Police Arrest Homeless Man Wanted For Exposing Himself To Kids/Parents In Upper Manhattan Playgrounds

Francisco Santana, 55,  pushing a wheelchair along Ft. Washington Ave. & 176th Street before his arrest on Friday on multiple counts.  He has been arrested more than twenty times since 1995  including for public lewdness and burglary according to the police. 


Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

Police have arrested one person and interviewed another wanted last week for questioning in connection with reports of strangers approaching children and asking them personal questions, and in some cases taking their pictures in upper Manhattan parks NYC Park Advocates has learned.  

One of the "creeps," allegedly  "seen pleasuring himself next to a breast feeding mother,"  who pushes an empty wheel chair and exposes himself in playgrounds was arrested.  

On Friday afternoon police apprehended Francisco Santana, 55, steeming from three incidents from July 21st to October 31st.

According to the complaint Santana was seen masturbating on a park bench inside J. Hood Wright Park in July and August.  He was charged with two counts of  Public Lewdness. 

In October he was observed masturbating in Bennett Park in front of a child under two years of age and in front of approximately eight other children under the age of thirteen. He was charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child,  Public Lewdness and Exposure of a Person.

He has been arrested more than twenty times since 1995 according to the police.

Charges include numerous burglary charges.  He was also arrested for public lewdness in 2005.  

Santana lives in a homeless shelter on Wards Island and sources say he may also be a client at the Fort Washington Avenue Armory homeless shelter a few blocks from J. Hood Wright Park. 

Parents in Washington Heights and Inwood sounded the alarm recently and took to social media and parent list serves posting stories and warnings of the behavior of these two men.

At a community meeting on Wednesday the 34th Pct.  Inspector stressed the importance of the public to contact the precinct directly if they had any experience or had any info about these individuals.

On Friday a detective from the 34th Pct. Community Affairs sent out an email asking for the public's help.

"Anyone with specific information regarding the gentleman with a wheelchair acting inappropriately in the park,  please contact the 34th Precinct as soon as possible." 

Police responded quickly after receiving several complaints and tips from parents including photos of Mr. Santana pushing a wheelchair.  Within hours he was in custody.

Police from the 33 pct. working in connection with the 34 pct. apprehended Santana  at 173rd Street & Ft .Washington Avenue near J. Hood Wright Park after he was identified by a caretaker in the park.

Parents say he has also been seen in Javits Playground in Fort Tryon Park. 

"Whomever is at the park right now should clearly stay away but also contact the police immediately," one mom posted on November 18th.

"This man came up to my sitter a few weeks ago while she was with my son at Javits (playground).  He was pushing the wheelchair all the while, his genitals were completely exposed.

He must be locked up! "

Another wrote:

"Watch out for a Hispanic male with a ponytail that comes to the playgrounds with a wheelchair,  but no child. He was seen pleasuring himself next to a breast feeding mother. Police were called,  but he took off toward Haven Avenue. Please be on the lookout for him around other playgrounds and call the police. "

Another wrote:

"He's at j hood right now,  on a bench by the dog park,  in case anyone cares to avoid that spot for a while."

Once concerned resident took photos which helped police id the man.

Francisco Santana, 55,  pushing a wheelchair along Ft. Washington Ave.

"I was incredibly elated and relieved to learn of the arrest,"  one parent told A Walk In The Park upon hearing the news.

"When I first learned of what this man was doing,  I became very concerned but when I learned he had actually been in close proximity to my own child and his caretaker,  I went crazy. I refused to have either one of my boys go to the parks until I knew the perpetrator had been caught.

Thankfully,  through community awareness and activism,  this monster is off the streets!" 

His incarceration was short-lived.

Santana was arraigned on both cases on Saturday. The DA's office requested $7,500 bail for the incident that occurred on October and $5,000 bail for the one in July. The Judge however released Santana on his own recognizance without requiring bail.    

Santana’s next court date for both cases is Decembr 19th. 

