Animals Killed With Blow Gun In Pelham Bay Park

UPDATED: A Canadian Goose with a dart lodged in its left shoulder in the parking lot of Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park yesterday. Eight animals have been shot over the last several weeks including four birds which were killed.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

"The incidents further highlight the need for more security in Pelham Bay Park, which is New York City’s largest park and is three times the size of Central Park. Although the Bronx has more parkland than any of New York City’s other boroughs, it ranks fourth in the number of enforcement officers who patrol the parks," said Council Member James Vacca.

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

Someone is hunting wildlife in the city's largest park and with deadly results. 

Eight animals have been shot over the last several weeks in Pelham Bay Park NYC Park Advocates has learned.

Officials believe the weapon is a blow gun.

On September 21, four birds were found shot with darts - two were dead and two others had to be euthanized due to the wounds.

Last Tuesday Pelham Bay Park maintenance employees discovered another four animals had been stuck with blowdarts in the Orchard Beach parking lot.

Two Ring-Billed Gulls were wounded at Orchard Beach, including one that was shot just below the eye (below) October 14, 2012 (Photos by Joseph Morales)

Two ring-billed gulls were wounded, one was shot below the eye.  One Canadian goose was darted in the shoulder. The forth animal shot was a squirrel. 

The Park Department's Urban Park Rangers attempted to capture the wounded animals but they fled when approached. 

According to law enforcement sources the plastic blow gun can shoot up to 70 feet and can be purchased in local bodegas. The deadly darts are the size of a pen.

Urban Park Rangers and Park Enforcement Patrol officers will step up patrols and make additional attempts to capture the injured animals according to the Parks Department.

On Wednesday two PEP officers were keeping an eye on two injured Canadian Geese.

NYPD officers from the 45th Pct. will also step up patrols in the area said law enforcement sources.

The NY State Department of Conservation has opened an investigation into the incident and have assigned police officers, said DEC spokeswoman Lisa King.  They confirmed that one bird was brought to a Manhattan veterinarian hospital.


On Wednesday a Canadian Goose with a dart lodged in its right shoulder was spotted in the Orchard Beach parking lot in Pelham Bay Park. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

According to the spokeswoman they have stepped up patrols in the area. They have gone out into the park, interviewed patrons and have been patrolling the area in unmarked vehicles.

The crime, if the offender is caught would be prosecuted under State law, not city animal cruelty laws.

The crime is a violation and the offense is "illegally pursuing taking or wounding protected wildlife" and "taking or wounding of a protected bird."

Wounded Geese and Seagulls under state protection. The penalty is up to 15 days in jail per violation and a fine of up to $250 per violation according to NY State DEC.

On Wednesday PEP officers located two injured geese in Pelham Bay Park. 

On Thursday Council Member James Vacca announced plans to introduce legislation banning the sale of blow guns in New York City.

The blow guns, which are sold at stores near to Pelham Bay Park in Vacca’s district, are considered toys and are not dangerous to humans, but they are lethal to animals and are illegal to for hunting Vacca said in a statement.   

“Toy guns are banned in New York City, and these blow guns must be done away with too,” said Vacca.

“They serve no productive purpose, especially when they are used illegally and unacceptably to kill and maim animals. I ask anyone with information about these animal attacks to please come forward, and I implore the merchants in Orchard Beach to stop selling these blow guns immediately.”

 Orchard Beach parking lot in Pelham Bay Park.

Read/View More:

Several Animals Shot With Blowgun In Pelham Bay Park

WCBS -  October 17, 2012 - By Cindy Hsu 

Several animals shot with blow darts

WABC - October 17, 2012 - By Marcus Solis 

9 Animals Shot With Blowgun in Bronx Park Two of the birds

were found dead and two had to be euthanized

WNBC - October 18, 2012 - By Tracie Strahan

Animals, Trees Attacked In Pelham Bay Park

NY1 -  October 17, 2012 - By Erin Clarke

Wildlife targeted at Pelham Bay Park

Fox - October - 19, 2012 - By TI-Hua Chang

Bronx Park’s Animals Are Targeted With Darts

New York Times - City Room -  October 18, 2012 - By Andy Newman

9 animals shot with blowgun in Bronx park

The Associated Press via The Wall Street Journal

Pelham Bay Park birds, squirrels being attacked with blow guns

Metro - October 17, 2012 - Danielle Tcholakian 

Rangers hunt animal abuser in Pelham Bay Park

NewYork Post - October 18, 2012 - By Helen Freund

Dart devil targets critters

NewYork Post - October 19, 2012 - By Helen Freund

1010 WINS - October 17, 2012

Pelham Bay Park under attack! Birds and squirrel shot with darts

after trees vandalized in Bronx green space

Trees vandalized, and birds killed by sicko with dart gun

New York Daily News - October 17, 2012 -  By Daniel Beekman    

Darted Ring-billed Gulls at Orchard beach

City Island Birds - Fall Birdwalk Results - October 14, 2012 

Long Requested Ranger Enforcement Training Finally Arrives After Prospect Park Gun Incident

Parks Press Office Refues To Answer Why

Hero Ranger Andrew Marsala was reprimanded for arresting a gun-toting pervert in Prospect Park and remains on desk duty as punishment. For at least the last three years Urban Park Rangers management have not given rangers enforcement training according to numerous park sources. Rangers say they have been requesting it.

"They want us to look the other way and not get involved, " said a PEP officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. They (management) want to pretend there is no crime in parks."

Local 983 vice president Joe Puleo which represents Rangers and PEP officers said refresher training in baton (PR -24), mace, handcuff and other enforcement procedures is essential in keeping both public and officers safe.

"These are things you must constanly do. Day-to-day you never know what they may encounter. They must have the proper training."

Puleo also noted that a major probelm is that the Parks Department does not adhere to continued police training for its peace officers which he says they are required to do and that managment do not have law enforcement backgrounds.

- Geoffrey Croft

City-Wide

City park rangers are getting stepped-up police training on the heels of an incident that led to a heroic park worker being reprimanded instead of lionized for busting a gun-toting pervert in Prospect Park, accordng to the Brooklyn Paper.

The law enforcement course teaches urban rangers when to “effect an arrest,” how to spot suspicious behavior and what to do if someone has a weapon.

The classes, which began last week, come after Parks Department honchos reprimanded ranger Andrew Marsala for nabbing a man whom he spotted masturbating in Prospect Park.

The man was pleasuring himself near a playground — and later turned out to have a gun — but Marsala’s bosses told him that it was not his job to act like a cop.

Rangers — who can legally make arrests, but are encouraged to focus on park education — say they have for years asked for such classes, in the event that a dangerous situation pops up.

“The city hasn’t provided rangers with up-to-date training,” said Joseph Puleo of Union Local 893, which represents the rangers, adding that Marsala simply trusted this gut and acted quickly. “The city should have done more — he did nothing wrong.”

In the November incident, a woman spotted 53-year-old Glen Perousa allegedly masturbating near the Third Street playground in broad daylight.

She reported the incident to Marsala, who confronted Perousa, who then bolted into the woods. That’s when the brave ranger chased him down, grabbed him and arrested him.

The creep was later discovered to be packing another kind of heat — a loaded handgun — cops said.

After the ordeal, a City Councilwoman recommended that Marsala be honored — but Marsala’s Parks Department bosses scolded him instead, saying it’s not his job to enforce the law.

He remains on desk duty.

But now the city has begun training rangers with those very cop-like enforcement skills — although Parks Department spokeswoman Vickie Karp refused to say why.

“They said, ‘Why didn’t you just call the police?’ ” Marsala told The Chief, a civil service newspaper. “I was like, ‘And let him get away?’ ”

The course includes techniques such as “contact and cover” — in which officers team up to collar a suspect — along with conflict-resolution skills and “refresher course” on arrests, according to the city’s training academy staff.

Marsala would say only that his bosses have now instructed him to stay mum, explaining, “I’m not allowed to talk to the press” — but park advocates had plenty to say about the training.

“We’re happy it’s finally being done,” said Geoffrey Croft NYC Parks Advocates, explaining it also makes things safer for park-goers. “We’re lucky to have these rangers are out there … This guy put his life on the line.”

