Rapist Strikes Twice In Brooklyn's John Hancock Playground

Police say the man in this sketch raped at least two women in John Hancock Park in Brooklyn.

Rapist Strikes Twice In Brooklyn

NYPD: Attacker Uses Gun To Strike Victims

March 25, 2010

BY KATHY CARVAJAL

MYFOXNY.COM - Police are looking for a gun-toting rapist who attacked two women in John Hancock Park in Brooklyn on separate occasions.

In the most recent incident, the man hit a 42-year-old woman on the head with a gun and then sexually assaulted her. The attack happened on Tuesday at around 4:40 p.m. near Franklin Avenue and Fulton Street.

The first attack occurred on March 16. Investigators say the man used a gun to strike the 56-year-old victim after sexually assaulting her. The attack happened at around 1 a.m. near Franklin Avenue and Fulton Street.

The assailant is described as a black man, 25-35 years old, 5'8"- 5'11" tall, approximately 160 -180 lbs. with short hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a green military jacket, dark pants and white sneakers at the time of the most recent attack.

Anyone with information on the rapist is asked to contact authorities at the following:

www.nypdcrimestoppers.com 
Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). 
Text your tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577. 
 

Rapist Strikes Twice In Brooklyn NYPD: Attacker Uses Gun To Strike Victims

My Fox - March 25, 2010 - By Kathy CARVAJAL

Prospect Park Santeria

Two dismembered chicken heads found at the shore of a Propect Park lake

 (Courtesy of Stephen Brown / March 24, 2010)

BROOKLYN

An unidentified butcher is leaving a gruesome trail of blood puddles, guts and animal carcasses in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, according to WPIX.

Park officials are trying to figure out who is responsible for mutilating the animals - which include chickens, turtles and rodents - and disposing them on the park grounds.

The latest discovery was described as a fleshy pile of animal entrails, stacked on a rock bordering the lake in Prospect Park Southwest. A chicken carcass was also found floating in the lake.

"It was quite repulsive," park-goer Bonita Makuch told the Brooklyn Paper, "with a pile that big, it seems to me you'd have to do a lot of killing to get that many guts."

This is the latest in multiple reports of disembodied animal heads, mostly chickens, with eight disembodied heads found floating Tuesday, March 16. However there have also been reports of smashed turtle shells, and the carcass of an opossum that may have died after drinking lake water contaminated by the slaughtered chickens.

Officials are speculating that the recent slaughter may be related to religious rituals, as animal killings are common in religions such as Santeria.

READ More: 

Trail of Dismembered Animals Found In Brooklyn Park

WPIX - March 24, 2010- By JEREMY TANNER 

Two females Shot in Bronx Park - One 15 Years-Old

NYC Park Crime Blotter

(Bronx - March 22, 2010) Two females were shot inside Vidalia Park at Approx. 8:00am this morning. The first victim (15 years-old) was shot in the thigh. The second (26 years-old) was grazed in the neck. Both were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition. The 2.1 acre is located btw. E. 179/180th St. between Vyse St. & Daly Ave.  - By Geoffrey Croft

Trump Steps in to Run Central Park Carousel

The current Central Park Carousel was built in 1951 (Photo: Flickr/skyliner72)

Donald Trump has ridden to the rescue of the Central Park Carousel.

Officials said yesterday that Trump was handed the reins to the merry-go-round this month after the longtime operator, New York One LLC, was bounced by the Parks Department when maintenance issues couldn't be resolved, according to the New York Post.

Trump is paying a fee of $7,500 a month for the next six months.

Read More:

Trump takes reins of Central Park Carousel

NY Post  - March 20, 2010 - By David Seifman

Central Park Carousel Closing - Parks Dept. Terminates contract

A Walk In The Park - February 18, 2010

Parks Committee Budget Hearing - March 24, at 2:00PM

Parks Committee Budget Hearing

What:  Park and Recreation Committee Budget Hearing

When:  Wednesday - March 24, 2:00

Where: City Hall Council Chambers -2nd floor.

As concerned New Yorkers who live, work and care about our parks, open spaces and public recreation programs it is very important that the public comes out to testify for an appropriate parks budget. Our elected officials need to hear how vital these services are and the importance of properly funding them. This is also the first budget hearing for Melissa Mark-Viverito as Parks Chair, and for many new committee members.

Over the last 40 years no other city agency has lost a greater percentage of its workforce than the Parks Department.  Despite a $ 3 Billion Surplus this year  (IBO - March 4, 2010)  Mayor Bloomberg is proposing allocating a historic low amount of city funds to maintain the operate the Parks Department.  Under Bloomberg's $ 63.6 Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2011 the Parks Department’s budget from city funds would be reduced from $264 million  - to $239 million. 

This would represent only a 0.37% allocation of the city budget in city funds to maintain and operate parks which would be a historic low. The agency is responsible for 14% of the City's land. Mr. Bloomberg’s overall proposed budget is $560 million larger than last year.

Severe cuts being proposed under the Mayor's plan include staff and programs:

• The Mayor's forecast for the next year and a half calls for the Parks Department to lose 748 out of 3,722 full-time jobs (20%).  And if you count full-time and full time equivalent head-count they lose 1,156 jobs.