One area resident person posted a warning, noting he was released without bail,  "Just in case anyone saw him around the neighborhood and was concerned why he was out.) It is recommended to call 911 if you see this person acting inappropriately and to be specific with the 911 operator that this person has a history of this with open charges filed against him for these acts." 

Police also caught up with a second man wanted for questioning in separate incidents in Isham Park after receiving several complaints from concerned parents and caretakers. 

In those instances the man asked personal questions of two 4-5 year old girls including their names and where they lived, he also took photographs. 

On one occasion the man followed a family home out of the park and took photos of  a little girl along the way and refused to stop even when the caretaker explicitly asked him not to.  She ended up screaming at him to make him go away.

"This guy gave the sitter the 'creeps', so she took the kids and quickly left the park. No one else was around, " one writer posted. 

Police paid him a visit over the weekend at his Park Terrace East apt but no charges were filed. 

A source says he is in the process of moving out of state. 

This comes so the heels of a terrifying incident on Friday when a jogger escaped a would-be rapist in Fort Tryon Park in broad daylight.  Police sources say the woman was running between Ft. Tryon Park and the Cloisters around noon when she was approached by a man who came out of the woods.

"You know what you want," the assailant said in a strong Spanish accent according to a law enforcement source.  He grabbed the jogger from behind and put her in a bear hug.  The victim was able to broke free and ran home and called the police. 

She did not get a look at the assailant.

These incidents have once again raised concerns in upper Manhattan parks where members of the public have been pressing for funding for increased security including dedicated PEP officers. 

The 34 has more parkland than any other precinct other than Central Park and currently has 3 "park portables"  - dedicated police officers deployed to parks that are providing coverage seven days a week.

Isham Park Camera Cover Up - Installed To Thwart Crime But Not Turned On

"I've got a list 8 pages long of crimes that have happened in Isham and Inwood Parks over the last couple of years. Crimes have happened  between  7am and 8pm. The only time that crimes are NOT happening is at the times the Parks Dept is turning the camera on. How on earth is this an efficient use of our tax dollars?"  -  Susan Ryan

Isham Park Memorial Circle where the Parks Department (DPR) installed a camera (top right) in July 2012 after a string of violent attacks in an around the park.  According to the agency the camera carries a 24-hour live feed.  However NYC Park Advocates has learned that the camera is only recording a few hours a day - 24 hour feed to nowhere -  in the middle of the night when the park is closed. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) click on images to enlarge. 

Not Really.  The camera records from 1am to 5am.  Instead of fixing the problem and being honest with the community who have repeatedly inquired about the hours of operation the Parks Department instead has chosen not to cooperate.  "I feel that advertising/posting what the two cameras NYC Parks has purchased for Isham Park do and dont cover and when would minimize their effectiveness as a crime deterrent," wrote the Park Administrator to nieghborhood resident Susan Ryan.

Ms. Ryan and other community residents are organizing around the greater need for park maintenance and safety. 

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

A security camera installed in a known crime area in an upper Manhattan park is only being turned on for a few hours a day - after the park is closed NYC Park Advocate has learned. 

A camera was installed in Isham Park  under the direction of the Parks Department after a string of violent attacks in and around the park including a particularly violent mugging last June that left a Grammy Award winning husband and parent requiring surgery to his face.

For years residents have been calling for increased security and better maintenance in and around Isham and Inwood Hill Parks and along Park Terrace East & West after repeated incidents.

A review of crime on these park properties since 2010 alone reveal more than 20 incidents including muggings, sexual assaults and car break-ins. 

The camera in Isham Park is only turned on between the hours of 1am - 5am after the 20 acre park is closed.

The camera's hours of operation revelation came to light recently when members of the community complained about illegal drug activity in the park and asked the NYPD's 34th Pct. to review the footage. The police were unable to. 

The Parks Department was informed by the contractor that the footage was not available because the camera was not turned on according to several city sources. 

