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

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

Queens

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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


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

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


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

No arrests have been made yet. 

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

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

Read/View More:

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

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

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

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

gothamist - April 18, 2013

Middle school girl beaten savagely by older girls in Astoria Park

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

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

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

   

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

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

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

City-Wide

By Geoffrey Croft

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

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

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

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

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

Park maintenance were seen working on the door this morning.

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

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

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

The gate was open when park workers arrived this morning.

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

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

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

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

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

Read More:

Another Person Found Locked Inside A Park Bathroom - Second Time In Three Weeks

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

Man Found Locked Overnight In Park Bathroom In Queens

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

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

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

Brooklyn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read More:

Boos over kids’ Boathouse boot

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

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

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Alliance: Let's Not Make A Deal

Op-Ed: Let’s not make a deal

April 13, 2013

BY GEOFFREY CROFT

In a recent op-ed (“A new alliance for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park,” March 10) Councilmember Julissa Ferreras argues for the need to create a new nonprofit alliance dedicated for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (FMCP).

The alliance would collect money from the USTA and other businesses using the park and spend it exclusively on the park. Agreeing to a deal that puts money into a park fund in exchange for a yes vote, along with a few other “concessions”  is a misguided policy that would allow the USTA to expand and set the stage for more businesses to try and take more public parkland.

That is exactly what is not needed for the park.

It is the city’s legal responsibility to properly fund our public parks, not that of private businesses.

Make no mistake this is NOT like the Central Park Conservancy or the Prospect Park Alliance model as she has attempted to claim.  There is a huge difference between receiving philanthropic contributions from civic-minded people seeking nothing in return and establishing a fund explicitly created for extracting money from businesses exploiting the park.

She said she is doing this to ”to help protect this irreplaceable park.”  The park does not need this type of “protection.”

A detailed plan on how this alliance model could work has already been drawn up.  It was devised with the help of a Parks Department partner group New Yorkers for Parks, in concert with the councilmember, working behind closed doors.

Despite repeated requests Ferreras has refused to voluntarily provide a copy of this plan.  For the first time in 15 years I’ve had to resort to FOILing a councilmember. This is not a good sign.

These deals only weaken communities and make it easier for the next encroachment. They also allow the very people whose job it is to properly fund and protect our public spaces off the hook.

The councilmember was correct, though, when she said the park has not received the attention and resources it deserves.

Whose fault is that? Does anyone think our elected officials are doing their jobs when FMCP has only 14 employees for a 1,200-acre park?  That’s disgraceful.

Each year our elected officials allocate a fraction of the funds desperately needed to properly maintain, operate, secure, and program our 29,000 acres of public parks.

This year is no different.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s current $70.1 billion proposed budget allocates just $ 283.2 million or o.4 % in tax levy funds for parks.

Over the last 40 years no other city agency has lost a greater percentage of its workforce than the Parks Department.  This happens year after because the public does NOT demand accountability.

The city continues to try and abdicate its responsibilities by entering in these public/private agreements that officials are not only allowing but actively encouraging.  They are increasingly resorting to these pay-to-play funding schemes.  This welfare mentality has to stop.

These deals hand over enormous power and decision making authority to these groups with little transparency and accountability on what is supposed to be public land.

We need our elected officials instead to allocate proper resources for our parks; it’s what the public pays taxes for.

Until communities begin to stand together and demand accountability from officials and “so called” park advocacy groups, the public can expect more of the same – our parks being sold out.

Geoffrey Croft is the founder and president of NYC Park Advocates, a non-profit watchdog group dedicated to improving public parks. He is also a founding member of Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, a coalition of community-based civic and environmental groups opposed to the commercial encroachment of FMCP.  

Read More: 

Op-Ed: Let’s not make a deal
Queens Courier - April 13, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft

Man Slashed In Central Park

Manhattan

A 19-year-old hispanic man says he was slashed in his forearm yesterday in Central Park at 5:00 pm NYC Park Advocates has learned.

The victim says the incident began as a stare down contest in the vicinity of 107th street in the park and became violent when the other man pulled out a sharp object and cut him.

The victim went to St. Luke's Hospital where he received three stitches. 

He became uncooperative in the investigtion sources say when police found out he had an outstanding warrant.

Dion Mickens, 19, was taken to Criminal Court for proessesing. 

 

Mickens has seven prior arrests, the latest on March 29th for Assault 2. 

 -  Geoffrey Croft

Man Hits Police Van With Tree Branch - Swims Naked In Central Park

Alionme Dieng, 25, swimming in the Harlem Meer yesterday.  He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation after the incident according to police. (Image: William Farrington)

Manhattan

A Manhattan man went wild in Central Park yesterday, smashing a police van with a tree branch and swimming out to an island in the Harlem Meer, where he spent 90 minutes singing and shouting before cops — 15 of them — nabbed him, according to the New York Post.

Alionme Dieng, 25, began his rampage at 10:30 a.m., and stripped to his undies on the islet, witnesses said.

After ranting more, he dove back in to the water.

“He went in with shorts,” said witness James Miller, “but he didn’t come out with shorts.”

Read More:

Nice day for a skinny dip, fellas!
New York Post -  April 14, 2013 - By Wilson Dizard and REBECCA HARSHBARGER

Unleashed Dog Shot By Police In SI Park Dies

Sadly, Baby Girl succumbed to her injuries and died on Thursday after the unleashed dog was shot by police in Schmul Park last Saturday. The dog's owner Patricia Ratz and her sister brought their three pit bulls to the park and two of them got into a fight.  (image: Baby Girl (Facebook) via gothamist.

Staten Island

The pet pit bull who was shot by cops over the weekend after an incident in a Staten Island park has died. Two-year-old Baby Girl had been in bad shape all week since the shooting on Saturday. Doctors had given her a 50-50 chance at surviving her serious injuries, but unfortunately it was not to be.

S.N.A.R.R Animal Rescue Northeast, the group that rescued Baby Girl before she was adopted, posted this update on Facebook today:

We are devastated to post, but Baby Girl passed away this morning. The family is going to the vet now. At this point we don't know specifically the complications that happened. Thank you again to everyone for your support, donations and kind words. The family is upset beyond words and this girl will be dearly missed. RIP Baby Girl.

Owner Patricia Ratz and her sister Kathleen Dixon brought their three pit bulls to Schmul Park in Travis around 1 p.m. on Saturday. Two of the dogs—not Baby Girl— started fighting, and Ratz stuck her hand in between them to try to break it up; one of them bit her, prompting a police response. Ratz told SI Live that officer Julie Moschella and an officer in civilian clothing arrived moments after the fight and opened fire on Baby Girl, who was running away from them.

Read More:

Pet Pit Bull Shot By Cops In Staten Island Park Last Weekend Dies
gothamist - April 11, 2013 - By Ben Yakas

Unleashed Dog Shot By Police Not Dead - Family Says Cops Shouldn't Have Fired

A Walk In The Park  - April 8, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft 

Police Shoot Dog in Staten Island Park

A Walk In The Park - April 6, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft