Thousands Honor Orlando Shooting Victims At West Village Vigil

A large crowd assembled in Christopher Park across from the famed Stonewall Inn, the site of the famous “Stonewall Riots” in 1969. The names of the shooting victims were written in chalk surrounding GAY LIBERATION, the sculpture that honors the gay rights movement and commemorates the events at the Stonewall Inn opposite the park.  The sculpture by George Segal was unveiled in 1992 and depicts two standing males and two seated females.  It is a popular pilgrimage site for people honoring the LGBT struggle. 

Our public parks often play an important role as a gathering place in times of enormous tragedy.     (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

Thousands of people gathered this evening in the West Village to pay their respects to the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S history.  

They came to honor the forty-nine innocent people who were massacred, and fifty-three wounded during Sunday’s shooting spree at The Pulse, a club frequented by gay people in Orlando Florida.

People of all faiths, ages and sexual orientation came together on Monday night in the streets as one. 

Thousands of people turned out this evening for a vigil held in the West Village to pay respects to the victims of the Orlando Fl. killings, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S history.  

Attendees brought flowers, others held signs, some held each other, others cried.   

The crowd chanted, “New York Loves Orlando,”  and, “What do we want, gun control, when do we want it, now”,   along with popular LGBT slogans,   “We’re here, we’re queer get used to it.“

“It’s fitting tribute," John Cadue, 64, said while looking out at the large crowd and holding a sign outside the Stonewall Inn that read, Love Heals.  “United we stand,” said Cadue who moved to New York forty years ago.  “Love concurs everything. In the end love is all that matters.” he said.

As is often the case our public parks play an important role as a gathering place in times of enormous grief.

The crowd assembled in Christopher Park across from the famed Stonewall Inn, the site of the famous 1969 “Stonewall Riots.” 

The names of victims were written in chalk surrounding GAY LIBERATION, the George Segal (1924–2000) sculpture which honors the gay rights movement and commemorates the events at the Stonewall Inn opposite park.  The sculpture - unveiled in 1992 - depicts two standing males and two seated females is a popular pilgrimage site for people honoring the LGBT struggle. 

GAY LIBERATION, a sculpture by artist George Segal honors the gay rights movement and commemorates the events at the Stonewall Inn opposite the park.  

A steady flow of mourners placed flowers in front of the famed Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street which became an international symbol of the gay rights movement in the summer of 1969.  

After putting up for decades what the gay community thought were discriminatory and often violent policing, on June 28, 1969, patrons fought back against police after the bar was raided. The riots lasted three days, thirteen people were arrested.   

Decades later Stonewall became the first gay/lesbian site to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Mayor Bill De Blasio laying flowers on the sidewalk in front of the Stonewall Inn with wife Chirlane McCray, and Kurt Kelly, an owner of the Stonewall.  The bar on Christopher St. became an international symbol of the gay rights movement in the summer of 1969.

Elected officials including Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito and Public Advocate Letitia James placed flowers on the sidewalk in front of Stonewall.

Governor Andrew Cuomo addresses the crowd at Waverly and Stonewall Pl. where elected officials urged New Yorkers to push for sensible gun control.   “How many people have to die before this federal government comes to its senses?” the Governor said to loud applause.  "Until we have a national policy non of us is safe.“ 

Governor Andrew Cuomo gave a stirring speech. The orange placard on the podium read, WE ARE ORLANDO.

“The frustration at a society that would allow a madman to buy an assault weapon has gone on for too long,”  Governor Cuomo said.

“We went through it at Sandy Hook. How many people have to die before this federal government comes to its senses? We had Columbine, we had Virginia Tech, We had Sandy Hook, We had San Bernardino. We had Aurora Colorado. When does it stop? We passed gun control in this state. We outlawed assault weapons in this state.  We know it can be done,” the Governor said to loud applause.

Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged Enrique Rios of Brooklyn who was visiting friends in Orlando for the weekend when he was killed.

 “We lost Enrique and 49 others. And it was more than an attack on 49 Americans. It was an attack on American values, and it was an attack on New York values. We believe in inclusion. We believe in a society filled with unity and the embrace of all people,” de Blasio said. “We do not accept anyone who would sow division or hatred.”

