200 Lb. Concrete Slab Falls From Van Wyck Expressway Into Parks Dept. Parking Lot

A  2 and a 1/2 foot section of a crumbling support column that holds up the VanWyck Expressway fell into a Parks Department parking lot in Flushing Meadow-Corona Park. The parking facility is used by thousands of people daily.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Late yesterday afternoon New York State DOT sent personnel to investigate. The agency says the two hundred pound debris is not from the Van Wyck overpass and are speculating that it was illegally dumped.

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

A two-hundred pound slab of concrete feel fell thirty feet from under the Van Wyck Expressway into a Parks Department parking lot narrowly missing parked cars and park goers, NYC Park Advocates has learned.

Parks Department personnel at the Aquatic Center were alerted by a frightened park patron yesterday afternoon that a piece of the support column had broken off and come crashing down into the parking lot. 

The reinforced concrete structures support the steel beams that hold up the 40-foot-high viaduct which was constructed between 1947 and 1963.

Dozens of sections under the elevated viaduct are severally deteriorated. Exposed rusted rebar and crumbling concrete sections are easily spotted along the more than half long mile section of the NY State DOT property.

Thousands of people park in the dangerous facility daily including park patrons using the aquatic center/Ice Arena, the Al Oerter Recreation Center, along with neighborhood businesses and area residents. 

The incident occurred near stanchion # 73 located between the Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s Aquatic Center/Ice Arena and the Al Oerter Recreation Center at Meridian Rd and East Rd & 131st St.  in Flushing Queens. 

  

The US Open also uses the parking facility. 

“If that would have landed on someone they would have been dead,”  said a Parks Department employee. 

Faded spray paint marking off structural deficiencies can be seen at multiple locations.  

“They clearly marked off areas that need to be repaired but it looks like that was done a few years ago,” said a Parks Department employee.

The two-hundred pound slab of concrete and metal came crashing down within inches of a parked vehicle.  Thousands of people use the parking facility daily including park patrons and neighborhood businesses and area residents. 

"I guess they’re waiting for something to happen.”

Park employees say this is not the first time sections have fallen.

“Lots of the columns that have deteriorated pretty badly,  pieces have fallen all over the place. Park patrons pick up the smaller pieces and put them on the grass because they don’t want to run over them,“ an employee said.

Due to the overall condition of neglect, it's hard to imagine that the structural integrity has not been severally compromised by the defered mainainence.



"This is really scary," said a mother who was parked near the incident.  The woman had just exited the ice rink with her two children, an eight-year-old and two month-old daughter.  

"They are not maintaining it. " 

The dangerous infrastructure isn’t the only issue according to several park employees.  

The poorly lite facility is also popular with thieves stealing car parts. 

“Almost every day someone complains about getting ripped off,” said a law enforcement source.

"The city has also known about this for a long time.”  

By mid afternoon the area had been cordoned off with caution tape. 

Second Major Outdoor Music Festival Vying For Flushing Meadows Corona Park This Summer

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

News of a second promoter negotiating with the city  to stage a large music festival in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park this summer have emerged. 

Madison Square Garden is seeking permission from the city to put on a major outdoor music festival in Queens on Friday, June 24, through Sunday, June 26, 2016 according to the NY Post.

AEG, the organizers of  the massive Coachella music fesival on the west coast is also petitioning the city to stage a large-scale music event in the park around the same time.

The festival — tentatively called Panorama — is being eyed to be put on two weeks after Governors Ball in June. 

 MSG vies with Coachella backers for Queens music fest

New York Post - November 1, 2015 -  By Claire Atkinson

Producers behind Coachella eyeing Flushing Meadows Corona Park for 2016 music festival

New York Daily News - September 30, 2015 -BY Lisa L. Colangelo, Denis Slattery 

Four Nabbed After Robbing Man 63, In Flushing Meadows Park After Getaway Car Brakes Down

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

A police officer assigned to the US Open apprehended four robbery suspects in the World's Fair Marina in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park after their getaway car broke down.  

Police Officer Olivares was on his post at the US Open inside Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on September 1st when he was flagged down by passing motorist who informed him that a man was being assaulted in the parking lot of the nearby marina.  