•  450 seasonal jobs delayed or cut this year.

• Four pools will be closed all summer and the swimming season will be shortened by two weeks citywide.  (NYC already ranks dead last in the provision of public swimming pools for a high density city) This would save $1.4 million in FY 2011 according to the mayor. 

• . Eliminate 173 full-time positions either voluntarily or through lay-offs.   The target goal is 173 positions but according to the DPR's budget office "there is no cap."

•  The full-time and seasonal hiring freeze will affect many staffing areas, including the maintenance and operation.  Severe cuts include $ 4.5 million over the next few months for Job Training Participants, (JTP's) and $ 10 million reduction next year. The last number represents s 25% cut in the program.  The federal government puts in fifty percent of the JTP's forty million dollar budget with the city and state splitting the rest.  These positions are essential in providing basic cleaning services during the busiest season for parks. 

These cuts would be devastating to all already decimated agency.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Geoffrey Croft at NYC Park Advocates - (212) 987 0565

Source: 

IBO Testimony - March 4, 2010

http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/prelimbudgetcctestimony030410.pdf

Cuts,  Layoffs Looming for Parks Department - A Walk In The Park - March 1, 2010   http://awalkintheparknyc.blogspot.com/2010/03/cuts-layoffs-looming-for-parks.html

Brooklyn Bridge Park To Open With 9 Full-time Dedicated PEP - Discriminatory Critics Charge

BROOKLYN

When the first section of Brooklyn Bridge Park opens next month, it will have nine full-time Parks Enforcement Police patrol officers for 13 acres, about as many as the entire borough of the Bronx, according to amNew York.

Advocates say that’s a glaring example of a two-tiered system in which wealthier areas get more protection.

The officers – city workers paid with funds raised from nearby property owners - will work in three shifts to provide 24-hour coverage, a level of security other parks don’t get.

“I would like to see the same coverage in the rest of the borough because Brooklyn is severely undermanned,” said Joe Puleo, vice president of DC 37 Local 983, which represents the officers.

A handful of parks –all of which are in Manhattan except for Brooklyn Bridge – have dedicated, full-time patrol officers, paid for by donors or property owners. All other parks share roaming patrols, paid for by the city

Geoffrey Croft, head of New York City Park Advocates, said there is an “enormous disparity between the publicly funded parks and the ones which receive private funding.”

Brooklyn has 15 dedicated city-funded patrol officers covering the rest of its 4,300 acres of parks. In Queens, 14 patrol officers handle more than 7,000 acres and in the Bronx, there are 10 for about 7,000 acres, according to the Park Advocates.

“This is a civil rights issue,” Croft said. “All communities deserve safe, well maintained parks, not just those in wealthy neighborhoods.”

Read More: 

Advocates say all parks not treated equally

amNew York- March 17, 2010 - By Jason Fink

Community Board 8 Rejects Year Round Tennis Concession

Community Board  8 on the Upper East Side nearly unanimously rejected a proposal Wednesday night that would have allowed a private tennis club from operating year-round on public park land. Currently the tennis concession charges up to $ 180 per hour on  the Queensboro Oval softball field under the 59th Street bridge which operates in the park up to eight months of the year. The board voted 35 to 2, with two abstentions.  The vote came five months after the concessionaire had already signed a contract which is a strong point of contention because opponents of the plan charge they had not been properly notified of the proposal. A Walk In The Park has learned however that the contract has not yet been registered by the Comptroller's office.

The night saw many passionate appeals on behalf of park users, families and park advocates. Lawsuits were also mentioned numerous times by opponents of the plan if the Parks Department did not cancel the contract. Manhattan Parks Commissioner William Castro has publicly stated on several occasions that the city would listen to the community in making its determination. Meanwhile permits have not yet begun to be issued for the outdoor softball season which begins shortly  –  Geoffrey Croft 

MANHATTAN

It was a small crowd of people making a potentially giant decision whether to allow an expanded season at Sutton East, a tennis club under a bubble beneath the Queensborough Bridge on the far East Side, according to NY 1.

"These are the facts -- 2,000 people play tennis at the Queensboro Oval every week, 17 hours a day in a location that's convenient, safe and open rain or shine. We employ more than 50 people, we charge no membership fees, people can play and take classes on our courts for as little as $45 an hour," said Sutton East Owner Tony Skolnick.

Opponents to year-round tennis say residents should not have to pay to play on public land.

"The issue here is not tennis versus softball, it's not rich versus poor and it's not who uses it," said Upper East Side resident Bob Bailin. "The issue here is this is a public space, this is a public park that's being sold to a private entity, that's the issue."

After listening to testimony from both sides, Community Board 8 rejected the city and the tennis concession's proposal to have tennis in the bubble all year long, opting to leave the arrangement as it is -- eight months for tennis, four for other activities like softball when the bubble is down.

Read More:

UES Board Deflates Year-Round Tennis Proposal

NY1 - March 17, 2010 - By Rebecca Spitz 

No Gang War,  but a Turf Battle Nonetheless

New York Times City Room - March 18,  2010 , By ELISA MALA

Upper East Side Land Grab As Parks' Looks to Sell Ballfield to Tennis Concessionaire

A Walk In The Park - February 17, 2010