Two Bodies Found In Coney Island Creek in Jet Ski Accident During Kaiser Park Outing

A NYPD Patrol boat searched the waterway for lost JetSkiers Willie Tom, 44, and Celine Lin, 24, around Coney Island's Kaiser Park at W. 31st Street in Brooklyn on the Fourth of July.  (Photo: Bryan Pace for the New York Daily News)  

Brooklyn

The bodies of two friends who disappeared while riding a personal watercraft in Coney Island Creek were pulled from the water Friday, cops said, according to the New York Daily News. 

Family of Willie Tom, 44, and Celine Lin, 24, the two people who drowned in Coney Island Creek, mourn as NYPD search for their missing bodies Friday.   (Photos: Anthony Delmundo/New York Daily News)

Grieving friends and family watched as the bodies of Willie Tom, 44, and his friend, Celine (Cici) Fu, 29, were pulled ashore from the water near where the pair went missing on the Fourth of July. 

Tom was riding with Fu — his best friend’s wife — on another pal’s personal watercraft when he made a short turn that tossed the woman into the creek shortly after 8 p.m. Tom dived into the water to save her, but the pair, who were not wearing life vests, were soon overcome by the water. 

 A friend said the two broke the surface three or four times before they disappeared for good. Michael Tom, 38, said he wasn’t surprised to hear that his older brother died during a valiant struggle to rescue Fu, who was frantically flailing because she couldn’t swim.    

“He was a very experienced Jet Skier, a very good swimmer — a great swimmer — and I guess there was no way he was coming out without her,” Michael Tom said. “Even the best lifeguards get pulled under when someone is panicking.”  

The pair were enjoying the holiday with friends at Kaiser Park before Tom borrowed his pal’s watercraft for a ride.


Police officers search by land and by water for the bodies.  

Read More:

Two bodies found in Coney Island Creek as distraught family watches from shore

New York Daily News - July 5, 2013 - By Erik Badia and Joe Kemp

4th of July tragedy: Recovery mission begins for Jet Skiers missing in Coney Island Creek 

WPIX - July 4, 2013 -  by Mike Sheehan    

Bodies Of Missing Jet Skiers Found Off Coney Island Shore

NY1 - July 5, 2013 - By Erin Clarke

Fourth of July beachgoers riding Jet Ski go missing in Coney Island Creek

despite extensive rescue attempts 

New York Daily News - July 4, 2013 - By Thomas Tracy, Mark Morales and Daniel Beekman 

Bronx River Rivals Gowanus Canal In Fecal Bacteria

“The numbers are consistently high. Even without the rain, the numbers are very high.”  - 
New York City Water Trail Association



Fecal bacteria in the Bronx River rivals the Gowanus Canal.  After heavy rains, the borough's namesake waterway gets especially filthy. Swimming is out. Boating is OK.  

Bronx

The Bronx River is full of crap. 

New testing reveals that the Westchester-to-East River waterway now has levels of fecal bacteria to rival the notorious Gowanus Canal, a federal Superfund cleanup site, according to an article in the New York Daily News. 

Testing by the New York City Water Trail Association says the levels of enterococcus, a fecal bacterium, is especially bad after heavy rainfall, when New York’s antiquated sewage and storm drain system dumps excess wastewater into area rivers.

“The numbers are consistently high,” said Sam Marquand, who has been collecting samples near Hunts Point Riverside Park. “Even without the rain, the numbers are very high.” 

Marquand and other volunteers have been collecting samples from across the city since May. Two points along the Bronx River — the Hunts Point Riverside Park and the newly opened Starlight Park — have unusually high amounts of bacteria.

“It’s not just regular runoff,” a worried Marquand said. “Stuff is just ending up in the river without being treated and there is no way of knowing right now where it's coming from.”  

 

A boom that catches garbage in the Bronx River catches plenty.  

The high levels of enterococcus make the river unsafe for recreational activities like swimming under normal conditions. But the numbers jumped 13-fold after heavy rains, such as in the last week of June. 

Only the infamous Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn has more bacteria. 

The good news? You shouldn’t be swimming in the river anyway, but boating is all right, said Rob Buchanan, founder of the New York City Water Trail Association. 

“Boating is actually a very good way to use a polluted waterway,” he said. “It gets the public invested and gets people interested in protecting the waterway.” 

The Department of Environmental Protection says it has stepped up efforts to curb trash and sewage problems in the river, including efforts to reduce storm water overflows. 