"The officer responded on foot and observed three males pushing a 1995 Honda," according to the police.  

"Police Officer Olivares was then approached by the victim a 63-year-old man who indicated that he was assaulted by the three males and a female. The suspects had removed $ 60 dollars from the victim and attempted to flee but their vehicle stalled. The suspects were placed under arrest at the scene."

The female suspect also had a forged check made out for $ 1990.00 dollars. 

Charged were:   Tuyjuan Glover, 21,  Andrew Ramirez, 21, Angelo Ramirez, 21,  and Bennifer Joakuin, 19.  

All were charged with Robbery, Assault,  and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property and Marijuana Possession.  Bennifer Joakuin was additionally charged with Possession of a Forged Instrument. 

Read More:

Police Officer Arrests 4 People For Robbing A 63-Year-Old Man In Queens

NYPD News - September 28, 2015

Detectives Socha & Lynch Honored In World's Fair Bombing Tragedy Anniversary

Flushing Meadows Corona Park - July 4, 1940. A time bomb exploded killing Detectives Joseph Lynch and Ferdinand “Fred” Socha who seconds earlier had confirmed it was a bomb. The device was discovered in the British Pavilion at the  1939/40 World's Fair in Flushing Meadow Park and removed to a remote location behind the Polish Pavilion. The case is still unsolved and remains open after 75 years. 

City-Wide

By Geoffrey Croft

The NYPD Bomb Squad will conduct a wreath laying Ceremony for the 75th Anniversary of the World’s Fair Ground bombing. The ceremony will be held in Flushing Meadow Park at 10 AM on July 11th  near the Queens Museum of Art by the memorial plaque honoring two detectives and other officers who were injured. 

Detectives Joseph Lynch and Ferdinand “Fred” Socha were tragically killed on July 4th, when a bomb  they were inspecting suddenly exploded during the 1939/40 World’s Fair.   Four others were seriously injured.  

The detectives - members of the department’s Bomb and Forgery Squad - were killed while they were investigating a mysterious package which turned out to be a time bomb.  

Detectives Ferdinand Socha (right) and Joseph Lynch were killed at the World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on July 4, 1940. The Lynch family lived in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx and his partner Freddie Socha lived in the Polish community in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Those attending this year’s memorial ceremony include Easter “Essie’’ Miles, 85, the eldest  and only surviving of Lynch’s five children who was in the hospital battling osteomyelitis, a chronic and painful bone infection when her father was killed. 

“My mother didn’t tell me my father had died until I returned home in August,” said Ms. Miles,  who was 10 at the time. 

“She was the real heroine; taking care of five kids with the youngest only 22 months.”

An electrician found a suspicious satchel emitting a ticking sound, in a “fan room,” inside the British Pavilion according to reports at the time. 



Lynch’s daughter Easter "Essie" Miles holding photographs honoring her father will be at the July 11th  ceremony in Flushing Meadow Park. Essie was a 10-year-old schoolgirl in the hospital battling  osteomyelitis, a chronic and painful bone infection, when her father was killed. (Photo: Douglas Healey)


After receiving a tip about a suspicious package Detective Frederick Morelock removed the canvas bag and placed it under a tree in an unpopulated area behind the Polish Pavilion near the Van Wyck Expressway.

Detective Socha was off duty, but told his partner that if anything came up, he’d accompany him even though it was a holiday, according an account on the Detectives' Endowment Association website.

An hour before he was scheduled to go off-duty, Detective Lynch received a telephone call at home. A suspicious satchel had been discovered inside the British Pavilion at the World’s Fair. 

Emergency Service Squad personnel had cordoned off the location pending the Bomb Squad’s arrival.  Detective Lynch told his wife not to worry and that he’d be back in time for supper, and to go later to visit their eldest daughter, Essie, who was in the hospital. 

Lynch borrowed his sister’s car and picked up Socha en-route to the fairgrounds. The pair arrived at the location and learned that the satchel had been placed under a maple sapling next to a service road near where the elevated portion of the Van Wyck Expressway currently runs through Flushing.  After a briefing by police brass, the Detectives advanced toward the satchel to make a visual inspection. 

