Jogger Slashed In Van Cortland Park

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

A Bronx resident was slashed while jogging in Van Cortlandt Park on Tuesday night according to police.

The victim, 29, was running in the park near Putnam Trail South at approximately 7:30 p.m. when two black two males in their mid twenties approached him.  One of the attackers slashed the runner on his right cheek with an unknown weapon.  He suffered a 2-inch laceration. 

The victim refused medical attention.

The assailants fled into the woods.

One of the attackers was described approximately 6 feet tall with a small afro and wearing a red Adidas hooded sweatshirt. 

Police have no description of the second assailant.

The incident occurred within the confines of the 50 Pct. 

Police Search For Suspects Wanted In Robberies In Two UWS Parks

Police are looking for suspects wanted in connection with robberies in Riverside and Mornignside Parks in the early hours of March 6th.  Police released video and photographs of suspects. 

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

The New York City Police Department is asking the public for assistance with locating and identifying the individuals wanted in connection to several robberies that occurred on Sunday March 6th.

At approximately 1:40am inside Morningside Park, located at Morningside Drive and West 116 Street,  a 23-year-old male was approached from behind by three individuals who pushed him to the ground and demanded his property.  

Once on the ground one of the  assailants individuals went through the victim’s pocket and removed his wallet, an undetermined amount of cash, and a cellphone. The individuals fled westbound towards Morningside Drive.

The Incident occured within the confines of the 26 Pct.

Police released video of suspects wanted in the March 6th robbery and attacks. 

Approximately a half hour later at 2:21am the three assailants approached a 22 and 23-year-old male sitting on the bench inside Riverside Park, located at Riverpark Drive and West 108 Street.

An individual punched one of the victims in the face while another assailant took property from the victim’s pocket.  The individuals fled southbound from inside Riverside Park.

The Incident occured within the confines of the 24 Pct.

Approximately a half hour later at approximately 2:40am a 27-year-old male was walking northbound on Westend Avenue and West 73 Street near when he was approached by the three individuals from behind. One of the individuals pulled the victim by the jacket collar and tried to take his bag. An unknown male saw the incident and shouted at the robbers prompting them individuals to flee southbound on Wesstend Avenue.  No property was removed.

The Incident occured within the confines of the 20 Pct.

Individual 1: approximately a 20-year-old male, Black, 5'8"tall, 180 lbs, medium complexion, last seen wearing a red jacket, black jeans and a baseball cap.

Individual 2: approximately a 20-year-old male, Black, 5'9",tall, 160 lbs, medium complexion, slender build, last seen wearing a black jacket, black jeans, black hoody, and black sneakers

Individual 3: approximately a 20-year-old male, Black, 6'0"tall,170 lbs, medium complexion, gray jeans, blue jacket, and a gray striped hoody.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).  

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

FDNY Called To Game Of Thrones Low Budget Union Sq. Promo Event

A firefigher checks the permit for a smoke machine from a Game of Thrones promo event in Union Square Park this morning while two HBO event officials look on.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC PArk Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons are no match for the FDNY. 

New York’s bravest threatened to turn off the smoke machine being used as part of a Game of Thrones themed promotion after being called to Union Square Park to investigate.  

They arrived at HBO’s low-budget but much hyped promo event after receiving a call this morning of smoke coming from the southern end of the park at 14th Street.

When firemen arrived they observed smoke spewing from a replica of an overturned garbage can lying on its side.

Smoking Garbage Can.  The Fire Department was called to Union Square Park this morning. 

“What is the smoke for,”  a fireman asked. "Is there anyway you can not do it?”

An HBO official who said she was in charge explained the scenario while a Fire Department official checked the permit. 

“The permit checks out,” the fireman said to his colleagues.

“We’ll let it go for now but If we keep getting calls we’re going to have to shut it down,” he warned the HBO event staffer after getting her name.

The bare bones set consisted of a single smoke machine; a small scale lamp post, a broken bench, a replica of broken up hexagon block sidewalk,  and  two large dragon footprints made to resemble skid marks.

Staffers often outnumbered onlookers for much of  this morning's  low key event to promote the DVD release Game of Thrones (GOT) Season 5.

“Sorry for the mess,” an event personnel explained. 

“A dragon landed here last night and we are cleaning up after him,” he repeated over and over.  

The barker then instructed people to post photos of the event to Twitter using a certain GOT hashtag.  

 Firefighers arrive at the scene. 

Event staff reminded the public of another event later this evening at Harold Square and hinted that, “special guests”  - i.e. cast members - would be in attendance.

At least one person not connected to HBO’s hit show had hoped for a larger crowd.