"This is beyond ridiculous, " said Susan Ryan whose husband Michael O'Reilly was violently mugged in June 2012 while walking home from work thorough Isham Park.

"What's the point of having it when its not recording. We depend on it being  up here to deter crime and to help catch criminals.   We average about mugging  a month up here."

Bloody Sweatshirt - Michael O'Reilly was wearing during June 6, 2012 violent assault that occured at that location.  

On the evening of June 6th at approximately 7:30 pm Susan's husband Michael entered Isham Park from Broadway after just having exited the subway as many residents do. He passed a man texting on the first ledge beside an enormous Gingko tree, a person they now think was a look-out for his criminal partners. 

Mr. O' Reilly was walking on a main path that cuts  through the park when he saw two young hispanics near Memorial Circle.  One was siting on a granite bench and the other was leaning up against the ledge across from him. 

As he made is way past them he was suddenly attacked and punched in the face by one of the assailants.  They pushed him down on the bench and held him down by his neck. They took $ 40 dollars and placed is wallet into his back pocket. They then ran off.

Mr. O' Reilly called his wife and who arrived a few minutes later.

"I came out to help him. He was covered in blood," said Susan.

"There was blood all over the bench."  

The one consolation they thought was that the City had originally installed a flashcam camera less than eight feet away literally directly above where her husband had just been mugged.   They were in for another surprise. Unbeknownst to them the camera had been removed. 

"I looked up the camera was not there," she said. "We had no idea they moved the camera. You can still see the bracket where it was mounted."

They later found out flash cam was moved to Park Terrace East.

"I feel this is an area where people know they can make quick cash,"  she said. 

Approximately 5 weeks later a contractor working under the Parks Department installed a brand new fixed camera that covered the area.

"That camera is valuable tool that the police need. We just found out there was another violent crime across the street in Inwood Hill.

For months  Ms. Ryan has been trying to get information about the camera from the Parks Department but has been stonewalled. 

"They tried to cover it up," she said.  

"On March 26th, one week ago, I called you and told you about the need to get the film from the camera in Isham Park in order to review if for illegal activity.," Ms. Ryan wrote to Jeniffer Hoppa,  Administrator Northern Manhattan Parks.

"You told me by phone on March 26th that you would follow up to get access to the film in order to give the film to the 34th precinct for their review.  I followed up on March 27th by email and you did reply saying that you were meeting with the camera contractor on March 28th. 

This is now the 3rd email I have had to send to you since that time in order to find out what is going on with the video footage from that camera and the availability of it's review for the NYPD.

It is very unsettling that this information has not been forthcoming and that it has been so challenging to get what should be basic, readily available information.

It is especially concerning in light of not just what happened to my husband, but to several community members who have been victims of crimes in Isham Park and who are all community stake holders who have legitimate concerns about Park Safety in Isham Park and the effect that illegal activity in the park has for us all," she wrote.

The camera records from 1am to 5am.

Mrs. Ryan said the Park manager refused to respond to questions via email and said she would only discuss the matter by phone.  

"….I feel that advertising/posting what the two cameras NYC Parks has purchased for Isham Park do and dont cover and when would minimize their effectiveness as a crime deterrent," wrote Jeniffer Hoppa,  Administrator Northern Manhattan Parks in a April 3rd email to Mrs. Ryan.

Ms. Hoppa then represented that she had informed several other community members about the camera. However Mrs. Ryan said when her neighbors were contacted to confirm this they said this issue had not been discussed with Ms. Hoppa.

"For the last couple of months I've been trying to get basic information. They haven't given me anything. The purpose of the camera is to make people safer.  I feel betrayed by them.  For the  last 10 or 11 months this community has been under the impression that the camera is actually working.  

They (Parks Department)  lied to us. It's makes me really angry. They knew that camera did not work."

Michael O'Reilly who had his nose broken in the June mugging which required surgery also feels betrayed.