Margaret Fleming, a nurse at the Fair is seen bent over the body of one of the defectives killed by the time bomb. In the background the second detective is being carried off.

Protective gear had yet to be invented, so they were only wearing business suits, the same as other Detectives. They carefully lifted the satchel off the ground and examined it thoroughly. Although a ticking sound was coming from inside the satchel, there was no way to confirm that it actually contained a live bomb (and most bomb runs turn out to be hoaxes). 

They decided they needed to peer inside to be certain. Lynch carved a small hole in the thin wood veneer of the satchel and peeked through it.  

He advised in a hushed voice, “It’s the business” — meaning the bomb was real. 

Those were his last words. The bomb suddenly exploded.

New York City Police Detective Frederick Morelock, speaking with Police Commissioner  Lewis Valentine and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (seated on auto bumper) after the bomb detonated killing the two Detectives and critically injured five others.  Detective Morelock bravely carried the bomb to the rear of the Poland Pavilion.  Shrapnel from the blast penetrated  Morelock's left shoulder and back.   Detective Joseph Gallagher lost an eye.  Mayor LaGuardia presented posthumous Medal of Honor awards to the families of the officers for their, "Conspicuous bravery."

The closed casket wake was held in the family's living room in the Bronx where a reported five thousand mourners came to pay their respects. 

Yankee Legend Babe Ruth was one of the visitors.   

On May 27, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia posthumously awarded  the officers the Medal of Honor  for their, "Conspicuous bravery."

"It was a tragedy, but it could have been worse," Police Commissioner Lewis Valentine said noting that it was "only a miracle that hundreds of fairgoers weren't killed."

168,000 were in attendance at the Fair that Independence Day according to news accounts. 

The case is still unsolved and remains open after 75 years.

Today, a plaque and stone marker commemorating their heroism is located outside the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadow Park where the ceremony will be held on July 11th.

The building is the last original structure remaining from the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair.

New York Daily News headline, July 5, 1940.


Read More:

Cops killed at 1940 World’s Fair to be honored 
New York Post - May 25, 2015 - By Philip Messing 

70th anniversary of World’s Fair bombing  

Queens Chronicle -  July 8, 2010 by Liz Rhoades  

Death at the World’s Fair

New York Times - August 3,  2008 - By Michael Pollak

10 Boro, Queens Policemen Among 32 to Get Medals - Kin of Two Detectives Slain by Bomb Receive Posthumous Awards

The Brooklyn Eagle - May 5, 1941

Let There Be Light - New York State Pavilion Hopes For A Brighter Future

Lighting tests conducted on the Astro-View Towers of the New York State Pavilion last Tuesday evening illuminated the iconic structures for the first time in nearly 50 Years.  With the concrete sections under the platforms long gone the exposed rusted underbelly is clearly visible at night.  A lighting design firm has been brought in by the Queens Borough President's office to create a temporary lighting plan which will be installed later this year.   Nearly $ 6 million dollars in public funds have been allocated so far for work that will eventually include restoring electrical service and eliminating flooding in the towers,  replacing rotted staircases, roofs and reinforcing concrete on the observation decks. 

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

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

The New York State Pavilion including its iconic Astro-View Towers and the Tent of Tomorrow in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens are one of the New York City’s most public symbols of neglect.

For five decades the tower's iconic flying saucer design - purportedly inspired by the buildings of Krypton in the Superman comics - has inspired the imaginations of countless children and adults alike.

Built for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, the Pavilion was a $12 million gift from the taxpayers of New York State to the Borough of Queens and the Parks Department.

For years preservationists and World's Fair advocates have been pressing the city to come up with and financially support a successful redevelopment plan for the beloved structures — a plan that takes into account adaptive re-uses that not only pays respect to the two remaining structures but also, and perhaps most importantly, compliments the mission of the park to serve the community.

The Astro-View Towers lit for the first time in nearly half a century.  The Unisphere can be seen illuminated on the bottom left hand side. The 12-story high globe was built as a symbol of world peace by the US Steel Corporation for 1964-65 World's Fair.  The Unisphere once too had dramatic lighting at night during the Fair which gave the effect of sunrise moving over the surface of the globe. The capitals of nations were also marked by lights. 