Waterway advocates hope that more testing could force the city to reevaluate the sewage system around the Bronx River. "People are out there swimming in the river everyday and they should know what they're up against” Marquand said. 

"People need to be aware of these things so we can change them." 

Read More:

Report: Bronx River is almost as bad as the Gowanus Canal for fecal bacteria 
New York Daily News -  July 4, 2013 - By Denis Slattery

Canada Geese Roundup And Slaughter Heads To Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge closed?   This morning during the annual round up of resident geese that don't fly into planes a USDA employee was heard twice telling David Karopkin of GooseWatch NYC   - who was shooting video and photos (above) of USDA personel loading captured geese and goslings into the back of a pick-up truck - that the park is closed. Another USDA employee tells him that the area is closed.   According to a press release sent out today by GooseWatch NYC, Mr. Karopkin was threatened with arrest "more than once." 


Brooklyn 

The annual roundup and slaughter of the region’s Canada geese in the name of human air safety is under way, according to the New York Times.

In the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding area Tuesday morning, agents from the federal Department of Agriculture captured geese and loaded them onto trucks, the National Park Service said. (This time of year, geese are molting and cannot fly.)

No numbers were available, but based on a census conducted recently by the Agriculture Department, the target was 500 geese, said Daphne Yun, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service.

Video taken near the West Pond trail area in the wildlife refuge by David Karopkin of GooseWatch NYC and released by Friends of Animals shows workers carrying heavy-looking crates loaded with birds and putting them in the back of a pickup truck.

Hundreds of geese have been removed each summer from parks within a few miles of the area’s major airports and slaughtered — much to the dismay of animal-rights advocates — since 2009, after a US Airways jet was brought down in the Hudson River by a bird strike. The government is trying to nearly halve the Canada goose population in 17 Atlantic states, to 650,000 from 1.1 million.

“The adult geese and babies were squawking loudly in distress” as they were stuffed into the crates, Edita Birnkrant, New York director of Friends of Animals, wrote in an e-mail. “That this is happening in NYC’s only wildlife refuge is stunning.”

In addition to the roundup at Jamaica Bar, which is controlled by the National Park Service, there have been 322 geese captured at city parks so far this year, city environmental officials said.

The number of geese rounded up has been declining, an indicator, officials said, that the population control plan, which also includes tactics to discourage geese from breeding, is a success.

Read More:

Annual Goose Roundup Under Way in Jamaica Bay

New York Times -  July 2, 2013 - By Andy Newman

Attempted Rape In Central Park - Second in Four Days

Police released an image from surveillance footage  this evening of a Hispanic man wanted in the attempted rape of a 30-year-old actress early Tuesday morning near West 64th Street and West Drive in Central Park.   The woman was also robbed by the assailant. 

This was the second attempted rape in Central Park in four days. 

Manhattan

Around 2:40 a.m. Tuesday, the victim – a 30-year-old woman — was walking near West 64th Street and West Drive in the park, police said, according to CBS news. 

The suspect came up and tried to rape the woman before fleeing, police said. There were no injuries reported.

A surveillance image showed a shirtless man crossing a street. No detailed description of the suspect was released.

Anyone with information on the attack was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, log onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.

Read More:

Police Search For Attempted Rape Suspect Who Struck In Central Park

CBS - July 2, 2013 

Broadway actress attacked, nearly raped in Central Park
New York Daily News - July 3, 2013 - By Joe Kemp , Mark Morales & Shane Dixon Kavanaugh  

Central Park Now Charging For Tours

A Conservancy volunteer leading a free tour last year. The Central Park Conservancy quietly began charging for select park tours yesterday under a pilot program. The Conservancy is providing eight frequently recurring tours for free while now charging for seven ticketed tours.  The organization has a $ 215 million dollar endowment  - not including hedge fund investor John Paulson's recent $100 million pledge.  (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on image to enlarge.

The fundraising move comes less than a week after they began trying to sell virtual spots on the Great Lawn. 

Public/private partnership agreements between the city and organizations like the Central Park Conservancy are increasing coming under public scrutiny due to the enormous disparity between well funded privately maintained parks and those that rely primarily on municipal funding. 

Manhattan

The Central Park Conservancy has quietly begun charging for tours that used to be free.

The Central Park Conservancy is now charging $15,  or $10 for members  for select tours after years of providing many of the same tours without a charge.

About half of the tours will now require the public to purchase tickets, with the proceeds going toward the well heeled group. 