"It seems a reasonable assumption that the camera I and all my neighbors have walked passed the last 9 or 10 months is actually recording information during the daylight hours and into the early evening when the majority of the crimes have taken place, " Mr.  O'Reilly said.

"Alas it feels like a betrayal of trust in the park departments ability to take any real effectual action to make the park safer." 

Ms. Ryan said yesterday after the Daily News ran a story a nieghbor sent her an email blasting the DPR's "excuse" for not having adequate memory to record from the tax payer funded camera.

"At my home our nanny cam records 36 hours continuously at 30fps with 4 GB. This means they only have same ~4GB capacity -- maybe smaller?   I think 128 GB SDHX cards are $120 on amazon. Or that much space on a big disk drive is practically free. You can also turn down fps from say 30 to 20 and get a boost in capacity. $30k and they cheap out on storage."   

J.A. Reynolds, an Inwood resident for 45 years has been volunteering in the park since 1970 when he and his wife and then 5-year-old son began cleaning up debris. They eventually built one of the city's first community gardens from a former garbage strewn part of the park, a garden that still flourishes today. 

"I've known about the crime for 40 years," said Mr. Reynolds who pointed out the need for greater maintenance to help improve park safety. 

"I'd like to see the Forestry Department do their job," he said adding the increased visibility and site lines would help.

   

He said the area of the park where they created the garden was filled with dumped automobile parts and kitchen appliances  people had thrown out of windows. 

His son Bruce, who grew up to be a Port Authority police officer,  tragically died on 9/11. The garden is named after him in his honor. 

Mr. Ryan and other community residents are organizing around the greater need for park maintenance and safety. 

On April 3, NYC Park Advocates asked the Parks Department's press office seven questions. Parks Commissioner Veronica White, Speaker Quinn and Juli Wood from the Mayor's office were also cc:ed. 

On April 12th - after repeated inquires - Arthur Pincus for the Parks Department responded.

They refused to answer all but a half of one question.  

"There are two cameras in Isham Park.  One is located at Memorial Circle, where the incident you referenced took place.  It carries a 24-hour live feed and we are working to ensure that the NYPD has access to that feed.  It can record various time periods and we are coordinating the appropriate time periods with the NYPD to maximize the camera's effectiveness. However, we will not announce the specific hours that the camera records as that would hinder its effectiveness as a deterrent. 

The second camera in Isham Park is a flash cam.  It is located at Park Terrace East Circle.  It takes photographs at night and serves as a deterrent for people to leave the park after its closure." 

On April 12th in response I wrote:

Dear Arthur,

I asked seven questions and only one of them was answered and only partially.

Question: 1. Can someone explain why the camera is not on 24/7.  You responded that the camera carries a 24-hour live feed but you did not say whether or not it was in fact on 24/7 and/or if that feed was being monitored for that entire 24 hours time frame.   You did not explain why it can  "record various time periods" but why is wasn't recording 24/7 and being monitored  24/7.

Questions: 2 -5  I would also like to know the hours the camera is in operation, the date it was installed, the cost, and by whom and how the camera is being monitored.    Non of these questions were answered.

With regard to one of them you state,  "we will not announce the specific hours that the camera records as that would hinder its effectiveness as a deterrent."

This response is irresponsible and unacceptable on many levels.  I won't even bother to respond accept to state the obvious: If the Parks Department was interested in using the camera as an effective deterrent than the camera's feed would run 24/7 and be monitored during that time instead of for four hours during the night when the park is closed and when no one is in and when no crime occurs.  The camera was purchased as a deterrent as well very importantly to help the police solve any crimes that occur in the vicinity.  Clearly with these extremely limited hours the camera is not serving that purpose, and we are demanding to know why.

The community as well as law enforcement has a right to know why. They must also be given every tool available to help make our community's safer.

Your refusal to release the hours is made all the more ridiculous considering the information you are desperately trying to prevent the public being made aware of I already know.  Why your agency continues to insist on this gotcha  mentality is beyond me. 

