection of SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown. The bronze sculpture was unveiled in May 2012. The space has been taken over by 32-dock Citi Bike station (above). The commemorative park honors Lieutenant Joseph (Giuseppe) Petrosino, an Italian-American hero of the New York City Police Department who gave his life to fight organized crime.

State Assembly members are firing off a strongly worded letter today demanding bike station be removed.

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

Soho residents and the local community board aren't the only ones against the location of a Bike Share station that was installed in Petrosino Square, the DOT also ignored the wishes of the land's owner Parks Department, NYC Park Advocates has learned.

On April 5, 2012 Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner Bill Castro wrote to DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione and the Director of Bike Share through their chiefs of staffs that the front triangle of Petrosino Park designed for public displays of sculpture was not an appropriate location for a bike station.

"Colleen: Please let DOT Borough Commissioner Forgione and the Director of Bike Share know that Manhattan Parks Commissioner Bill Castro agrees that this is not an appropriate location for a bike station," Bill Casto's chief of staff Steve Simon wrote to Colleen Chattergoon, DOT's Manhattan community liaison.

There are also rumblings of a possible property dispute with DOT claiming the property belongs to them. Repeated requests seeking comment from the DOT and the Parks Departemnt were ignored.

Fresh off winning a battle that prevented a high end French food vendor from setting up shop in the tiny Petrosino Square, park protectors and community activists now finding themselves fighting another battle but from a much larger adversary.

Residents are demanding the city remove a 32-dock Citi Bike station that suddenly sprang up in the location in the park that is reserved for public art exhibit space.

According to Friends of Petrosino Square founder Georgette Fleischer the DOT had originally planned to place the Citi Bike station in Petrosino Park's art installation space but that plan was eventually abandoned after community pressure. The DOT rejected alternative locations that were suggested at the February 6, 2012 public review session, and instead settled on a No Parking Anytime lane in dangerously congested Cleveland Place north of Kenmare.

That location still appears on the DOT's website.

On the evening of April 25th installers had posted signs, outline markings were painted on the asphalt indicating where the bike racks were to be installed and orange cones were set up in the street while the racks sat in nearby trucks.

According to Ms. Fleischer while they were preparing the site representatives from Alta Bicycle Share - the company contracted to install the racks, were met by several community residents who objected to the parks location.

The community residents told the Alta representatives they were not going to move and the police would have to be called.

"I have been instructed to install it here, " the Alta representative reportedly said, "whether the police come or not."

"He told us that the order to install it there came straight from the top from Janette Sadik-Khan," Ms. Fleischer said, referring to the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation.

After one of the representatives made a phone call the truck with the racks suddenly took off.

Less than 30 hours later however the community awoke to find the bike station installed in the northern part of the park's boundaries.

The bike station, critics charge, was installed against the wishes of the community and with zero notification or community-based consultation. Last May Community Board 2 unanimously passed a resolution stating it objection to installing the stations in parks.

Community Board 2, "does not favor locating Bike Share docking stations in any of the parks, large or small, within the CB#2, Man. district ... Be it further resolved that CB#2, Man. asks that consideration be given to avoiding locating Bike Share docking stations in any of the parks, large or small, within the CB#2, Man. district and instead locating such stations across from such parks,"

The DOT's Citi-Bike Station Map on its website continues to show the approved location on the East Side of Cleveland Place in a no-parking area of the street and not in Petrosino Square.

The DOT however continuously maintains in media statements and in their literature that the locations were determined with thorough community involvement. According to the official DOT Bike Share website "New Yorkers picked these sites, submitting their ideas in the tens of thousands on the online suggestion map, in community workshops held throughout the service area, in community board feedback sessions and in hundreds of meetings that neighborhood and other organizations held directly with NYC DOT."

Not so say angry residents who are furious the city went back on its word and secretly installed the racks.

People pose in front of Carole Feuerman’s exhibition Survival of Serena last Summer.

A few months ago residents fought to protect what little park space there is when they publicly objected to the Parks Department's plan to allow Canele by Celine, high-end purveyor of "pre-packaged French pastries," to install a food cart on the park land. The idea was finally dropped after public pressure.

And now this.

"Citi Bike Share racks take up the vast majority of the open space at Petrosino Square, an area dedicated to the presentation of public art," said Pete Davies of Friends of Petrosino Square and Broadway Residents Coalition. "An important point to note is that the open exhibition space has always been part of Petrosino Square, even before the recent enlargement of the park area.

Mr. Davies, who had lived around the corner for 33 years said as that far back as 1924 when Petrosino Square was called Kenmare Square, the area north of the currently fenced-in portion of Petrosino, the narrow triangle running between Lafayette Street & Cleveland Place, has always been part of this public park land.

Ms. Fleischer began raising the alarm last month as soon as she found out.

"Dear Friends," an April 27 email warning began.

"It is almost unimaginable that a year ago we welcomed Carole Feuermann's Survival of Serena as the inaugural public sculpture installation in our newly expanded and renovated Petrosino Park.

Today we awaken to find a hostile corporate takeover of our art installation space, which happened under cover of darkness sometime last night, quite possibly in the middle of the night.

As residents and businesses on or near Cleveland Place know, we spent the past six weeks fighting a dangerous siting for the 43-dock Citi Bike station on Cleveland Place north of Kenmare. As soon as we won that battle, what did DOT turn around and do? It did NOT place the station on the east side of Lafayette north of Spring as we have been requesting for the past several weeks, with endorsement from FDNY, CB2's Chair, and all our local elected representatives.

Instead it took over our art installation space, even though we and the Parks Department had urged already a year ago that it should not do so. In 2008 $2 million of our District 1 discretionary funds were allocated for the Petrosino Park capital project: sponsoring an advertisement for Citi Bank that takes up a third of the length of the park is not what we contracted for. We are not alone in our grievances."

Ms. Fleischer is urging everyone to write to DOT's Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione at mforgione@dot.nyc.gov

"Tell her where you live or run a business, and if you and others you observed enjoyed the quiet rapture of Carole Feuermann's Survival of Serena," Fleischer wrote.

Flyers raising awareness of DOT's land grab began appearing on lampposts adjacent to the park.

The newly renovated Petrosino Square which the community fought for years to improve. The park - formerly Kenmare Sq. - was renamed to honor Lt. Petrosino who was the city's first New York police officer to be killed in the line of duty outside the United States. Lt. Petrosino died while on assignment to Palermo, Sicily. According to the Parks Department the property became parkland as a result of the City Charter of 1938, which turned over all public places and squares to the Department of Parks. (Photo: Georgette Fleischer/Friends of Petrosino Square)

"DOT and Citi Bank cannot be allowed to stamp out art in SoHo, nor to usurp public parkland, nor to cut by 1/3 of its length a commemorative park that honors Lieutenant Joseph (Giuseppe) Petrosino, an Italian-American hero of the New York City Police Department who gave his life to fight organized crime.

We live in one of the most park-starved neighborhoods in the City of New York. We worked hard, for years, since 2005, to get our park expanded and renovated, it is our tax dollars that underwrote the $2 million from District 1 discretionary funds for the capital project, and we will not allow this treasure to be taken from us. We will fight this with everything we've got."