NYPhotobus set up a voter registration location a few feet away complete with GOT disco-themed music and “House Sanders” posters.

After five hours of being illegally parked in a turning lane police asked the bus to move on but not before they signed up 30 new voters NYPhoto reported.

 

Season 6 of HBO's wildly popular series premieres on April 24th.

Read More:

‘Game of Thrones’ dragon promo is a total dud
New York Post - March 15, 2016 - By Brooke Baitinger and Sophia Rosenbaum 

Man Slashed During Robbery In Bronx Playground

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

23-year-old man was slashed in the face during an atempted robbery in a Bronx Playground yesterday.

The attack occured while a thief tried to rob the victim of his cellphone in French Charley’s Playground in Bronx Park, at 204th Street and Webster Avenue around 2:30pm, police said.

The suspect took off without the victim's phone.

The victim was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition.

Mayor de Blasio's Horse Trade Deal Collapses

Mayor de Blasio addressing the media after finally emerging from his SUV more than fifteen minutes after pulling into City Hall.  The Mayor is pushing a bill that would restricted carriage horses to Central Park as well as have the tax payers foot the bill to relocate the horse carriage industry into a Parks Department owned building in the park. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge


Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

The City Council will not be voting on the Mayor's controversial horse-drawn carriage bill.

The legislation was scheduled to be voted on tomorrow.

The move comes after the carriage license owners voted not to support Teamster's Local 553 deal with the Mayor.

The Teamsters themselves finally backed out after a rash of negative publicity.

“We negotiated in good faith with the City Council and the Teamsters to reach this agreement,” Mr. de Blasio said in a statement.

"The terms of that agreement have not changed during these past weeks, but today the Teamsters decided to back away from the fair compromise they had previously endorsed. While we are disappointed this bill will no longer be considered Friday, the people of this city know what I believe, and we will work toward a new path on this issue.”

"The Council will not vote on any horse carriage related legislation on Friday since the Teamsters no longer support the deal,” Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said in statement.  

The Council said they had "sufficient votes to pass the legislation, but will not be moving it because the legislation was predicated on the agreement."

Several council members said they had expressed to Speaker Mark-Viverito their strong to desire to get away from the issue.

"The votes just weren't there. Let's move on," a Council member said today speaking on the
 condition of anonymity.  


The Mayor sat in his SUV surrounded by aids and security for fifteen minutes after arriving at City Hall. 


The Mayor sat in his SUV for fifteen minutes after arriving at City Hall after seeing a phalanx of reporters and members of the horse-drawn carriage industry who had just finished a press conference.

He finally emerged, briefly addressed the media and abruptly left. 

“I’m obviously disappointed that the vote won’t happen,” the mayor said.

“You all know my views on this issue," he added. "We’re going to find a way forward."

The administration has not fared well on this issue following a disastrous public hearing on the bill two weeks ago where officials struggled to answer even basic questions. 

"The hearing was ridiculous, they couldn't answer anything," a Council member said today who also spoke on the condition of anonymity.  

A steady stream of opponents emerged since the January hearing including the Transport Workers Union and the Central Labor Council.

The Central  Park Conservancy, which manages the park under a legal agreement with the City and raises 75 percent of its operating budget from private donations because the city refuses to,  sent an email to members last Thursday saying it had, “significant concerns” about the plan.

NYCLASS  - who waged an expensive campaign which many credit with helping the mayor get elected - supported the deal which, as critics point out, should not come as a surprise.

“Whatever compromise the mayor will agree to, we would be happy with,” Steve Nislick said in an interview more than a year ago. 

"We trust him,” he said. 

The Mayor's  proposed new $ 25 million dollar home for the carriage horse industry in Central Park. The park’s Department’s 86th Street Shops building.

For weeks the administration had tried its best to claim that the seventy-five horses, and sixty-eight carriages planned for Central Park would fit into the existing footprint of the Parks Department’s 86th Street shops.

When everyone with knowledge of the plan knew was impossible. 

The administration finally admited in a "Fact Sheet" sent to select Council members what was coming.

"There may need to be a new structure to house the carriages. The new structure would be contained within the same lot.” 

  

Read More:

Hearing For Mayor’s Controversial Carriage Industry Relocation 

Plan In Central Park Scheduled For Friday

A Walk In The Park - January 19, 2016 - By Geoffrey Croft

De Blasio’s New Carriage Horse Industry Home In Central Park

A Walk In The Park - January 14, 2016 - By Geoffrey Croft

Battery Park City Removing All Law Enforcement Officers

An AlliedBarton “safety ambassador” on the southern end of Battery Park City. On Wednesday the Battery Park City Authority board secretly voted to remove all law enforcement officers from the premises and replace them with civilian AlliedBarton employees.
Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) secretly voted this week to remove all the Park Enforcement Patrol officers, NYC Park Advocates has learned.