Rachel Eichorn of Shimstone Design Studio points a 200 watt  LED light towards the New York State Pavilion's Astro- View Towers.   

Advocates have fought to have the government, at the very least, allocate the funds that are desperately needed to help stabilize the structures from falling further into disrepair.

These dreams are coming a bit closer to reality.

Nearly six million dollars in Mayoral, City Council and Queens Borough President funding have been allocated for an initial redevelopment phase which will concentrate on stabilizing the deteriorating Astro Towers.

Proponents of preserving the buildings hope to literally shed light on the deplorable condition of the structures in an effort to keep pressure on politicians for the need to provide additional funding.

The futuristic looking steel-and-glass enclosed Sky Streak capsule elevators once whisked visitors to its observation deck 226 above the Fair in 20 seconds.   The capsules - key elements of the iconic Flushing Meadows pavilion - have been left at the mercy of decay and vandals since the Fair ended in 1965.  The design has inspired the imaginations of countless people.

Last Tuesday lighting designers tested 150 and 200-watt LED lamps at several locations to the delight of on-lookers.

The work is the first step in a restoration project for the New York State Pavilion and the adjacent Tent of Tomorrow, the most well-known and revered remnants of the 1964-65 World’s Fair that remain unpreserved. The structures, designed by noted architect Philip Johnson, have been allowed to slowly rust away by the city since the Fair's closing in 1965.

The project will include restoring electrical service in the basement of the towers as well as eliminating flooding conditions,  replacing the rotted staircases,  replacing the roofs on all three towers,  repairing concrete platforms,  repairing and painting of steel,  on the observation decks,  as well as monitoring the Tent of Tomorrow.   The total cost for this work was estimated last year at $ 11.8 million dollars of which $5.8 million has been raised so far.

The elevators have been shamefully rotting away on the ground surrounded by a chain-link fence since the Parks Department had them removed from the towers in 1998.

A  $ 650,000 dollar contract has been awarded to Robert Silman and Associates for design work. 

"We have to proceed," said Barry Grodenchik who is overseeing the project in the Queens Borough Presidents office.  

He said he hopes the work goes out to bid "very shortly." 

The three towers measure 60, 150 and 226 feet high and commanded sweeping  360-degree views.  The two shorter towers held cafeterias for the fair and the tallest tower, as the highest point of the fair, held an observation deck. Fifty years ago visitors ascended the towers in the “Sky Streak” capsule elevators in 20 seconds.  Admission to the observation tower was 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. 

Sadly, the once sleek space-aged elevators have been shamefully rotting away on the ground at the base of the towers since the Parks Department took them down in 1998.

Mechanical Room. The first phase of the project will include restoring electrical service in the towers as well as eliminating flooding conditions in the basement. 

A few weeks ago five kids broke into the towers and graffitied.  

Attendees on Tuesday were not the only ones to catch the lighting tests.  Thousands of motorists traveling along the Long Island Expressway, the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wick Expressway caught a glimpse of what the future could hold.

Shimstone Design Studio has been engaged to come up with an overall lighting design and oversee its future installation. 

Rachel Eichorn working the light. 

"It's an important structure that everyone wants to preserve," said Brian Belluomini a principle in the firm which is donating its services.

“Lighting will help bring attention to the need to preserve it. You want it to stand out. To see such interest in this early stage is wonderful.  I want it to reopen. I would love to go to the top," he said.

Brian Belluomini manuvers a light between the outer wall of the Tent of Tomorrow and a 100-foot column, one of 16,  that once supported the world's biggest suspension roof.          Although not part of the scope of Shimstone Design Studio's work they did a few tests on the Tent. Proponents of preserving and reusing the structure also hope it too will eventually be lit.

Although not part of the scope of their project, Brian and his colleague Rachel Eichorn also conducted a couple of tests on the Tent of Tomorrow, which they also hope will eventually be illuminated.  They shined a portable light along at the top of the rusting frame and also stretched out a long extension cord and moved to the base where they pointed the LED lamp up towards one of the 100-foot concrete columns that once helped support the world's largest suspension roof.