"I WANT ART IN PETROSINO PARK'S ART INSTALLATION SPACE, NOT ADVERTISING FOR CITI BANK!" a message from Friends of Petrosino Square reads. "PLEASE MOVE THE BIKE SHARE STATION TO THE EAST SIDE OF LAFAYETTE NORTH OF SPRING STREET, AS THE COMMUNITY HAS REQUESTED. CYCLISTS IN THE HOOD AGREE: LAFAYETTE NORTH OF SPRING STREET WILL BE SAFER FOR THEM, FOR PEDESTRIANS, FOR PEOPLE IN VEHICLES."

"We always felt by the way it's been presented (Bike Share) that it is a marketing device," said Pete Davis.

Residents around Petrosino Square aren't the only ones who have raised strong concerns about the program. Numerous lawsuits have already been filed with several more in the works.

Last week residents of 99 Bank St. in the Village filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of a 31-bike dock in front of their building.

Over 300 people showed up last Thursday night for a Community Board 2 meeting held on the Bike Share Forum in Greenwich Village on the Citi Bike program. The evening's orginal program had to be scrapped after the Board was inundated with complaints for the controversal program. (Photo: Peter Haskell /WCBS 880 Radio)

Bronx Need Not Apply. Citi-Bikes the rolling advertising bike initiative eventually aims to install 10,000 bikes. During the first phase the 6,000-bike fleet will be parked at 330 locations. In the first phase, bikes will be available in Manhattan below 59th Street and in the Brooklyn neighborhoods closest to Manhattan.

The second phase will bring the number of bikes to 10,000 at 600 stations in select neighborhoods, including areas north of 59th Street in Manhattan and in Queens. The GPS and radio-frequency tag transmits data for every trip, much like the GPS system for the city’s yellow cabs.

Read More:

Anti-Bike Rack Protesters Crash Tracey Emin Sculpture Unveiling in Petrosino Square

ArtInfo - May 10, 2013

Transportation Department’s bike-docking station at Petrosino Square sparks protests

New York Daily News - May 9, 2013 - By Pete Donohue, Robin Rodgers and Jennifer Fermino

SoHo Bike Dock to Remain in Former Art Spot Despite Outcry

DNAinfo - May 9, 2013 - By Andrea Swalec

SoHo artists say bike share ruins public art space
Metro - May 2, 2013 - By Allison Bowen

Bike-share backlash
The Villager - May 2, 2013

Bikes on the brain as cycle-share is about ready to roll

May 2, 2013 - By Lincoln Anderson

Time to roll! Memorial Day bike-share debut Memorial Day bike-share debut
New York Post - May 7, 2013 - By David Seifman

The Bikes and the Fury

New York Times - April 27, 2013 - By Ginia Bellafante

Roll Deep Starting next month, you can borrow one of

10,000 shared bikes. Here’s what you need to know

New York Magazine - June 17, 2012 By Courtney Balestier

Food Fight In Soho's Petrosino Square
A Walk IN The Park - December 3, 2012

New Park "Vendor" Rules Won't Affect Performers - City. Commish Lies Over Responsibility For 2011 Crack-Down

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Wed, 08 May 2013 05:47:00 +0000

"Although those rules are written, you're saying that none of those rules is going to be enforced on us. Excuse me but that's a contradiction and that confuses the entire room."

- Joe Mangrum to Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner William Castro.

Colin Huggins playing in the Washington Square Park over the weekend. In 2011 he received numerous summonses from Park Enforcement Patrol officers in a crackdown on performers carried out by the Parks Department. Under new rules adopted by the agency, the city classifies "entertainers" who solicit donations in parks as "vendors," requiring licenses and special permits. Yet at a Community Board 2 meeting last week, Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner William Castro said the new rules won't be enforced, leaving many people scratching their heads in confusion. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Adovocates) Click on images to enlarge

Castro blamed the 2011 summons crackdown against performers and musicians on a single PEP officer, an assertion vehemently denied by those involved. The ticket blitz generated a public outcry and considerable media attention.

The revised park rules for performers and musicians go into effect on May 8th. There are two PEP officers and one supervisor assigned to cover 59th Street to the Battery in Manhattan.

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

The Parks Department spent last week backpedaling from its 2011 ticket-blitz on musicians and performers in Washington Square Park, pinning the blame on one overzealous Parks Enforcement Patrol officer – yet it refused to reverse the rule changes that led to the crackdown, and in fact added more restrictive language.

Confusion and disbelief reigned at a meeting of Manhattan Community Board 2’s Parks Committee, as a senior Parks official vowed the new rules, which go into effect May 8, won’t stop musicians and other performers from playing in Washington Square Park.

The City is attempting to classify performers and musicians "providing entertainment" who solicit donations in parks as "vendors" under new rules adopted by the agency.

On April 2, the department quietly held a public meeting that finalized the changes.

The new rule is aimed at controlling revenue production in parks, and cracking down on long-protected rights critics say, and violators face fines of up to $250 for a first offense and up to $1,000 thereafter.

According to Parks however, the purpose of the new rules is to "clarify the Department’s original intent that individuals providing entertainment, such as musical performances, juggling, dance, or other performance arts in exchange for a fee or for a donation are considered vendors.”

§ 2. Section 1-05(b) of Title 56 of the Official Compilation of the Rules of the City of New York has now been amended to read as follows: "No person in or on any property under the jurisdiction of the Department shall sell, offer for sale, hire, lease or let anything whatsoever, including, but not limited to goods, services, or entertainment, or provide or offer to provide services or items, or entertainment in exchange for a donation (hereinafter ‘vend’), except under and within the terms of a permit, or except as otherwise provided by law.”

Steven Goulden, acting corporation counsel in the city's Law Department, signed this amendment dated December 28, 2012. On January 29, 2013 Hunter Gradie from the Mayor’s Office of Operations, analyzed the proposed rule Pursuant to Charter section 1043(d).

In 2011, street performers were aggressively targeted by the Bloomberg administration under the new rule’s prohibition against collecting donations near landmarks or monuments in parks under the Parks Department's Expressive Matter vending rules. PEP officers were instructed to ticket performers and musicians for unlawful vending and unlawful assembly. Several performers were threatened with arrest.

Joe Mangrum making one of his signature sand creations in Washington Square Park on Friday. During the initiative in 2011 he received six tickets over several weeks, five in Washington Square Park and one in Union Square Park totaling $4,750 in fines.

On Thursday April 25th, DEP employees accompanied by a captain and plain clothes officers from the 6th Pct, and Parks Department personnel surveyed the noise conditions created by musicians playing in Union Square Park. It was was quiet according to city sources.

"The park is for everyone, for the general public, not for (a performer) whose sole purpose is making money," William Castro told the Daily News in 2011. He was referring to the street performance group Tic & Tac, who had been doing shows in Washington Square Park for more than 25 years.

Public outcry forced the city to eventually back down. Legal action was threatened but not before PEP officers wrote dozens of tickets. Within weeks of a December 2011 press conference held in Washington Square Park to denounce the crackdown, the city agreed to dismiss all summonses. Many of the performers and musicians who attended the news conference, organized by NYC Park Advocates with attorneys Norman Siegel and Ron Kuby, spoke of being harassed, some since the spring.

In a highly controversial move earlier that year, the city had attempted to prohibit performing near Central Park's Bethesda fountain as well. A legally blind a cappella singer was threatened with arrest after the singer received multiple summonses.

However in a 180-degree turn at last week’s meeting Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner Castro claimed performers would in fact be allowed to do many of the things they had previously been ticketed for in 2011.

Castro insisted nothing will change. This "slight adjustment to the rules," he said, “is not going to affect the musicians to come to the park to play."

Most people at Wednesday's meeting understood Mr. Castro's explanation as the city was not going to enforce the rules that the Parks Department just passed. And Mr. Castro's assurances did little to allay the fears of many in the audience.

"It can be confusing, I understand that," he said.

"It's gotten some attention through confusion, which we understand."

"If you come to play music, the guys and gals who sit on the benches who play, they sit on the grass, wherever, they stand right by the Garibaldi statue and play – all those places, the piano – you can play under the arch, you're fine," Castro explained.

"You don’t need a permit. You are not going to be told to leave the park. You're not going to get a ticket. You're fine. You can do that – that's not going to change. You don't have to be x feet away from this or that or any of that jazz – you don't have to do that.

If you're putting the hat out and your case is open and people traditionally put money into it, you're fine. That's not a problem at all," Castro said.

He also stressed that performers were allowed to sell CDs without a permit, as long as they didn't have a display stand that people could trip over.

Castro said the rule change had nothing to do with Washington Square Park in mind though the distance restrictions would effectively put the park off-limits. "It's not because Washington Square was a problem, and we wrote this change or something," he said.

On December 19, 2011, Community Board 2 had convened a very well attended meeting where not a single person spoke in favor of the Parks Department's crackdown on performers, except for Castro. At the time he claimed the new rules were not meant to ban performers from soliciting donations.

So why have the new rule then? On Wednesday Community Board members asked Castro to explain why the 2011 crackdown occurred and who was responsible.

Following the well-worn path created by his ex-boss, former Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Castro would not accept responsibility for the screw-up and instead offered an elaborate explanation that obfuscated the reality.

"I think it would be helpful to clarify what happened then," said former Parks Committee chair – and former Parks Department employee – Tobi Bergman.

"Someone went off basically and enforced the strict letter of the law or whatever – it's not even clear to me. It's been a few years, and I'd have to go back and take a look at it," Castro replied.

"Who was this somebody?" another board member asked. "Was it a PEP officer or . . . "

"A PEP officer, a PEP officer, yes, that's right," he said.

Instead of answering the question honestly, Castro portrayed the campaign by several city agencies against “expressive matter vendors" as the actions of a lone rogue PEP officer. Yet at the time, the most senior Parks Department officials were involved on this issue and included coordinating with the NYPD's 6th Precinct, according to several Parks employees intimately aware of the operation.

They say the crackdown had been sanctioned by then Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe with the department’s General Counsel, Alessandro Olivieri, and it was implemented by multiple Parks officials, including Castro and senior Park Enforcement Patrol personel Mike Docket and Raymond Brown as well as PEP Inspector Robert Reeves, Deputy Inspector Edwin Rodriguez, and others – all of whom personally went down to Washington Square Park to supervise and survey the situation at various times during the initiative.

"Those orders came from them, not from us," said a PEP officer familiar with the plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. "They tried everything to get these guys, but nothing would stick. (The tickets) kept getting thrown out in court."

Another option discussed in meetings with the NYPD would use the city’s noise ordinance against performers. "They talked about getting an audio meter to measure the noise levels, but they never came through with it,” said the PEP officer.

"It's much easier to throw green shifts under the bus than to take responsibly yourself,” said another officer, referring to the uniform worn by PEP officers.

Other sources point out the crackdown came during Occupy Wall Street, when the city was operating on heightened security and responded in a knee-jerk reaction.

"Our officers had absolutely nothing to do with initiating this," said Joe Puleo, vice president of DC37's Local 987, which represents PEP officers. "They did what they were instructed to do and did so reluctantly. They were uncomfortable. Many felt they were violating these people's rights."

Instead of directing resources to prevent crime at a time when PEP head count was at record lows and crime in parks was rising Puleo said, the Bloomberg administration choose to make stopping performers a priority. "These orders came through management and the administration," he said. "They thought they were in Giuliani mode."

During the 2011 crackdown, pianist Colin Huggins was issued nine tickets by several different officers for playing classical music in Washington Square Park. "It felt like he was trying to cover something up," Huggins said, contesting Castro's version of events. "Did he think anyone would believe that this was done by one officer?"

Huggins was one of the musicians threatened with arrest. He was approached near the park's fountain by Ray Brown, whom he described as supervising the initiative.

"He was calling my piano my 'art stand.' He showed me an illustration of a foldout table for vending and said the piano was the same thing. It was ridiculous. We went back and forth, and finally he said, 'You know the rules.’ He said, ‘If you don't leave now, we're going to arrest you, and no one likes to get arrested.’"

Huggins said that after a while the issuing of summonses was so routine "it got to the point where it was like, ‘Here's your ticket for the day.’ They would slip it under my sheet music so as not to interrupt my playing. The officers giving the tickets themselves were very nice."

Ray Brown was upset to see Huggins playing under the Washington Square Park arch. "He didn't like that," according to a Parks Department source.

Artist Joe Mangrum has been working in the park for years.

"The rules that I saw that were passed on April 2nd include any exchange of money is considered vending and that no vending can be done within fifty-feet of a monument, no vending can be done within so many feet (5 feet) of a bench, which basically makes it impossible to do any of what you just said in Washington Square," Mr. Mangrum said addressing Castro at the Community Board meeting.

"Then you're confusing the issue because that's what is written, that's what's written in the rules, and you just contradicted everything in that in what you just said," he said.

Mangrum, who lugs 60 pounds of sand from Brooklyn to create his brightly colored designs on the ground, said he had been issued six summonses by at least three different PEP officers over two months in 2011. Five tickets were issued in Washington Square Park and one in Union Square Park, totaling $4,750 in fines.

"It was an Oscar-worthy performance," Mangrum said afterwards, noting Castro's lack of candor. "He threw PEP under the bus and took no responsibly for who was behind it."

In December, 2011, Kareen Barnes, a member of the group Tic & Tac, said he had been slapped with nearly $10,000 in summonses in two months -- but an Environmental Control Board judge dismissed all the fines after he argued his Constitutional rights had been violated. He said they city has given him and his brother dozens of tickets over the years, and all of the tickets have been thrown out in court.

State Assembly member Deborah Glick's chief of staff, Matt Borden, echoed the feeling of the crowd when he said that relying on one commissioner’s word wasn't in the best interest of the public, when the rules say something very different.

“The next Parks Commissioner, if they don’t have the same ethos as you folks, you might have to fight this fight again.”

He said something more binding and concrete should be adopted to reflect what Castro was representing. Several members of the Community Board recommended the same thing.

Read More:

Amidst Confusion, Community and Performers to City’s Parks Department: Commit in Writing — No “Performance Crackdown” at Washington Square, and all NYC Parks
Washington Square Blog - May 2, 2013

USTA Shell Game -Tennis Giant Hopes To Swap Parkland For Parkland In Flushing Meadows Corona Park

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:34:00 +0000

Land Scam. The USTA is trying to get away with swapping 5 tennis courts (bottom) that the public already has access to for 50 weeks of the year as "replacement" in exchange for allowing them to build on an acre of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to accommodate a $ 500 million expansion. Apparently the USTA assumed that reporters wouldn't bother to fact check the story.