Read More:

The thin green line; Park Rangers to get cop-style training

The Brooklyn Paper - December 9, 2011 - By Natalie O’Neill

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

A Walk In The Park - November 30, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

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

A Walk In The Park - November 22, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brooklyn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marsala declined to comment.

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

Read More:

Caught perv, missed gun and ends up on desk duty

Ranger Andrew Marsala pulled off beat in Prospect Park

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

Park ranger who caught pervert gets jerked around

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

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

A Walk In The Park - November 22, 2011

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

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

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

The Parks attitude, Local 983 vice president Joe Puleo charged, was “If you see something, do nothing.” He said that the message they imparted to their enforcement officers was “to issue summonses for dogs off the leash, rather than stop criminals.”

Urban Park Ranger Andrew Marsala (Photo: The Chief-Leader/Andrew Hinderaker)

THOUGHT HE WAS DOING HIS JOB: Urban Park Ranger Andrew Marsala said he was reprimanded for apprehending a man in Prospect Park who was found with an illegal handgun, with his superiors saying he should have called police instead. ‘They don’t like it when we do enforcement,’ he said. ‘All they had to do was say, ‘Good job,’ and I would have been happy with that.’

City Hall

When Urban Park Ranger Andrew Marsala subdued a “menacing” man in Prospect Park and found he was carrying a handgun loaded with an illegal clip, he didn’t expect to receive a medal. But he also didn’t expect to be told he had screwed up, according to the Chief.

“They don’t like it when we do enforcement,” said Mr. Marsala of his superiors in the Parks Department. “They said, ‘Why didn’t you just call the police?’ I was like, ‘And let him get away?’’’

Wasn’t Just Glad to See Her

On patrol in Prospect Park, Mr. Marsala was told by a woman that a nearby man was masturbating in public whenever she went by him.“I stopped him, I called her over, and when she said this was the guy, he ran,” he said. “I chased, I apprehended him, and in doing a search I found a gun, loaded with a 15-bullet magazine.”

Both the gun and the magazine were illegal. The man was also carrying two bags of marijuana, Ranger Marsala said. “The guy was obviously a menace to society.” He was interviewed after his union, District Council 37 Local 983, protested outside City Hall Nov. 15 over the lack of police data on crimes in parks.

Mr. Marsala claimed he was told by his superiors that he should have called the police instead of directly intervening. Officials from Local 983 said he was told his job could be at risk, although that threat vanished after pushback from the union.

“All they had to do was say, ‘Good job,’ and I would have been happy with that,” Mr. Marsala said of his bosses.

Local 983 Vice President Joe Puleo said Mr. Marsala had acted within his duties. “Urban Park Rangers mostly do tours, children’s lectures, things of that sort in the park,” he said. “But they are 24-hour Peace Officers.”

The Parks attitude, he charged, was “If you see something, do nothing.” He said that the message they imparted to their enforcement officers was “to issue summonses for dogs off the leash, rather than stop criminals.”

The Parks Department declined to comment, saying it was a Police Department matter.

Read More:

Park Ranger Says Bosses Discourage Enforcement

The Chief - November 21, 2011 - By David Sims

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

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

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

UPDATED

Brooklyn

By Geoffrey Croft

A hero park ranger in Prospect Park took a sex offender off the streets yesterday when he arrested a man carrying a loaded gun, a large box cutter and drugs, who minutes earlier exposed himself to a female park patron, A Walk In the Park has learned.

A woman walking her dog spotted 53-year old Glen Perouza of South Jamaica Queens, masturbating inside Prospect Park between near the Long Meadow near the Picnic House near 4th street yesterday at approximately 3:30pm, according to NYPD and Parks Department sources.

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

An eight inch box cutter was recovered, and marijuana was found in the suspect's coat pocket.

Mr. Perouza was transported to the 78 Pct. A loaded 9mm Taurus Pt. 99 hand gun - complete with an illegal 15 bullet magazine - was discovered stuffed in between the seat in the back of the Ranger vehicle where the defendant had been transported.

The suspect was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of marijuana, and indecent exposure.

No prior arrests could be found for Mr. Perouza at this time.

"Thank God they didn't get shot and killed," said senior Parks employee. "Thank God nobody got hurt."

"Nothing but the grace of God that were all alive," said a Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) Officer.