"It's such an iconic landmark it should be protected," said Rachel Eichorn.

Several families from the surrounding community came out on Tuesday including some that had interacted with the buildings for generations.

"I remember roller skating in the pavilion when I was their age and my mother remembers going to the Fair," said a woman who brought her kids to watch the lighting tests.

"It would be great if they opened this all up again so people in the community could use it.  We need positive things to do."

One volunteer group has literally brought the building back to life, helping to ensure its future.  

Since 2009 the New York State Pavilion Paint Project has spruced up the faded Tent of Tomorrow by painstakingly painting over the long-faded red and white striped interior and exterior walls, often working in the stifling summer heat.  Over these years this dedicated group has been the most visible presence responsible for helping keep the dream alive and in making sure the need for preservation is kept in the public eye.

Not Just Red and White stripes.  A New York State Pavilion Paint Project volunteer applies much needed yellow to the building. 

  

One of the Paint Project’s founders, John Piro, stopped by to see the light tests. 

"Its part of the rebirth of the pavilion" said John.  "It looks like a piece of art from another time."

Like many people he would also like to see the Tent of Tomorrow lit at night, "so people can see that magnificent building too.  It looks like the Coliseum in Rome." 

He remembers vividly the first time he saw the towers lit at night. 

"I still remember that moment from 1964. I was with my friend we were walking and I looked up under the deck and saw those bright lights shinning up on the platform. It stopped me in my tracks. My mouth was wide open. " 

John also has a special connection with the pavilion having played there during the Fair with his band when he was 15-years-old. 

This stunning night view from 1965 shows the New York State Pavilion, including the Tent of Tomorrow and the Astro-View Towers.  The New York State Pavilion complex, designed by noted architect Philip Johnson, featured three observation towers,  the Theaterama, and a colorful Tent of Tomorrow featuring the world's biggest suspension roof.   The Tent was made up of 16 100-foot columns supporting a 50,000 sq. foot roof of multicolored translucent panels as well as three towers, measuring 60, 150 and 226 feet tall.   (Photo: AP Photo)

Of the New York State Pavilion's three original structures -  the Astro-View Towers, the Tent of Tomorrow and Theaterama, only the Theaterama (above) has been re-purposed and is now the Queens Theatre.

Matthew Silva has just finished up his loving tribute to the Pavilion in a documentary entitled “Modern Ruin.” 

A Long Island middle school teacher born in Flushing Queens, Silva began his documentary in earnest after bringing a group of students on an urban planning field trip to the site in 2012.

The film will have a benefit premiere for the Queens Theatre on May 22 which is located adjacent to the observation towers.  

Of the pavilion's three original structures only one, the Theaterama, has been re-purposed and is now the Queens Theatre.

Silva said last Tuesday night's event was "really exciting.”

“It really does remind me of what the Italians have done to their ruins in Rome.  Seeing it at night lit up will change the public's perception of how beautiful and special it is.” 

Silva’s film even has a little something for Led Zeppelin fans: Hint - the band played twice at the Pavilion in August 1969 - and not at the Singer Bowl as is sometimes mistakenly reported - during their Summer 1969 North American Tour.  Performance photos Silva tracked down are seen in the film.  The venue was apparently switched to the Pavilion from the Singer Bowl after an argument with the band's management. 

A "record crowd" of well over 10,500 attended – at a $3 ticket price -  and attendees sat on top of the famed terrazzo pavement from the Texaco road map.  And thousands listened outside according to a news report.   One attendee's account posted on-line states that the band repeatedly had to stop the show to ask concert goers to come down after climbing up the Pavilion's support cables which were leftover and dangling from the Tent of Tomorrow's massive roof structure. 

Silva credits, like many people do, the dedicated folks of the Paint Project for reviving public interest in the site.

"It got people noticing it again," he said.

"For the last 40 years it has been chained up and inaccessible as parkland. Hopefully it will be restored for some sort community use.”

Another person with a special connection to the Fair is very pleased with the renewed interest.  

"It's nice to see the pavilion getting some long all overdue attention," said Bill Cotter, a Word's Fair aficionado.  