And as they had under the previous agreement the USTA would still retain exclusive usage rights to the land "during the US Open and, possibly, other major tennis events."

The "replacement" of the land will provide cover for the elected officials to approve the expansion.

Some elected officials are also pushing to establish a third conservancy for the park funded with proceeds from the businesses like the USTA who occupy the park.

United States Tennis Association to Replace Parkland in Flushing Meadows Corona Park

QUEENS, NY – May 7, 2013 – The United States Tennis Association today announced it has reached an agreement to return to New York City a portion of its currently leased Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (NTC) land in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in exchange for the parkland it proposes to add as part of its improvement plan for the NTC. The USTA will surrender 1.56 acres of parkland in return for 0.68 acres of parkland, the latter being mostly an existing asphalt road.

"At the outset of the project, the City suggested that park improvements would result in a more meaningful degree of public benefit than an in-kind replacement for the 0.68 acres that is proposed for alienation. However, understanding that every inch of parkland is precious and after seeking input and recommendations from the local Queens communities and elected officials, the USTA, in consultation with the Parks Department, decided it was in the best interest of all parties to propose a parkland swap,” said Daniel Zausner, COO of the National Tennis Center.

The replacement parkland, which is two parcels totaling 1.56 acres, and is more than double the land it will replace, is located east of David Dinkins Circle. The parcels include 0.75 acres of passive open space accessible to any member of the public and 0.81 acres of space for active recreation containing five tennis courts.

“We are pleased that the USTA has agreed to replace parkland,” said Council Member Julissa Ferreras, who represents Corona and Flushing Meadows Corona Park, home to the USTA. “It is the right thing to do. Our community has too little green space and losing even an inch would be felt by the working people who depend on Flushing Meadows Corona Park. As the City Council begins to consider this proposal, we are ready to work with the USTA to address our community’s other major concerns.”

“Today’s announcement is welcome news and shows just how much we value every acre of parkland here in Queens,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. “My support for the USTA proposal was conditioned on the need to replace any alienated land in our borough’s flagship park.”

Marshall added: “I fully recognize that each year Flushing becomes the tennis capital of the world when the US Open is played here, and that the USTA provides a multitude of programs on and off the grounds of the NTC. I also know that our parks are urban oases that provide natural beauty and precious green space for us all. I am delighted with today’s announcement.”

The two parcels were added to the NTC lease in 1993 and would be returned to Flushing Meadows Corona Park for recreational use under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation. The NTC lease would also be amended, so these parcels would not be part of the premises.

The USTA would maintain and repair the five courts, at it has done in the past, and would have usage during the US Open and, possibly, other major tennis events.

“This is a positive step by the USTA and the Parks Department,” said NYS Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, who represents Corona. “I look forward to continued progress on this important project.”

The USTA’s Strategic Vision, which calls for the least amount of additional parkland possible, 0.68 acres, will ensure the NTC remains a top public recreational facility and world class spectator venue and also continues being an economic catalyst for Queens and the City of New York.

Since 1978, the USTA has invested more than $500 million of its own funds into the NTC, and this project, which will primarily entail the replacement and renovation of aging facilities and infrastructures that have reached the end of their useful lives, will require the USTA to add an additional $500 million to its original investment.

“The Parks Department is proud to host the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the largest public tennis facility in the United States, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park,” said Parks Commissioner Veronica M. White. “Throughout the year the USTA helps sponsor countless hours of free and discounted programs for children, teaching them the great game of tennis and the health benefits of an active lifestyle.”

She added: “The proposed replacement parkland will provide a benefit to park visitors and help to ensure that Flushing Meadows Corona Park continues to serve as a world stage for the US Open tournament, one of New York City’s premier sporting and cultural events.”

# # #

About USTA

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 785,000 members, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the United States, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and helps underserved youth and people with disabilities.

For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, "like" the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.

Queens Chronicle - May 9, 2013 - By Joseph Orovic

USTA land deal panned by critics

Times Ledger - May 9, 2013 - By Joe Anuta

Tennis courts in land swap will still be used by USTA during Open

Queens Courier - May 7, 2013 - By Terence M. Cullen

Land swap in Flushing Meadows draws ire of park advocates

New York Daily News - May 7, 2013 - By Clare Trapasso

USTA, NYC reach deal on tennis center land swap

Wall Street Journal via Associated Press - May 7, 2013

Abu Dhabi Sheik Said To Pursue Soccer Franchise For Queens

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:07:00 +0000

Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, center, whose private investment group owns Manchester City in the English Premier League, during a match against Liverpool in 2010. Major League Soccer is attempting to install 35,000 seat-soccer stadium /concert venue in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. MLS hopes to reveal the plan within the next 4 to 6 weeks. (Andrew Yates/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

Queens

The Russian entrepreneur Mikhail D. Prokhorov owns the Nets basketball team. Red Bull, the Austrian-based energy drink company, owns the Red Bulls soccer team. Now a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi is poised to become the latest foreign owner of a New York-area professional sports franchise, according to the New York Times.

Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, whose private investment group owns Manchester City in England’s Premier League, has entered final negotiations to purchase a franchise of Major League Soccer to be situated in Queens, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations.

The prospective owners are willing to pay a $100 million expansion fee for the league’s 20th team, which could be called New York City F.C. and begin play in 2016, the two people said. That would more than double the expansion fee of $40 million paid by the Montreal team that entered M.L.S. in 2012.

After months of public hearings, applications and discussions, a deal for a privately financed $340 million stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, which would hold 25,000 spectators and could be expanded to 35,000, could be completed in several weeks, according to several people with knowledge of the deal.

The league wants to make the announcement before May 25, when Manchester City is scheduled to play an exhibition at Yankee Stadium against its English rival Chelsea, the two people familiar with the negotiations said.

Neither Don Garber, the commissioner of M.L.S., nor Sheik Mansour could be reached for comment Sunday. Last week, Garber told reporters he hoped to make an announcement about the expansion team in New York in four to six weeks. In addition, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told reporters last week, “Hopefully, we’re getting close to announcing a new soccer stadium here in Flushing Meadow Park.”

While foreign ownership of professional teams is relatively limited in the United States, it is rarer still for those owners to be of Arab descent. But the influence of oil and gas money in the Middle East has spread in international soccer in recent years.

In 2008, Sheik Mansour bought Manchester City for $330 million. Last year, Qatar Sports Investments, a branch of the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, completed its buyout of Paris St.-Germain in the French league, valuing the club at $130 million.

Qatar also won a contentious vote to host the 2022 World Cup. And beIN Sport, a subsidiary of Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based television network, now televises soccer matches in the United States, some featuring the American national team, others showcasing top leagues in Spain, England, Italy and France.

For M.L.S., an affiliation with the Abu Dhabi royal family and the owners of Manchester City would broaden the global footprint of the sport in the United States. And the association with wealthy owners willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on their team would provide another vote of confidence in soccer’s potential in America, sports industry experts said. Owning a team in New York could also provide a springboard for other opportunities, including potential real estate investments.

In 2012, M.L.S. had a higher average attendance than the N.B.A. and the N.H.L. A recentglobal survey named it the seventh-best soccer league in the world.

“If England has the world’s biggest soccer league, then America has the most up and coming league,” said Steve Horowitz, a partner at Inner Circle Sports, an investment bank that has put together soccer deals, including one last year on behalf of Erick Thohir, anIndonesian media magnate who bought a controlling stake in D.C. United.

Sheik Mansour, who is in his early 40s, was listed in 2009 by Forbes as its newest Gulf billionaire, with a personal fortune of $4.9 billion and a collective family fortune estimated at $150 billion.

Abu Dhabi, a part of the United Arab Emirates, holds 9 percent of the world’s oil reserves, and Sheik Mansour is chairman of its International Petroleum Investment Company, part of what Forbes estimated as a $650 billion sovereign wealth fund.

Buying a soccer club allows the establishment of business and political connections and provides good public relations in enhancing Abu Dhabi’s global business empire, said Stefan Szymanski, a professor of sports management at the University of Michigan and a co-author of the book “Soccernomics.”

“These are long-term investors, the Warren Buffetts of the Middle East,” Szymanski said. “It almost doesn’t matter what plays inside the stadium. It’s the location, the city, that indicates it’s a good investment.”

A salary cap in M.L.S. would prohibit Sheik Mansour from spending hundreds of millions of dollars to sign players, as he has done with Manchester City, which in 2012 won its first Premier League title in 44 years and is now valued by Forbes at $689 million, the fourth richest in England and an increase of 56 percent from last year.

A New York franchise could help develop young players for Manchester City, Szymanski said, while Sheik Mansour positions himself in the event M.L.S. takes off in terms of attracting a wider television audience, offering larger salaries and becoming more appealing to soccer fans in the United States who now prefer the international game.

Buying into M.L.S., Szymanski said, may also be a subtle signal by Sheik Mansour that he has other alternatives if he begins to feel impinged by a European soccer initiative called Financial Fair Play. This is an attempt to curb runaway deficit spending and restrict teams to income generated from broadcast rights, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, merchandising and competition prize money. A person familiar with the M.L.S. negotiations said the league would have been more wary of Arab ownership if a New York team were being bought by the Qatari royal family, which has shown support for Hamas, aPalestinian group that Israel and the United States consider a terrorist organization.

Referring to the Qatari ownership of Paris St.-Germain, the person familiar with the Abu Dhabi negotiations said, “That would have been a much larger challenge.”

Several experts said they would not expect much political blowback from an Abu Dhabi ownership in New York.

“These people have a huge interest in political stability,” Szymanski said. “Jihad would be the furthest thing from these people’s minds.”

Still, legislative hurdles remain, even with the ownership group proposing to spend hundreds of millions of its own money instead of asking the city for hundreds of millions in subsidies. The City Council, no doubt aware that some community groups have opposed the project because of the loss of park space, must approve the land use plans for the stadium. The State Legislature also must approve plans to replace the 10 to 13 acres of parkland that would be set aside for the stadium. M.L.S. and representatives of Sheik Mansour are also in discussions with the Mets about using the parking lot at Citi Field on game days.

The city said it was in “active discussions” with M.L.S. But pending a final deal, the Parks Department is spending $2 million to install two new soccer fields and make other repairs to the land where the proposed stadium would sit.

New York Times - April 29, 2013 - By Jere Longman and Ken Belson

MLS hopes To Reveal Flushing Meadows Park Soccer Stadium Plan In 4 To 6 Weeks

A Walk In The Park - April 29, 2013

MLS hopes To Reveal Flushing Meadows Park Soccer Stadium Plan In 4 To 6 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:56:00 +0000

“If we get this done, it will be in Flushing Meadows Park. There is no Plan B,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told the AP on Thursday.

Major League Soccer hopes to build a controversial $300 million, 35,000-seat soccer stadium/concert venue on the Fountain of the Planets site in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park located on the Flushing River. Families bike around the fountain last weekend. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Queens

Major League Soccer hopes to announce plans in four to six weeks for a stadium in Queens for a 20th team, according to the Associated Press.

The league and New York City have been involved in negotiations to build a stadium on a 10-acre site in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. MLS hopes a team there would start play in 2016 and be rivals of the New York Red Bulls, who play in Harrison, N.J.

“If we get this done, it will be in Flushing Meadow Park. There is no Plan B,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber told the Associated Press Sports Editors on Thursday.

Garber said the league hopes to have an agreement with New York City, with the New York Mets’ ownership group to use the parking lots at Citi Field and with an ownership group that would pay a $100 million expansion fee.

Several hurdles would remain, including New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and consideration by the local Community Planning Board. The parkland used for arena would have to be replaced.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the stadium. His term expires at the end of the year, and none of the candidates to succeed him has backed the project.

“I think it was really good that they didn’t say no,” Garber said. “It shows that there’s some political value in not yet taking a stand.”

Passive recreation area in the park that would be destroyed in order to build replacement artificial turf fields under Major League Soccer's plan.

The revived New York Cosmos, who start play in the second-tier North American Soccer League on Aug. 3, are not discussing bidding to become the new MLS team. Garber said he speaks with the Cosmos owners but was dismissive of their efforts.

The Cosmos played the majority of their seasons at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

“The Cosmos are a very storied brand steeped in the past,” he said. “Pele is not playing for them anymore, and neither is Franz Beckenbauer.”

CBSNewYork/AP - April 25, 2013

MLS hopes to reveal Queens soccer stadium plan in 4 to 6 weeks

New York Post - April 26, 2013 - By Rich Calder

Man Survives Manhattan Bridge Jump Pulled From BB Park's Pier 1

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:44:00 +0000

Brooklyn

A man was pulled from the waters off Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park last night after he survived jumping off the Manhattan Bridge, NYC Park Advocates has learned.

NYPD Harbor unit responded to the incident at 11:07 and rescued him from the East River.

The man was brought to Long Island College Hospital breathing according to sources.

EMS reports that he was in cardiac arrest.

No other information is available at this time.

- Geoffrey Croft

Dumping At Field of Dreams Park In S. I. Greenbelt

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 01:57:00 +0000

Unwanted junk - a shredded mattress, a hose, black garbage bags, cones, and more - have been left at the Field of Dreams Park in New Springville, part of the Greenbelt (Photo: Mark Stein/Staten Island Advance)

Staten Island

A park based in the Greenbelt containing a ballfield and model airplane field has a pair of signs outside it on Forest Hill Road in New Springville informing visitors that illegal dumping can result in fines as high as $4,000, according to the Staten Island Advance.

Apparently, nobody is reading them, or no one fears being caught.

Last Thursday, a visit to the Field of Dreams by the Advance resulted in sights that would have others calling it a nightmare. In addition to the grass and brush being trimmed and in good standing, large piles of debris were spotted beyond the ballfield next to the model airplane area frequently used by the Staten Island Radio Control Modelers.

Spotted were an abandoned hose, a destroyed mattress, filled black garbage bags, dirty cones, rusted paint cans, an overflowing garbage pail, and what appears to be the top of a Jeep.

The findings came after a visitor sent the Advance a photograph of a huge pile of tires on the grounds. The anonymous sender said it was one of three.

The city Parks Department did not respond to a request for a comment regarding previous dumping incidents at the site.

The Field of Dreams Park is connected to LaTourette Golf Course and is located near Richmond Avenue, across from Costco’s side parking lot.