The Mayor also called out a presidential candidate.

"We do not accept the notion of any of our leaders sowing hatred and division, particularly in the wake of tragedy, and that means you, Donald Trump," de Blasio said to cheers.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also addressed the crowd.

Attendees held candles at the end of the vigil while the names of the victims were called out. 

Each name was met with the Spanish cry of "Presente!" from the crowd.

The entrance to Christopher Park on Seventh Avenue and West 4th Street.  

A large crowd gathers on W. 4th Street. 

The crowd listens to speakers under the watchfull eye of the police. 

A somber Mayor De Blasio, his wife Chirlane McCray, and Kurt Kelly, after paying their respects in front of the Stonewall Inn. 



Governor Andrew Cuomo waves to the crowd before laying flowers with his girlfriend Sandra Lee in front of the Stonewall Inn.

Looking across the eastern end of Christopher Park towards the Stonewall Inn.

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

Randall's Island Park Supervisors Suspended After Sexual Harassment Allegations Surface

Parks Supervisor Angelo Figueroa was suspended without pay on Thursday following Daily News report about sexual harassment probe.

Following News report about city probe into allegations of inappropriate touching, sexual advances and pole dancing contests at employee gatherings, Parks Commissioner Veronica White said the two Randalls Island supervisors — James Cafaro and Angelo Figueroa — have been suspended.   

Randall's Island

They played — and now they pay.

Two Parks Department supervisors were suspended Thursday in the wake of allegations they sexually harassed female subordinates and set up a stripper pole on company property for boozy parties, according to the New York Daily News. 

At left, a Parks Department worker dances at a Christmas party on a portable stripper pole at "Five Borough" a parks-owned facility on Randalls Island. At right, another photo from the party. Someone allegedly demanded that workers get on the strip pole if they wanted jobs.

Parks Commissioner Veronica White told a City Council hearing the two accused supervisors would be suspended without pay. 

RELATED: WOMEN IN PARKS DEPT. STRIPPED FOR BETTER JOBS: SOURCES  

James Cafaro, deputy chief of operations of Parks Department, has been accused of helping organize sexually suggestive strip parties for employees.  (Photo: JOE Marino/New York Daily News

The announcement came two days after the Daily News first reported that the Department of Investigation had opened a probe into allegations of x-rated recreation. 

The News spoke with two Parks employees who said they were sexually harassed with inappropriate touching and suggestive texts. 

Deputy Chief of Operations James Cafaro, 53, and Parks supervisor Angelo Figueroa, 49, were transferred last week out of the Randalls Island facility where the strip parties allegedly occurred.   

Text dated March 18, 2013 from Parks Department official James Cafaro to a female employee who later made sexual harassment allegations against Cafaro.  

The men were not initially suspended, but after two days of meetings with DOI, a recommendation was issued to Parks officials that the two men be relieved of duty pending the final outcome of the probe. 

“We acted swiftly when told of the alleged improprieties,” White said. 

“I am committed to maintaining an environment in which all of our employees are free from any form of discrimination or harassment,” she said.   

Text dated Dec. 21, 2012 from a Parks Department employee to another employee who made sexual harassment allegations against James Cafaro.    

The Council meeting was about budget issues but White said she wanted to address the allegations that the two men fostered a sexually suggestive environment and rewarded with jobs women who flirted and participated in the strip parties. 

Parks officials recently took several steps to overhaul its Equal Employment Opportunity Office, she said, including giving additional training to 1,500 employees. 

The agency has also hired two new EEO officers, she said.

The chair of the City Council Parks Committee, Melissa Mark-Viverito, said it was important that a strong message is sent to all the agency’s employees, particularly its female staffers. 

Many of them are single parents who depend on the $14-an-hour seasonal jobs to survive.

 “I’m ... hoping that with the other measures you’re implementing in the agency, with regards to training, and enhanced training — because the training that was in place maybe was not appropriate — that we can avoid these kinds of incidents in the future,” Mark-Viverito said. 