Bill has amassed a collection of more than 24,000 photos from the 1964/65 Fair some of which were used in Matthew's film. Now living on the west coast he is flying in from California for the premiere.  

Like many people he has very fond memories of the original lighting scheme especially the blue globes made of glass that once ringed throughout the Tent of Tomorrow and the towers, an experience he referred to as "majestic."

"It would be nice to see the lighting restored to the pavilion in general not just spotlights shining on the towers. They left a lasting impression. 

Bill was 12-year-old when he and his family first visited the Fair.  He can't recall just how many times he returned, "quite a bit" he says, and when he found the Fair's one dollar admission fee for kids elusive he scoured the neighborhood collecting 2 and 5 cent soda bottles for the refunds, along with old newspapers which were sold by the pound and recycled.   

"If just one child gets inspired by a World's Fair than its worth it." 

Since taking office last year, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz has vowed to preserve the Pavilion. She has spearheaded efforts and created a Pavilion task force and helped secure the $5.8 million in city funds to light and begin initial repairs of the space.  The Borough President was present on Tuesday for the lighting tests.

The Power Of The Paint. Before And After. Since 2009 the volunteers from New York State Pavilion Paint Project have literally brought the faded Tent of Tomorrow back-to-life making sure the need to preserve these structures does not fade from the public eye.  

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

Read More:

    

Rusted New York State Pavilion glows during second lighting test for 

World's Fair relic in Flushing Meadows Corona Park

New York Daily News  - March 25, 2015 - By Lisa L. Colangelo   

Let there be light; pavilion illuminated

Queens Chronicle - March 27, 2015

BP attends second New York State Pavilion lighting test run

Times Ledger - By Bill Parry

Exterior lights tested at the New York State Pavilion

Times Ledger  -  By Bill Parry

Sky-High Graffiti Bust: Teens Caught On Top Of Flushing Meadows Corona Park Worlds Fair Towers

Five teens were caught by park police after they broke into and climbed 226 feet to the top of the observation deck of the abandoned and severely deteriorated Worlds Fair Astro Towers. The iconic structure closed in 1965.   (Photos: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)  Click on images to enlarge

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

Five knuckle-headed teens were busted hanging out and doing graffiti 226 feet in the air on the observation deck of the Worlds Fair's iconic Astro Towers NYC Park Advocates has learned. 

Two girls and three boys broke into the towers and made their way to the very top, spray painting tags along the way.  

Two eagle-eyed park cops on patrol in Flushing Meadows Corona Park spotted several figures from about a half mile away walking around the rusted flying saucer-like structures at approximately at 3:30pm on Sunday. 

 Death Staircase.  One the severely deteriorated staircases is missing entire sections of stairs. 

When Park Enforcement Patrol Officers arrived they found a hole in the perimeter fence.   At the base of the circular concrete tower they found the rusty door leading to staircase wide open and a pair of pliers and a broken lock tossed on the ground. 

The KEEP OUT sign on the door had fresh graffiti.

Where the futuristic yellow steel-and-glass enclosed Sky Streak capsule elevators once whisked visitors in seconds to its observation decks high above the World's Fair officers now had to risk their lives going up the severely rusted staircase in order to bring the kids back down to safety. 

When PEP officers arrived at the base of the tower they saw the door leading inside wide open and a pair of pliers and a clipped lock tossed on the ground. 

Numerous fresh pink, teal and black-colored graffiti tags were found in numerous locations as the officers ascended to the top. 

Officers had to use a make-shift ladder made of electrical cords in order to reach the highest peak of observation deck to reach the teens. 

Some of the sky-high graffiti seen on the obsevation deck. 

And at the base. 

Rusted Staircase.

The surprised group were caught red handed with two book bags filled with spray paint,  markers and a camera that contained photos of tags at various locations. 

Park Enforcement Patrol Officers arrested two males, a 14 & 15-year old.

The two were charged with trespassing and possession of a graffiti instrument.  The 14-year-old was busted a few weeks ago for pot possession and had rolling papers on him on Sunday according to law enforcement sources.   

The two were transported to the 110 Pct., given juvenile reports and released to their parents who were not happy.

"Safety is always first," a PEP officer at the scene commented. 