Read More:

Plenty of debris fills the Field of Dreams on Staten Island

Staten Island Advance - April 26, 2013 - Mark D. Stein

Metropolitan Museum of Art Lawyers Admit No “Formal" Agreement Exists Allowing Admission Fees

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:29:00 +0000

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, situated on Parks Department property in Central Park, is facing two multimillion-dollar lawsuits by the public in Manhattan Supreme Court protesting the museum’s practice of soliciting the $25 entry fee. The original six-page handwritten 1878 agreement, states the museum "be kept open and accessible to the public free of charge from 10 o’clock until half an hour before sunset” Wednesday through Saturday.

Museum lawyers admitted there was no “formal amendment” that allows them to charge an admission fee.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art faces a potential $40 million payout if it loses the suits which seek compensation for members and visitors who paid with a credit card in the past few years. A museum spokesman declined to provide a copy of the agreement with the city that dictates fee policies in exchange for generous subsidies and free rent at the Central Park site.

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge recently ruled the Bloomberg administration, using Park Enforcement Patrol officers, illegally issued hundreds of thousands worth of tickets to disabled veteran vendors in front of the museum.

- Geoffrey Croft

Manhattan

The Metropolitan Museum of Art should not be allowed to charge patrons admission – and has been misleading the public about why it’s allowed to accept fees in the first place, according to city records obtained by the Post.

The Fifth Avenue institution recently argued it was granted permission to solicit $25 entry fees “after the museum received approval from New York City’s Administrator of Parks ... more than four decades ago.”

But the Post obtained all records governing the admissions policy between the Met and the city going back over 100 years, to determine if that document actually exists.

It does not.

In the original six-page handwritten 1878 agreement, the city gives the museum use of the Fifth Avenue building.

In exchange, it requires the museum “be kept open and accessible to the public free of charge from 10 o’clock until half an hour before sunset” Wednesday through Saturday.

Subsequent documents show that there were discussions about instituting fees between the city and the museum during Mayor John Lindsay’s term in the 1970s, but nothing was ever approved.

The Met is currently facing two multimillion-dollar lawsuits by members protesting the museum’s practice of soliciting the $25 entry fee.

Museum lawyers admitted there was no “formal amendment” to the original lease, but said in court papers that the city has long been aware of their “pay-what-you-wish” admission policy.

Read More:

The Met’s art of $$ deception
New York Post - April 27, 2013 - By Julia Marsh

Metropolitan Museum of Art Sued Over "Voluntary Admissions"
A Walk In The Park - March 18, 2013

Suspects Sought In Sexual Assault & Robbery In Sara D. Roosevelt Park

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:47:00 +0000

One of two suspects wanted in the alleged sexual assault & robbery of a 38-year-old woman in Sara D. Roosevelt Park on April 15, 2013. The incident occurred near Grand & Chrystie Sts. at approximately 9:30pm. Police released details of the incident yesterday.

Manhattan

According to the police, the woman had stopped to ask the men for directions, according to The Low-Down.

They reportedly began walking with her; one suspect grabbed the victim from behind and pinned her against a wall. Police say the other man then punched the woman in the ribs and thigh, sexually abused her and then ran off with her purse.

If you have any information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.

Read More:

Suspects Wanted; Woman Attacked at Grand & Chrystie
The Low-Down - April 25, 2013

Central Park: 13-Year-Old Girl Arrested For Attempted Robbery Of Woman, 38, - Other Suspects Wanted

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:34:00 +0000

These kids are wanted for an attempted cell phone robbery in Central Park. They demanded a 38-year-old woman's phone, but she bravely fought them off. A boy who appeared to be 11 or younger tried to grab her purse. The attempted robbery took place on April 22 near the corner of Fifth Avenue and E. 107th St. (Image: NYPD)

Manhattan

A 13-year-old girl was busted Thursday after trying to swipe a cell phone from a woman walking through Central Park — but police said they’re still looking for the suspect’s pint-sized accomplice, according to the NewYork Daily News.

The 38-year-old victim was in the park near Fifth Ave. and E. 107th St. at 8 p.m. Monday when the teen demanded her phone.

The woman refused and a boy who appeared to be 11 or younger tried to grab her purse, officials said.

The girl was charged with attempted robbery after police got a tip.

Read More:

13-year-old girl arrested after she and friend tried to steal cell phone from woman in Central Park
New York Daily News - By Thomas Tracy - April 25, 2013

Victim In Central Park Face Mauling Can Sue Dog's Owner

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:14:00 +0000

Manhattan

A Manhattan woman whose face was mauled by a dog she was trying to help in Central Park can sue the canine’s owner, a judge ruled Tuesday, according to The New York Daily News.

Danielle Gervais’ face was chewed up in Central Park in July 2009 when Ruby, a German shepherd-Collie mix. She required more than 30 stitches to close the wounds and has permanent scars.

Ruby’s owner, real estate agent Meresa Laino, had argued that Gervais assumed a risk when she decided to “meddle in a perilous situation” and untangle Ruby’s paws that were stuck in a wire mesh fence near the Great Lawn.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan said Gervais, a television executive, had presented enough evidence about the dog’s “dangerous propensities” to go to court.

Read More:

Victim can sue dog owner in Central Park face mauling, judge rules
New York Daily News - April 24, 2013 - By Barbara Ross

Helen Marshall Approves USTA Expansion With Pay-To-Play Conditions

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:01:00 +0000

As expected, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall formally approved the expansion of the USTA facility in Flushing Meadows Corona Park with conditions. The conditions include the creation of an FMCP alliance with the USTA donating $15 million dollars towards the fund.

Throughout the USTA hearing held by Helen Marshall on April 4th, the Borough President repeatedly complimented the USTA and their supporters and consistently interrupted speakers who criticized her.

Queens

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall issued her formal recommendation to the City Council regarding the proposed expansion of theNational Tennis Center (NTC) in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park last Thursday, Apr. 11.

In her letter, Marshall recommended the approval of the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) request to alienate an additional .68 acres of park land for the expansion.

The alienated land would allow the USTA to move seven courts 30 feet south of their current location in order to expand an interior walkway, Dan Zausner, chief operating officer of the NTC, stated at an Apr. 8 Borough Board meeting.

Of the six community boards affected by the plan, three voted to approve and three voted to deny. All but one rendered their verdicts with stipulations requesting money from the USTA to improve the park and improve community outreach programs. Boards 6, 7 and 8 voted to approve, while boards 3, 4 and 9 disapproved.

In the letter, Marshall affixed a number of conditions motivated by community boards’ requests:

• any alienated land should be fully replaced;

• all trees removed or damaged must be replaced in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in accordance with Department of Parks and Recreation’s (DPR) tree replacement specifications and policy;

• a Project Labor Agreement must be developed, finalized and in place well before any work begins;

• a specific plan to engage Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises, promote local hiring (including job fairs) and maximize local business opportuntities must be developed, finalized and in place before any work begins;

• a USTA donation to establish a $15 million FMCP Benefit Fund that would “supplement, not supplant” the NYC Budget basic allocation for the DPR’s maintenance and operation of the park;

• the creation of an FMCP alliance that would include representatives from affected community boards, the Office of Borough President, affected City Council members and the DPR and would be responsible for administration of the FMCP Benefit Fund, private fundraising for ongoing park maintenance and upkeep, park programs and improvements; and

• the stadium to be rebuilt on the footprint of the existing Louis Armstrong Stadium must also carry the name of the jazz legend.