The raunchy holiday parties go back as far as 2009, but were relatively tame. By late last year, sources say female workers were stripping down to their bras and panties and getting $20 tips for pole tricks.   

Read More:

Two Parks Department supervisors suspended after sexual harassment allegations surface  

New York Daily News - May 31,  2013 - By Erin Durkin and Ginger Adams Otis  

Sexual Harassment & Degradation On Parkland

A Walk In The Park - May 29, 2013 

Paulson’s $100 Million Central Park Gift Raises Fairness & Disparity Questions

Heckscher Ballfields - Central Park.  One City-One Standard?  Central Park is meticulously maintained by the Conservancy. Unlike in municipally maintained parks the playing fields here are lush and well cared for. Dedicated personnel are assigned to maintain the park's 28 ballfields. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

Manhattan

Billionaire John Paulson’s $100 million donation to New York’s Central Park Conservancy threw into relief inequities between parks frequented by the wealthy and those in less affluent neighborhoods, according to Bloomberg News.

Paulson said the gift, announced Oct. 23, would enhance the city’s most democratic institution, enjoyed by 40 million visitors a year. The founder of Paulson & Co., a New York-based hedge fund, said he played in the park as a child. Now, at 56, he enjoys a treetop view of its expanse from his residence on Fifth Avenue.

The conservancy, a private nonprofit organization that manages and raises money for the park, said the contribution was the largest donation to any park anywhere and will add $50 million to what had been a $144 million endowment. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is among several who credit the conservancy, created in 1980, with saving the 843-acre (341- hectare) tract from years of underfunding and neglect.

Yet many of the city’s 1,700 other parks, playgrounds and recreation facilities, which attract fewer visitors, languish, advocates say.

“It’s wonderful that Central Park received this great gift but it doesn’t address the underfunding of its other parks,” said Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates, a watchdog group. “What this donation does is highlight the enormous disparity between the haves and have-nots.”

Moving Money

The gift won’t mean more money for other parks in the city, Bloomberg said at a press briefing where Paulson’s donation was announced. The donation “doesn’t mean we’re going to transfer any money from one place to another,” the mayor said. The city remains committed to funding and maintaining all its parks, the mayor said.

Dena Libner, a spokeswoman for the conservancy, declined to comment on the disparity in park funding.

New York devoted about $338 million, less than 0.5 percent of its $68.5 billion operating budget this year, to its 29,000- acre park system, down from $380 million. The city budget supports about 15 percent of Central Park’s $45 million annual operating costs, according to the conservancy website.

“Overall condition ratings declined slightly in the city’s parks,” according to the mayor’s management report, by 2 percentage points to 82 percent; 88 percent were rated acceptable, the same as last year. “Both ratings remained below their respective performance targets,” the report said.

By comparison, the Chicago Park District, a semi-autonomous authority funded through dedicated property taxes, revenue from facilities such as Soldier Field and private donations, intends to spend $407 million on its 7,800-acre system, plus more than $80 million in capital improvements, said Jessica Maxey- Faulkner, a spokeswoman. Los Angeles spends $189.5 million of its $7.2 billion budget on parks.

New Parks

New York City plans $595 million in capital spending from municipal-bond sales through 2016. It has used more than $1.5 billion in such funds since 2002 to improve facilities and create new parks, according to the parks department, including one near the Brooklyn Bridge, which has its own conservancy. It has also developed the 2,200-acre site of the former Freshkills landfill on Staten Island; and along waterfronts in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, said Julie Wood, a mayoral spokeswoman.

Private foundations and trusts have been created to support the Hudson River Park on the west side of Manhattan and the High Line, a landscaped promenade on a former elevated rail line that extends from Greenwich Village through part of Chelsea. Such public-private partnerships work only for parks located in affluent neighborhoods, Croft said.

Queens Tops

From the time Bloomberg took office in 2002, the city has spent $345 million in capital improvements in Manhattan parks, $13 million less than in Queens, which got the most capital spending in the five boroughs, according to the Parks Department.

The city has added more than 700 acres of parkland during the mayor’s tenure, said Zachary Feder, a parks spokesman. The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

“This is the largest era of city-funded parks expansion” in New York’s history, he said.