"And we're only 'eyes and ears,'" another PEP officer said sarcastically in reference to the Parks Department management's repeated attempts to down play the role Rangers and PEP play in fighting crime.

For at least the last three years Urban Park Rangers management have not given park rangers enforcement training according to park sources.

The Parks Department refused to comment and referred inquiries to DCPI.

Read More:

Park ranger captures pistol-packing man pleasuring himself in the woods

Suspect had a bag of weed plus a loaded gun

New York Daily News - November 4, 2011 - By John Doyle

Hero ranger nabs park masturbator

The Brooklyn Paper - November 5, 2011 - By Natalie O’Neill

Prospect Park Flasher Caught With Loaded Gun

gothamist - November 4, 2011- By Garth Johnston

NYPD Daily Blotter

New York Post - November 5, 2011

By Doug Auer, Rebecca Harshbarger, Lorena Mongelli and Kirstan Conley

Wild Rabbits Disappearing from City Parks

CITY -WIDE

NEW YORK -- If anyone knows why the bunnies have disappeared from Central Park, wildlife officials are all ears, according to The Washington Post.

Though abandoned pet rabbits perennially turn up after each Easter in what's affectionately called New York's backyard, a wild cottontail hasn't been spotted in the park for about four years.

"I've been here for 17 years, and there were not many when I got here," Regina Alvarez, director of horticulture for the Central Park Conservancy, a nonprofit that manages the huge Manhattan park for the city, said in an e-mail. "But I would see them once in a while."

Only time will tell if they are gone for good, said Sarah Aucoin, director of Urban Park Rangers for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

Cottontails seek habitats with lots of food sources and thick brush for protection, so it's possible there are still some hiding out. Rabbits have lived on the land since before the park was established 161 years ago.

Because bunnies "mate like rabbits," if there are still a few, "we'll see an increase, definitely," Aucoin said.

Geoffrey Croft, of the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates, said at least two other New York City parks have seen rabbits disappear in recent years.

The Eastern Cottontail used to be plentiful on Randall's Island, between the Harlem and East rivers, but Croft said the population there vanished as its parkland was rehabilitated and redeveloped, and some natural fields were replaced with artificial turf.

Rabbits have also disappeared from Calvert Vaux Park in Brooklyn near Coney Island, he said.

Bunnies are vulnerable to a number of hazards, including weather, predators and automobiles - all features of urban parks, said state wildlife biologist Alan Hicks.

In NY's Central Park, where goes Peter Cottontail?

The Washington Post Via The Associated Press - April 3, 2010 - By Megan K. Scott

Freshkills Park Tours

The former Fresh Kills landfill looks very different today than it did a decade ago. (SI Advance file photo/Irving Silverstein)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – From garbage dump to picturesque, recreational hub.

City planners have bold plans for Fresh Kills, labeled "one of the great regional parks of the 21st century."

Have trouble seeing that grand vision? Then set aside 90 minutes to see for yourself.

The Parks Department is again opening up the 2,200-acre West Shore site for guided tours between April and November, led by Urban Park Rangers and Freshkills Park staff, according to an Article in The Staten Island Advance.

Freshkills Park, located on Staten Island's West Shore, is opening its gates this spring for guided tours. The site, once the world's biggest landfill, is being transformed into one of the next great regional parks of the 21st century. Tours are available from April through November and are led by the Urban Park Rangers and a member of the Freshkills Park staff.

The largest park developed in New York City in more than 100 years, Freshkills Park will provide a wide range of recreational opportunities, ecological restoration and cultural and educational programming that promote environmental sustainability, and a renewed public concern for the human impact on the earth.

Tour guides will discuss the site's history, engineering and landscape design, including the abundant flora and fauna that are returning to the area. The tour will take visitors to the tops of two of the site's four large landfill mounds, offering expansive views of the site and views of downtown Manhattan and all four Staten Island bridges.

NYC Parks & Recreation rendering of Freshkills Park on Staten Island Park when completed.

Read More:

Tour Fresh Kills, envision Staten Island's 'park of the 21st century'

Staten Island Advance - March 2, 2010

You Are Cordially Invited to Tour Freshkills Park on Staten Island

Gothamist - March 2, 2010 - By John Del Signore