The recommendation noted the NTC stimulates local business, citing USTA estimates that the US Open, an international tennis tournament held at the NTC, attracts 700,000 spectators a year to Queens over the event’s two-week span. The letter also states that the USTA is “actively involved with programs and events to support NYC school children, 70 school tennis programs and the community at large.” The USTA has said it serves more than 100,000 individuals who are mostly Queens residents and provides approximately $1 million a year for initiatives including free tennis programs, free equipemnt, court refurbishments and scholarships.

When asked, Zausner’s office would not comment on how feasible the conditions were or whether the USTA would meet them.

Read More:

Marshall Serves Approval To USTA

Green Lights Expansion With Conditions

Times Newsweekly - April 18, 2013 - By Max Jaeger

Central Park: NYPD Vehicle Bursts Into Flames

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:13:00 +0000

The charred metal skeleton of an NYPD Interceptor is all that remains after suddenly bursting into flames last evening in Central Park. An officer from the NYPD's Explosive Unit (above) investigates the cause of the fire. (Photos: Geoffry Croft/NYC Park Adovcates) Click on images to enlarge.

In July an NYPD scooter burst into flames in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

An NYPD officer was forced to abandon his vehicle after it suddenly burst into flames in Central Park, NYC Park Advocates has learned.

The officer was about to turn into the bridal path from the 86th Street Transverse Road just after 5:00pm when flames began to engulf the three wheel Interceptor vehicle according to police sources.

The officer quickly jumped out of the burning vehicle.

According to DCPI the officer suffered no injuries.

86th Street Transverse Road where the incident occured around 5:00pm.

NYPD's Explosive Unit responded to investigate the cause of the fire.

Police at the scene described the officer's polyester uniform as "scorched" and "singed."

"He was lucky," an officer said. "He was in the vehicle while it was in flames, that must have been pretty scary."

According to police sources the officer worked in the Manhattan North Scooter Task force on the noon to eight tour.

Officers also said a scooter went up in flames in Central Park a couple of years ago near the pump house.

Officers investigate the cause of the fire.

In July 2012 an NYPD scooter burst into flames in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

July 14, 2012 - Brooklyn Bridge Park. (photo: Mark Laughlin via gothamist)

No Mayoral Candidates Support MLS Stadium In FMC Park - But None Are Against It

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:16:00 +0000

The 2013 Mayoral Forum On Sustainability sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters was held last night at Cooper Union's Great Hall in Manhattan. (Photo: Courtesy: The League Of Conservation Voters)

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

Attendees at last night's Mayoral Forum on Sustainability sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters could be excused for being a bit confused after hearing the candidates responses involving the building of a 35,000 seat soccer and concert stadium being planned for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

All nine candidates were asked by moderator Brian Lehrer, on Earth Day, about the proposal for the park.

Not a single candidate spoke up in favor of protecting the parkland.

They were asked for a show of hands of who supported the development of the stadium in the park.

"Is anyone solidly for the stadium," Mr. Leher asked. The audience clapped when none of them raised their hands.

Mr. Lehrer then asked a follow-up.

"Is anyone solidly against the stadium," he asked.

The audience laughed and groaned when none of the mayoral candidates raised their hands.

Brian Leher asked John Liu to speak about his ambivalence, a question that was met with laughter.

Mr. Liu spoke of broken promises made by the current administration in other replacement park deals in other stadium projects.

"There is a credibility factor here," he said.

"In the case of Major League Soccer stadium that's being proposed - and I do believe the administration is pushing it behind the scenes - I do believe overall it's not a good idea because they haven't shown us exactly where they are going to restore the parkland. "

He went on to say that the city has to correct of the "huge difference" in parklands throughout the city in terms of maintenance inequities.

Phil Konigsberg, said he was disappointed at the responses.

"I would have been good if all the candidates commented on that issue but they were tight-lipped," said Mr. Konigsberg, a member of Save Flushing Corona Park, who attended the forum. "They all had an opportunity to come out and take the right position. Liu was singled out (by Lehrer) but they all should have spoken out," he said.

"I expected at least someone to get up and speak out against taking the park but none of them said anything. I was shocked. This was a sustainable forum after all. "

The issue replacement parkland came up.

"Replacing the park is not an issue for the people fighting to stop these private corporations from taking the land," said Konigsberg. "The park should't be taken in the first place. That's the position the elected officials should be taking and protect it."

(Photo: Courtesy: The League Of Conservation Voters)

The USTA does not care whether or not they write a check to buy a replacement parcel or put money into a fund. The parks department owns the land and they are the ones controlling that issue.

According to Danny Zausner, USTA's Chief Operating Officer, the parks department has told the USTA they would rather have money.

According to critics the replacement park issue is being used as cover for elected officials to vote yes on the project.

The USTA expansion issue goes before City Planning tomorrow where it is expect to be rubber stamped by the Mayoral controlled committee.

Although the USTA refuses to make the expansion proposal publicly available online despite repeated requests it is available for the first time here.

The Mayoral candidate forum on sustainability was held last night at Cooper Union's Great Hall in Manhattan.

Amoung the topics the candidates were questioned about their positions on were parks, waterfront development, traffic congestion, post-Sandy rebuilding.

The evening began with the candidates being asked whether or not they believed as a general principle that man made global warming is real and the city has a responsibly to consider carbon emissions in city policies.

Eight of the nine candidates raised their hands in agreement. One, John Catsimatidis, president, chairman, and CEO of the Red Apple Group and Gristedes Foods had a different opinion.

"I think the earth has exited for billions of years," Mr. Catsimatidis surmised. "I'm concerned about global warming but we have to really , really have to study it to see if it is the result of what we are doing." which was met with audience groans.

On Sunday State Senator Tony Avella was joined by representatives from a number of civic organizations and park groups including, Queens Civic Congress, Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Juniper Park Civic Association, West Cunningham Park Civic Association, Hillcrest Estates Civic Association, Bay Terrace Community Alliance, Auburndale Improvement Association NYC Park Advocates, and individual members from the surrounding communities who care about our parkland. The press conference was held to protest the proposed further expansion of the USTA Tennis Center into Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The New York City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing for this project, tomorrow, Wednesday, April 24th at 10:00 am at 22 Reade Street in lower Manhatan.

School Mob Beats 14-Year-Old Girls In Astoria Park

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:56:00 +0000

Two Queens 14-year-old eighth grade students were viciously attacked by a mob of Queens high school school students, mostly girls, last Friday underneath the Hell Gate Bridge along Shore in Astoria Park. The bloody fight was videotaped by pals with smartphones as they egged the attackers on. The victims are now recovering from the attack and were able to identify some of their attackers. No arrests have been made yet. (screengrab via NY Daily News)

Queens

A bloody fight among Queens schoolgirls was videoed by pals with smartphones as they egged the attackers on, sources said Thursday, according to the NY Daily News.

The shocking video, which has been turned over to cops, shows two close friends from Intermediate School 126 being set upon by older girls in Astoria Park last Friday, according to a source familiar with the incident.

A girl with red hair is seen exchanging punches with one older girl, but then is overpowered when two other attackers step in, punching and kicking her as she falls to the ground. She is later seen nursing a bloody face while her friend is attacked.