In fiscal 2013, the city has earmarked $28.8 million for parks in Manhattan, almost double the amount in the Bronx, which has more than twice as much park acreage. The city budgeted $25.3 million for parks in Queens, $23.4 million for Brooklyn and $10.2 million for Staten Island. Staffing in city parks has declined 25 percent since 2009, to 5,744 employees.

Barren Fields

Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a 1,255-acre expanse in Queens that was the site of the World’s Fair in 1939 and 1964, is marred by barren fields where grass once grew and shuttered recreation facilities “where the city could easily spend $100 million,” Croft said.

Ferry Point Park in the Bronx “now functions as a public toilet,” Croft said, after officials reduced staff, abandoned ball fields and closed public restrooms. “Without any security or supervision, men set up roulette tables for open-air gambling,” he said.

Central Park, too, suffered from neglect before the conservancy took over funding and management. “A dust bowl,” is how Croft described the Sheep Meadow, now an emerald green grass carpet. A running track around the Central Park Reservoir, formerly a bumpy mix of stones and mud, now attracts joggers by the hundreds.

Paulson’s gift “is a good thing not just for Central Park but for parks generally because it highlights how important parks are to people,” said Holly Leicht, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks, an advocacy organization.

City Obligation

“It also puts the onus on the city to make sure there’s enough money in the maintenance budget to properly maintain the 1,700 other parks that can’t draw this level of private funding,” Leicht said.

The best solution to the problem of funding all the parks would be the creation of a citywide conservancy-like institution to attract private and public funding, said Melissa Mark- Viverito, a Democrat who heads the City Council’s Parks and Recreation committee and whose Manhattan district of East Harlem includes a portion of Central Park.

“The challenge is to prevent our parks from becoming a two-tiered system where some have conservancies and some don’t,” said Mark-Viverito.

“We can’t have the city walking away from its obligation and responsibility for upkeep and maintenance,” she said. “That’s not the message we should be sending.”

Read More:

Paulson’s $100 Million Park Gift Raises Fairness Question                                                                Bloomberg News - October 26, 2012 - By Henry Goldman and Martin Z. Braun

City Not Complying With Park Private Funding Reporting Law

City-Wide

Four years ago, the City Council passed a law to shed light on how much money was flowing into different parks across the city. Advocates were concerned that the parks system was splitting in two: in wealthy areas of the city, gleaming, innovative green spaces, buttressed by private financing sources; elsewhere, ailing parks with far fewer resources at their disposal.

The legislation required the Department of Parks and Recreation of New York City to prepare an annual report that would detail, park by park, the contributions of nonprofits and other private donors.

“We wanted to see just how large the disparity is,” said Geoffrey Croft, the president of NYC Park Advocates, which supported the legislation. The City Council agreed, and after the measure was approved by a vote of 48-0, the new reporting requirements became Local Law 28 of 2008.

Yet the reports from the parks department fall far short of the law’s requirements, according to The New York Times. 

A report on the 2010 fiscal year fails to list the city’s largest parks nonprofit, the Central Park Conservancy, which spent $28 million during that period. Other major parks groups, including the Union Square Partnership, the Madison Square Park Conservancy and the Friends of Washington Square Park, are also missing.

“It doesn’t reflect a real effort to comply with the law,” Alan J. Gerson, a former councilman who sat on the parks committee in 2008, said.

“Whether it’s for schools, or parks or any public place, the public should know where the private money is coming from and what it’s buying. It’s basic good government,” Mr. Gerson, a Manhattan Democrat, said.

“That’s what we wanted to establish,” he said.

In 2008, the law was praised by council members and the parks department during public hearings. Liam Kavanagh, the first deputy commissioner for parks, said at the time that the legislation was in sync with the Bloomberg administration’s efforts to increase government transparency, adding, “I want to reiterate our shared commitment to full disclosure.”

The reports, however, were never posted on the Web sites of the City Council or the parks department.