"It's an old building that's falling apart. It is really not safe to be up there, they are putting their lives in danger and if they are partying it makes it a lot worse." 

Breathtaking Views. 

March 7, 2015

Park officers found the front gate of the New York State Pavilion wide open and the lock missing.  They also discovered a hole in another fence on the inside. 

New York State Pavilion.    (Photos: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)  Click on images to enlarge

February 23, 2015

PEP officers caught a vandal wanted by police.  

While on patrol PEP officers caught Bagner Jara, 16, literally red handed spray-painting the tag "zero"  with red paint on the outside of a park bathroom near the Playground for All Children in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. 

When officers approached he jumped on his bike and took off, peddling away.  He was captured by the New York State Pavilion. He had a knapsack with a red spray can and a bag containing nearly 4 grams of marijuanna. 

He is known to tag "Zero" and "Zion" which are prevalent in and around the park. 

Jara was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and possession of a graffiti instrument.

At the 110 Pct.  His name came up when police ran his name in the NYPD vandal unit data base.   Police charged with a second crime for spray painting the word "zero" on the rear of an abandoned building at 97-05 Alstayne Ave also in the 110 Pct. 

These are Jara's only two arrests. 

Read More:

Teens In Trouble After Climbing To Top Of Old Queens World’s Fair Astro-Towers 

CBS - March 20, 2015 - By Sonia Rincon

TEENS CAUGHT VANDALIZING WORLDS FAIR'S ASTRO TOWER IN QUEENS  

Eyewitness News - March 20, 2015

5 teens busted after climbing tower at New York State Pavilion in Queens with spray paint: officials  

New York Daily News - March 19, 2015 -  By Lisa L. Colangelo   

Two Teens Nabbed for Graffiti at World's Fair Towers

NY1 -  March 19, 2015 

Teens busted atop World’s Fair Tower with graffiti tools

New York Post - March 19, 2015  - By Kirstan Conley

5 Teens Caught Climbing Up & Vandalizing Old World's Fair Astro Towers

Gothamist - March 19, 2015 -  Ben Yakas  

Parks Employees Forced To Drive "Death Trap" Vehicle

City park workers in Queens were being forced to use a 14-year-old "death trap" pick-up truck that has a multitude of safety violations including a seat belt anchored by a brick, rusted holes in floorboards with exposed brake and fuel lines,  ripped-up seats stuffed with cardboard for cushions in a dangerous vehicle that should have been taken out-of-service years ago.  Workers were also being exposed to noxious fumes and mold they say. (Photos:  Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

An out-of control Parks Department supervisor in Queens is forcing employees to drive a hazardous truck that is endangering workers and the general public park employees charge.

Several park workers say Park supervisor Yvonne Esposito was insisting employees use a dangerous vehicle with a number of serious safety violations. 

The Ford two-door pickup with more than 102, 600 miles has several large rusted holes in the floor board with exposed wires including a two foot long hole, and warn away seat cushions have partially been replaces with cardboard boxes and sponges. 

One of the rusted holes is large enough to pass a foot and leg completely though the bottom of the vehicle and onto the street. 

Rusted holes in floorboards with exposed brake and fuel lines on the drivers side of the Parks Department 2000 Ford two-door pick up truck. Workers are being forced to drive a city vehicle more appropriate for a scape yard. 

Workers also complain of noxious fumes and mold.

And that's not all workers are forced to use a large ten pound Belgium block paving stone to hold down the seatbelt and help prevent the seat from moving forward.  

On a recent trip cardboard placed to cover up one of the holes on the driver side floor board had disintegrated and caused water from the street to splash up into the vehicle and onto exposed brake and fuel lines.

The truck was recently transferred from Flushing Meadows - Corona Park to Cunningham Park in Queens where it was being used throughout park district 7.  

Several workers also said they were afraid to speak up for fear of reprisals by Esposito. 

"I can't beleive it, what the hell is this," said Parks worker who was recently instructed to drive the dangerious truck. 

"We were told they couldn't get another truck.  She knew it was dangerous. The seat immediately came forward every time you slowed down or stopped.

. I am very upset about it but I just wanted to do my job.  We are afraid to say something.