Again, your response to our request is clearly an effort to withhold information that is critical to the public's safety.  The community has depended on that camera being usable which includes producing data to aid law enforcement 24/7.   Your agency is further putting the public in danger by withholding these facts.  

We will not accept any attempts by your office to cover up, prevent , or delay the release of this important public safely information. 

The pubic has every right to know that the camera they bought is not being used properly why. Trying to cover that up is unacceptable.  It is deplorable you are  still attempting to withhold this information. 

Note: To date we have received no further response.

Read More:

Surveillance camera at Isham Park in Inwood only records four hours a day  

New York Daily News - June 2, 2013 -  By Thomas Tracy 

DNAinfo has reported on numerious incdents over the last few years.   

Senior Citizen Violently Mugged In Isham Park for iPhone

In yet another mugging a senior citizen reported being attacked by two men while walking home along the stairs near Broadway leading to Isham Park on Sept. 26, 2012. ( Photo: Carla Zanoni/DNAinfo)

Manhattan

Police are searching for two suspects who assaulted a senior citizen while stealing his iPhone in Isham Park Wednesday night, according to DNAinfo.

The 65-year-old Park Terrace East resident was approached by two men while walking up the stairs leading from Broadway into the park just after 7 p.m., police said.

The men confronted the victim and hit him in the mouth with what he believed to be a handgun before stealing his phone and running off, police said.

Police did not immediately have a description of the assailants.

Witnesses said the victim was bleeding profusely from the head before he was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital's Allen Hospital.

Although witnesses said they thought the victim had teeth knocked out, police could not confirm his condition.

This area of Isham Park that has repeatedly been the scene of reported muggings and assaults dating back to at least 2008.

Most recently, Michael O’Reilly, a Grammy Award-winning recording engineer, was also assaulted and robbed by two men while walking along the same path in Isham Park in early June.

O’Reilly suffered a broken nose, two black eyes and lacerations and has been seeing a neurologist for continued headaches and an opthamologist for an eye problem while recovering. His assailants have not been caught.

After several similar incidents took place throughout the 34th Precinct, police announced that they thought a crew was responsible for the attacks.

The NYPD increased patrols after the June incident, with police driving through the immediate area beside the park more regularly and at times walking through the park on foot patrols.

Read More:

Two Men Violently Mugged Senior Citizen for iPhone in Isham Park

DNAinfo - September 27, 2012 - By Carla Zanoni

Parks Dept. Removing Trees To Prevent Muggings In Inwood Hill & Isham Parks?

"This will open up sight lines in and out of the park to better improve its appearance and public safety," Parks Department spokesman Phil Abramson said in an email, adding that the department decided to take action after "unfortunate incidents occurred in the park."

Approximately 10 trees were removed from Isham Alley (above). The Parks Department began its weeklong effort to trim, prune and chop down trees and bushes in Isham and Inwood Hill parks in an effort to improve public safety. At least 40 trees were removed from Isham and Inwood Hill parks during the week of Feb. 20, 2012. (Photo: Cristobal Vivar/via DNAinfo)

"I hope someone talked about more police patrols before they took out the chain saw," commented WPIX's Greg Mocker in a follow up story.

The reporter caught up with Manhattan Park Commissioner Bill Castro at Isham Park where he denied multiple times the reason for removing the trees was to improve site lines.

"Part of the plan was to give a site line here right is what I understand," Mocker asks Commissioner Castro.

"No," responds Manhattan Park Commissioner Bill Castro seemingly contradicting the agency's press spokesperson statement which was given out to multiple media outlets. "It's to deal with storm damage", and to "remove dangerous trees."

"So it wasn't because of some of the crimes that have happened or so, it wasn't a clearing that... " Mocker presses.

"No, that's only for pruning purposes," said Commissioner Castro.