The board voted to allow its contract with the Parks Department to expire on Sunday night.  The secret vote occurred in an Executive Session after the authority’s monthly board meeting on Wednesday.  The deal replaced the current $ 2.5 million dollar PEP contract.

For months BPCA officials have told the public that a percentage of PEP officers would remain along side AlliedBarton “safety ambassadors.”

The Battery Park City Authority’s controversial decision to replace Park Enforcement officers with civilians with no law enforcement powers has sparked outrage from residents of the sprawling complex.

The BPCA board had approved a contract for up to $ 2.1 million with AlliedBarton, another $ 400,000 would be allocated for PEP officers officials said.

The Parks Department was kept in the dark about the move until yesterday afternoon according to several city sources. The agency had reached out to BPCA this week several times but got no response.

On Friday afternoon Parks Department’s general council Alessandro Olivieri was finally able to get in touch with the BPCA.

The last tour for the PEP officers will be on Sunday night.  All forty PEP personnel including thirty officers and supervisors, and ten CSA’s will be reassigned to other commands.

Wednesday’s secret vote comes after a group of teens were viciously attacked and robbed in a dark alley in Battery Park City in December.

The attack left one of the victims with a concussion, a skull fracture, bleeding in his brain in three places and a swollen shut eye.

The incident sparked outrage by the victims who claimed the newly hired AlliedBarton safety ambassadors did not intervene to help the teens and delayed calling the police.

“AlliedBarton security personnel on duty did nothing to help the children,” the mother of victim said afterwards.

The actions of AlliedBarton employees further renewed the fears of residents and elected officials who have complained bitterly since finding out about the Authority’s move to replace PEP offices with civilians in October.

In December city, state,and federal elected officials send a letter to Dennis Mehiel criticizing the AlliedBarton move:

Battery Park City Authority board chairman and CEO Dennis Mehiel was blasted at a community meeting last month over the proposed hiring of AlliedBarton.  At the meeting he stated that they were still in negotiations between the City and BPCA.

Mr. Mehiel abruptly excused himself from the meeting leaving of long line of angry residents waiting to speak.

One recent plan called for having PEP officers work two tours comprising of 24 officers in total according to a city source.

The secret ousting of the PEP officers comes amid growing outrage over several recent decisions by the Board without community consultation and transparency.

Calls for the city to take over the Battery Park City in the wake of these decisions have also been renewed.

This week State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick announced the introduction of a bill that would require a majority of BPCA members to be local residents. Only one of the current BPCA’ seven-member board lives in Battery Park City.

The Authority board is appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the State Senate.

“They televise the board meetings then go into executive session. They do all the dirty stuff behind closed doors, “ said a Battery Park City resident.

Several requests seeking comment from the Battery Park City Authority were not returned.

Read More:

Two Arrested In Brutal Battery Park City Attack 
A Walk In The Park - January 13, 2015 -  By Geoffrey Croft

Teens Viciously Attacked In Battery Park City While AlliedBarton Security Ambassador Watched
A Walk In The Park - January 7
2016

Police Arrest Man For Stalking Girl, 12, In Washington Sq. Park

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

A visit to Washington Square Park turned into a nightmare for a twelve-year-old girl when a stalker followed her home, NYC Park Advocates has learned. 

The girl was in the park with her best friend and her friend’s mother near the dog run around 12:30pm. on Monday. 

After the girl’s friend and mom left a strange man approached her and asked, “will you ride me?”  

The man muttered other phrases the child didn’t understand according to police.

The girl quickly walked away but the assailant followed her home.  When she entered her building on 9th Street the man continued and got into the elevator with her where he asked, “I was recently let out of jail, can I hide in your apartment?”

When the elevator arrived at her floor the terrified girl ran out and into her apartment. Her mother called the police. 

The stalker disappeared. 

Police responded.  They saw a man a few blocks away on 10th Street & Broadway that matched his description.

Police arrested Carl Catapano, 39, a resident of 26 E. 11th Street.     

Catapano was charged with Stalking, Harassment and Endangering The Welfare of a Child.
 He is being held on a $15,000 bond or $5,000 cash bail.

On January 15th  Catapano was given a desk appearance ticket for panhandling in a subway station. On December 4, 2015 he was arrested for marijuana possession.  On February 25, 2006 he was arrested for assault and criminal mischief.