Local 1505 Parks worker union president Dilcy Benn finally put her foot down on Friday and demanded the vehicle be taken out of service.

"All they cared about was getting the work done they didn't care about how it was done, if anyone got hurt,"  Benn said. 

The Parks Department press office did not respond despite repeated requests for comment.   

Queens

A New York City Parks Department truck that was used as recently as last week has a seat belt anchored by a brick and rusted holes in the floorboards so large that workers inside the vehicle could see straight to the ground, according to the New York Daily News.  

The Fred Flintstone-mobile is a veritable death trap — a yabba-dabba-don’t for terrified workers.


No Magic Trick.  A parks worker puts his hand through the rusted floor board of the truck on the drivers side.


 “I got people who could be killed being forced to use this vehicle, and there’s no accountability,” said Dilcy Benn, president of Local 1505, the union that represents city Parks workers.

 The 2000 dark-green Ford pickup — adorned with the Parks Department logo — has 102,695 miles on it, and it is clearly a rough ride. The floorboards are eaten by rust on both the driver and passenger sides. The truck has exposed brake and fuel lines running underfoot and ripped-up seats stuffed with cardboard for cushions.

Two workers were told to use the pickup truck last week to spread salt around Queens’ parks ahead of the snowstorm. The pair took one look at the rusty wreck and tried to beg off. But their supervisor, according to Benn, forced them to use the truck.

 “A supervisor picked this vehicle up at another borough garage, drove it to Queens and gave it to workers in this condition and was not held accountable,” said Benn.

“I don’t want my workers driving a death trap.” A Parks Department spokesman said the truck — officially known as vehicle 5719Q — was taken out of service for repairs after Benn called with concerns.

A two-foot-long hole on the pasenger side, and (below) ripped-up seats stuffed with cardboard for cushions.  (click on images to enlarge)

“My workers were already out in the vehicle dropping salt, and I had to call back three times before the supervisor finally took it out of service,” said Benn.

The agency says vehicles are removed from the fleet on a case-by-case basis, depending on specific conditions. Drivers are required to inspect vehicles before using them and report any safety or mechanical issues, the spokesman said. The agency’s fleet of 579 pickup trucks have two maintenance inspections annually in addition to a state motor vehicle inspection, he added. The average age of the fleet’s pickups is eight years, city officials said.

According to Benn, union members have had problems with poorly maintained Parks vehicles before.

In May 2012, veteran Parks worker Curly Robinson, 63, was nearly mowed down when an agency van he left idling popped its gear and rolled toward him. Robinson said he was thrown against another truck and then dragged several feet before the runaway van stopped.

“I had problems with that truck slipping gears all the time. It was never fixed, and it always was put back in service,” said Robinson, who added he was forced to retire for medical reasons after the accident.

The Parks spokesman confirmed that a van with the same identification number provided by Robinson was in an accident on that date and at that location but no other details were available. Auto safety expert Byron Bloch reviewed the pictures of the rusted Ford truck and said it raised questions about Parks’ maintenance efforts.


Parks workers used a ten pound Belgium block paving stone to hold down the seatbelt  as well as to help prevent the seat from moving forward while driving.


“I would not go into that truck, it’s a definite hazard and should be taken off the road,” said Bloch. “It’s actually an embarrassment and tells me there’s terrible maintenance of the vehicle.”

The extensive corrosion of the floorboards posed the biggest risk, he said. It indicated a weakened structure that would buckle easily on impact.

“That could turn a survivable crash into a fatality,” he noted.

Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates said the poorly maintained vehicle was an accident waiting to happen.

"It’s unconscionable that the city would put their own people and the public in such danger,” he said. “This is outrageous, and the people responsible must be held accountable.”


The interior of the pick-up truck reveals a multitude of safety violations including rusted holes in floorboards with exposed brake and fuel lines,  ripped-up seats stuffed with cardboard for cushions.


Read More:    

PARKS & WRECK! City crews' death trap truck has seat belts
 anchored by bricks, rusted holes in floorboards 
NYC Parks Dept. truck seems a death trap with crumbling floor, seat belts 
New York Daily News - January 9, 2014 - By Ginger Adams Otis