Manhattan

INWOOD — Inwood tree lovers are up in arms after the Parks Department cut down dozens of trees over the past week, saying the city's efforts to tamp down an ongoing mugging problem can't be solved with a chainsaw, according to DNAnfo.

Parks Department spokesman Phil Abramson confirmed that crews have cut down approximately 40 trees in Isham Park and Inwood Hill Park since Feb. 20 and plan to continue work until Saturday. He said crews were targeting dead trees or those damaged in recent storms.

"This will open up sight lines in and out of the park to better improve its appearance and public safety," Abramson said in an email, adding that the department decided to take action after "unfortunate incidents occurred in the park."

"With more visibility in an incident, you are more likely to be seen," he added. In addition, he said the work will also protect parkgoers from falling branches, which have been a problem across upper Manhattan since Hurricane Irene.

Local residents have been calling for increased safety measures at the parks after repeated incidents of violence and burglary over the past few years, including two in December 2011.

On Dec. 15, a man was on his way to a Christmas tree lighting in Isham Park when he was jumped by a group of teens who took his iPhone. Two days earlier, a family thwarted muggers on the edge of the park who tried to rob them with an L-shaped piece of plastic.

Law enforcement and elected officials have said crime in the parks is exacerbated by the limited visibility and seclusion parks offer would-be attackers.

But some residents dismissed the tree-cutting initiative as extreme and misguided.

"I know we have had a habitual problem with crime in the park. But shouldn't the answer be more beat cops, better lighting, or even cameras?" asked Jon O'Neil, who has lived in Inwood for 35 years. "Why does the city go right to chopping down trees for safety?"

The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment.

"It's a horror show out here," Inwood resident Elena Perez said as she watched 6- to 8-foot chunks of trees crash down on the Isham Park lawn Thursday morning.

"I want to feel safe, but the trees aren't even sick. If you look at the bark, they aren't hollow or anything. Why would they do this?"

Although Inwood resident Cristobal Vivar said safety is of concern to him and his wife as they raise their 2-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter near the park, he believes the removal of the trees had more to do with concern over lawsuits than public safety.

When he heard the sounds of chainsaws in Isham Park outside his apartment window Monday, he initially thought the department was trimming a few loose or damaged branches.

But when he saw the amount of trees being taken down, he began to have second thoughts.

“I first told my daughter they were doing something for the trees so they grow better, but I didn’t believe it, because it was too much,” he said.

Workers are slated to continue removing trees until Saturday throughout the parks, which were littered with dismembered tree limbs and chipped wood piles on a recent visit, park officials said.

The Parks Department said it was also tending to several diseased and damaged trees that local volunteer gardeners had voiced concern over for the past several years.

A Parks Department employee prunes a tree in Isham Park. (Photos: Carla Zanoni/DNAinfo)

Abramson noted that an inspection of the trees "confirmed that they were hollowed out, split or suffered severe damages from recent storms."

Although the tree-cutting in both parks stirred many emotions in the neighborhood, several volunteer gardeners said the work was unavoidable.

"This is massive and I knew it was going to create a lot of unhappiness, but the truth is that there is a lot of damage and disease and not all of it is easy to detect when you just look at it," said Pat Courtney, an organizer for Volunteers for Isham Park, which cares for the park.

"It's like a member of the family dying when you see a tree go down, no matter the condition it was in you are going to be upset," she added. "But we have to realize that the landscape is always in the process of renewal and destruction. It is inevitable."

A fleet of of orange Parks Department bucket trucks wait to converge on Inwood Hill and Isham Parks.

Read More:

Inwood Park Trees Thinned Out to Thwart Muggers

DNA Innfo - February 23, 2012 - By Carla Zanoni

Trees Being Cut to Fight Crime

WPIX - February 23, 2012 - By Greg Mocker

Park Terrace West Mugging

A Walk In The Park - December 30, 2011

Residents Say Northern Manhattan Parks Becoming More Dangerous

A Walk In The Park - August 17, 2011