Of the over three dozen park conservancy groups listed in a 2007 study by the Citizens Budget Commission as having expenditures high enough to meet the law’s reporting thresholds, the parks department included only seven in its 2010 report.

Dozens of other donors are also missing from that report, including Columbia University, Cabot Creamery, and real estate and construction firms that do business with the city. At least 40 such donors contributed to the parks department during fiscal year 2010, according to filings at the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, but the 2010 report lists only six of them. Columbia and Cabot were listed on the latest report encompassing the 2011 fiscal year.

Many organizations that are listed on the reports appear without the precise dollar amounts of their contributions. The Prospect Park Alliance, for example, is listed on the 2010 report, but its expenditures of $10 million are not. Instead, the group appears with a code indicating expenditures of “$1 million or more.” The codes are borrowed from the Conflicts of Interest Board, where they are used to protect donors’ privacy.

“It’s clearly not the most illuminating,” said Doug Turetsky, chief of staff at the city’s Independent Budget Office, referring to the 2010 report. “You’d want to see more detail in terms of specific amounts.”

The parks department initially defended the reports. But after receiving detailed questions about their content, a department spokeswoman, Vickie Karp, wrote in an e-mail that “questions about who should be reporting through this document are fair and deserve further review.” The department did not offer an explanation for the missing data and declined to make a parks official available for an interview.

The current chairwoman of the parks committee, Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, a Manhattan Democrat, declined to comment.

A spokesman for Councilwoman Helen D. Foster, a Bronx Democrat who was a co-sponsor of the bill in 2008 and shepherded it through the parks committee, which she led at the time, said Ms. Foster “did not feel she remembered the legislation.”

The disparities are evident in Pelham Bay Park, which sprawls over 2,700 acres in the northeast Bronx. It is the city’s largest green space — three times the size of Central Park — but its budget is far smaller, and clearly strained, despite the efforts of parks employees and an active volunteer group.

“The staff is passionately committed to the park,” said Lizbeth González, the president of the Friends of Pelham Bay Park. “But we need more resources.”

Along the park’s eastern edge, the waters of the Long Island Sound lap up against a crumbling retaining wall. A quiet beach alcove is strewed with meteor-size chunks of brick and mortar, and piles of trash in decay.

“We would collect all the trash and burn it,” said Aníbal Lugo, a retired handyman who was angling for bluefish along the shore. “Then the police gave me a ticket.”

He produced the citation, which he carries in his wallet, and explained that now, they let the trash be.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: September 14, 2012

An article on Aug. 27 about the compliance of the Department of Parks and Recreation of New York City with a law requiring annual reports on nongovernmental support of its parks included several errors.

A report covering the 2010 fiscal year is not the most recent report. A report encompassing the 2011 fiscal year has indeed been submitted by the parks department; it is not the case that the 2011 report, due in December, is still incomplete. (The 2011 report was not made available to the reporter until after the article was published.)

While the 2010 report did not include information on the city’s largest parks nonprofit, Central Park Conservancy, or donations from Columbia University and Cabot Creamery to the parks department, some of that information was included in the 2011 report.

And Pelham Bay Park is about three times the size of Central Park, not four. That error, introduced during the editing process, was repeated in a picture caption.

Read More: 

A Law to Expose City Parks’ Inequalities Is Neglected

New York Times  - August 26, 2012  - Jacob Hodes

Horseless Carriage Bill Pushed-Electric Car Eyed

City Council Intro. 86A, sponsored by Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito calls for a phase-out of horse carriages in New York City and replacing them with the 21st Century "Horseless Carriage."

New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets (NYCLASS), has partnered with The Creative Workshop in Dania Beach, Florida to design and create fully electric, vintage-replica vehicles to replace the horse-drawn carriages. According the group, the electric cars can provide rides for tourists, offer jobs to workers currently in the horse carriage industry with the potential for higher wages, and maintain the historic and romantic feel of the tours.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio joined NYCLASS at a press conference on Friday.

Manhattan

They came from all walks of life, some in heavy horse suits despite midday June weather, to descend on the steps of City Hall and rally for an end to New York City’s horse-drawn carriages, according to Our Town.

They are New Yorkers for Clean, Livable & Safe Streets (NYCLASS), as well as community members and advocacy groups, who think the city’s horse-drawn carriages are archaic and harmful all across the board.

Diane Moss, a native New Yorker who is not affiliated with NYCLASS but gives money to PETA, is appalled no one seems to be paying attention.

“I have hated horse-drawn carriages since I was conscious,” said Moss. “We need someone in the White House who cares about animal rights.” For now, advocacy groups like NYCLASS are focusing more locally.

PETA Representative Emily McCoy, NYCLASS Executive Director Carly Knudson, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio alternately took the stand Friday to discuss the issue:

“One third of the city’s horses are cycled out yearly and 70 out of 200 horses disappear,” said McCoy. “Accidents are a frequent occurrence.” One sign held by a rally participant clarified: “10 Accidents in 10 Months.”

“That says enough,” said de Blasio of the sign.

McCoy added that the horses are treated inhumanely once cycled out; many are slaughtered post-retirement.

NYCLASS discussed its solution to the problem of animal cruelty: the eco-friendly electric vintage-replica car. Introduced into legislation by Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito under Intro 86A, the fleet of cars would create jobs, increase the industry’s income and allow for more work days in addition to being safer and cleaner, explained Knudson.

The substitution would also happen at no cost to the city. NYCLASS proposes a prototype pilot program before implementing the car, which would be funded entirely by NCLASS. Currently “employed” horses would be humanely retired by The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

The speakers condemned Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for sidestepping the issue. According to de Blasio, Bloomberg fears the repercussions for tourism if horse-drawn carriages—the supposed epicenter of NYC touristic appeal, joked de Blasio in his own words—are banned.

When asked what other options are being explored, Knudson told NY Press her group was only currently considering the electric vintage-replica car. She said other bills propose an outright ban, but her group acknowledges the economic necessity of finding an alternative to the carriages.

Moss agreed with this assessment. Asked her thoughts on the replica car, she told NY Press: “I don’t know anything about the car, but it’s offering an alternative. [Carriage drivers] only know this trade.” Following her comments, Moss donned a NYCLASS t-shirt, grabbed a sign and joined the rally.

NY Press took to the streets surrounding Central Park, where these horse-drawn carriages are most prevalent, to find out if the end of the carriages means the decline of romance (or at least tourism as Bloomberg proposes).

One semi-retired carriage driver, who would not give his name, has been driving carriages in the park on and off for thirty years. He said there have been proposals like this one for years, and Central Park will simply never allow it. When asked why, he told the Press: “It just goes against the characteristics of the park.

“This is an animal rights Trojan Horse,” he said. “They just want access to the horse stables.”

The carriage driver was sitting in a horse carriage at the time, but when asked the horse’s name, he replied he did not know.

When asked if he thought replacing carriages with vintage-replica cars might hurt tourism, he conceded there are enough touristic activities in New York for it not to have an effect.

He also added if, hypothetically, the replacement happened, he would not drive one of the cars.

When asked if a vintage car could be as romantic as a horse-drawn carriage, he said: “It’s not about the romantic aspect. The park was designed for carriages. It was a demonstration area for carriages to show off in the horse-drawn era.”

Four other carriage drivers declined to talk to the Press.

Many tourists enjoying Central Park on a Friday evening hardly seemed interested in the carriages. When asked if he would ever ride in a horse-drawn carriage, Lee Sang Yun, who was visiting New York City with a friend, said: “No. There’s no time. We like to walk.”

The Ramajos, a French couple enjoying ice cream cones on a park bench, had similar feelings. “No, we don’t want to take a horse-drawn carriage,” said Mrs. Ramajo. “We want to walk,” said her husband.

Regardless of the carriage driver’s dismissal of this proposal, according to NYCLASS, 85,000 New Yorkers support the Vintage-Replica Car Trial, and Knudson says they will not stop fighting until horse-drawn carriages in the city are a thing of the past.

Read More:

The End Of Carriages

Pols and Residents fight to Replace Horse-Drawn Carts With Replica Cars

Our Town - June 17, 2012 - By Alissa Fleck