Someone slams the friend with an orange traffic barrel, breaking her nose, the source said.

Other girls are seen filming the brawl on their phones or encouraging the attackers.

“It's sad that the video shows a lot of kids encouraging the beating and other kids filming the beating, but no one trying to step in and stop the beating,” said City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Queens).

“You like to think the kids in your neighborhood won't be involved in this type of behavior, but it's happening everywhere.”

Christina Campos, (above) was punched and kicked by more than a dozen high school students. The video of the fight has been turned over to cops, said the source.

14-year-old Samatha Gonzalez (L) and Christina Campos (R) were both victims in a large fight that broke out at Astoria Park. (photo: CBS 2)

Gonzalez was left with two black eyes and a broken nose. “I was scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me," she told CBS news. "Was I going to live after this or was I going to be beat to death?” Gonzalez said.

Vallone alerted the 114th Precinct after Facebook friends told him about the video.

No arrests have been made yet.

The source said the attackers attend Long Island City High School. A few days before the brawl, the source said, the redhead was beaten up at a McDonald’s, possibly in an argument over a boy.

Scared for her safety, she asked her friend to stay by her side whenever possible.

Read/View More:

VIDEO: Female Students Kicked, Punched, Bloodied & Bruised In Wild Queens Melee
CBS - April 18, 2013 - By Hazel Sanchez

Bloody Queens girl-fight egged on by pals videotaping on smartphones: report

New York Daily News - April 18, 2013 - BY Rocco Parascandola

NYPD Using Video To Track Down Teens In Appalling Astoria Park Brawl

gothamist - April 18, 2013

Middle school girl beaten savagely by older girls in Astoria Park

New York Post - April 18, 2013 - By Kirstan Conley

High school girls brawl in Astoria Park; fight taped with smartphones

Queens Chronicle - April 18, 2013 April 18, 2013 - By Josey Bartlett

Police & FD Rescue Two More People Locked In Parks - 4 Incidents In A Month

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:47:00 +0000

The Fire Department freed a woman last night who was locked in Matthews - Palmer Playground in Manhattan after receiving a 911 call. Earlier in the day police had to free an 8th grader who was locked in the bathroom at Jennifer's Playground on Staten Island. These were the forth reported incidents of park patrons being locked in park facility in a month.

The Parks Department has refused to address the issue publicly. (Photo: Geoffey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) click on image to enlarge.

City-Wide

By Geoffrey Croft

For the forth time in a month, park patrons had to be freed from locked park facilities NYC Park Advocates has learned.

The latest incidents occurred yesterday in Manhattan and on Staten Island.

On Staten Island the NYPD came to the aid of a child who was locked in a park bathroom.

Police received a 911 call from a cell phone user at 3:06 pm stating that a boy was locked inside Jennifer's Playground on Regis Drive, btw. Elson Court and Farragut Avenue.

Police were able to brake the lock of the comfort station and free the boy. Sources say he was in 8th grade.

Park maintenance were seen working on the door this morning.

For the second time in less than a week the Fire Department had to be called in to free a park patron.

Last night the Fire Department responded to a 911 call at 8:30pm stating that a female was locked inside a Manhattan park.

FDNY were called to Matthews - Palmer Playground - btw. W. 45/46th Sts. between 9th &10th Avenues where they were forced to cut the lock and free the woman.

The gate was open when park workers arrived this morning.

The Parks Department's press office had refused to comment on why this is happening so frequently and what the agency is doing procedurally to prevent it.

"Evidently something's wrong, " said a long-time parks worker speaking on the condition his name not be used for fear of reprisal.

Last week in the Bronx the Fire Department rescued a 5 year-old boy locked inside a park bathroom while his family in the park.

The boy was found locked inside the bathroom in the Hilton White Playground on East 161St and Cauldwell Avenue at 3: 45pm.

On March 17th in Queens a man was forced to spend the night in the bathroom. Park workers discovered a 40-year-old man "shivering" inside the locked comfort station in Det. Keith Williams Park near 173rd Street and 106th Avenue.

A Walk In The Park - April 11, 2012 - By Geoffrey Croft

Man Found Locked Overnight In Park Bathroom In Queens

A Walk In The Park - March 17, 2012 - By Geoffrey Croft

Prospect Park Alliance Shuts Audubon Center At The Boathouse To Rent It Out For Private Events

noreply@blogger.com (A Walk in the Park) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:56:00 +0000

On the Outside Looking In. The Prospect Park Alliance (PPA) is being allowed to close the Audubon Center at the Boathouse in Prospect Park on weekends so they can exclusively rent the space for private events. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) click on images to enlarge.

Brooklyn

Prospect Park-goers say the historic Boathouse should be used less for private parties and more by the public, according to the New York Post.

The Prospect Park Alliance has closed the landmark building, renovated with millions of taxpayer dollars, on weekends and is moving children’s programs to tents outdoors.

“They’ve taken over a public building and privatized it,” said Elaine Marvin, a former volunteer at the Boathouse, which is also known as the Audubon Center. “They are keeping it open on Thursday and Friday when only nannies can go. They’re not willing to share the facility.”

The 108-year-old Beaux Arts structure opened as a nature center in 2002 after a $5 million renovation that was partially paid for with public funds. It houses live animals and educational events on the second floor.

The nonprofit Alliance, which operates the city-owned park and raises two-thirds of its $12.3 million budget, calls the move an innovative way to generate revenue. The Boathouse can be rented for up to $4,500 for five-hour periods, Tuesday through Sunday.

“Getting kids outdoors is never a bad thing,” said Alliance spokesman Paul Nelson. “This is an opportunity to take advantage of the best resource we have in the park.”

But Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates said the weekend should be prime time for park facilities. “The last time I checked, that building belonged to the public,” he said. “This just shows that our parks should be properly funded instead of privatized.”

Access Denied. A family attempts to gain access to the nature center but are turned away. The closing of this valuable community resource on weekends deprives the public, especially under-serviced children of invaluable educational opportunities. What is particularly abhorrent is that the building is also being closed now on weekends even when there are no scheduled events and the building is staffed!

The Boathouse is not a private catering facility - it is a beautiful historic public building built in 1905 using government funds in order to accommodate the public. It was lovingly renovated in 2002 so the public can utilize it. The decision to close this valuable community resource was made without any public input, or consultation or notification.

The nation's first urban Audubon Center has been allowed to be permanently closed on weekends when the public's utilization is the greatest. Although the Audubon Center will remain open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays many of the beloved educational materials and exhibits have been permanently removed in order to accommodate the private events. Critics say the pop-up Audubon is a poor substitute for the fully functioning Urban Audubon Center.

A family tries to find a way in. The Prospect Park Alliance is being allowed to unilaterally make policy decisions on what is supposed to be public parkland. The building provides much needed clean public bathrooms. Staffed open buildings also provide a sense of public safety. In addition, the cafe, which overlooked the lake, has been removed as have the popular nature tours and on electric boat. This historic building, with its unique architecture, should be open for the enjoyment of the public.

Read More:

Boos over kids’ Boathouse boot

New York Post - April 14, 2013 - By Kate Briquelet

Nature vs. nurture at Prospect Park
The Brooklyn Paper - April 26, 2013 - By