The financially flush Conservancy began the new policy yesterday according to a Conservancy spokesperson who said the group leads 450 tours annually. 

The group said they were unable to estimate the amount of revenue they expect to bring in.

The change in policy was first brought to light by West Side Rag.  

The blog wrote that many of the tours appear to be the same, "the only difference now is that you have to pay for them."

Art in the Park, for instance, was a free 90-minute tour where people got to learn about how the park was constructed. That tour is now offered for $15. The Views from the Past Tour, which has also been around for quite a while as a free tour, now costs $15. And there are few if any free tours on the calendar, at least for the next few weeks." the blog stated.

The  website also points out that the Conservancy gives preference to its own members for various park activities,  including fitness classes. 

Public/private partnership deals such as The Central Park Conservancy are increasing coming under scrutiny due to the enormous disparity between well funded privately maintained parks and those that rely primarily on municipal funding.

The decision to begin charging comes barely two weeks after Comptroller John Liu rejected the city’s new $90 million 10-year contract with the conservancy, which once again brought to the light the organization's $ 215 million dollar endowment  - not including hedge fund investor John Paulson's $100 million pledge.

The fundraising move comes less than a week after they began trying to sell virtual spots on the Great Lawn. 

A Conservancy spokesperson defended the policy.

"The creation of all of CPC’s programs cost money to design, staff and execute,"  a Conservancy spokesperson said in statement.

"We are thrilled to be able to continue to provide the majority of programs and tours at no cost to Park visitors (specifically, CPC provides eight frequently recurring tours and more than 30 recurring programs at no cost to attendees, and seven ticketed tours).

CPC’s mission is to restore, manage and enhance Central Park, creating as many ways as possible for visitors to enjoy this extraordinary public park. Creating tours that delve deep into the Park’s history, design and horticulture (as well as its restoration and management) give visitors another way to get to know the Park and the Conservancy. CPC is responsible for fundraising the majority of the Park’s annual operating budget, as well as the cost of producing dozens of programs and tours. Providing a small number of ticketed tours helps sustain not just CPC’s history of creating valuable programs in Central Park, but also its restoration and maintenance successes."

Read More: 

Central Pk. tours go from free to fee

New York Post -  July 3, 2013 -  By Tara Palmeri 

Central Park tours no longer free

Crain's New York Business - July 3, 2013 - By Theresa Agovino

Central Park Crime Jumps 22% - Drug Arrests Skyrocket

Drug arrests, grand larcenies and burglaries have contributed to the jump in crime reported in Central Park according to new figures. Police say the public carelessly leaving unattended property particularly in places like lawns and playgrounds remains a problem.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge. 

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

Crime in Central Park shot up  22.6 % compared to the same period last year while drug arrests in the park saw a dramatic increase according to the latest NYPD crime data reviewed by NYC Park Advocates. 

Overall reported crime in the seven major categories tracked by police rose 22% -  38 so far this year vs. 31 compared to the same period last year. 

Drug arrests saw the biggest increase climbing more than 500 %. Police have so far made 37 arrests compared to 6 over the same period last year. 

Central Park precinct arrests for drug offenses shot up 850 % -  19 vs 2 arrests compared to the same time last year.  That figure does not include arrests in the park made by the Narcotics Division of NYPD's Organized Crime Control Bureau which are up  350 % - 18 vs 4.

The police are also warning the public to be mindful of leaving personal belongings unattended. 

Grand larcenies are still climbing  -  26 vs 22. 

E. 85th Street.  The park's basketball courts remain hot spots for thefts.  The Central Park Conservancy put up warning signs and installed hooks on the fence so players could hang bags.  

Easy Targets. Bags lying around on park benches. 

Last year the Central Park precinct  began regularly assigning beat cops to the basketball courts (above) in an effort to combat a rash of thefts.  

Police say the pubic are leaving unattended property particularly in places like lawns and playgrounds while the park's two basketball courts also remain hot spots for thefts.

The larcenies at one location prompted the precinct to assign a beat cop to the courts at . E. 85th near the great lawn beginning last year. 

The Central Park Conservancy put up warning signs and installed hooks on the fence so players could hang bags.  

"You just can't just leave your property unattended and come back after a little while and expect it to be there when you get back,  this is the city,"  a police officer in the park said.  "It's just common sense. It's unfortunate but that's the way it is. "

Burglaries in the park saw a 500% increase -  5 vs 0.  Concession buildings are the targets being robbed according to law enforcement sources.  

While the park's entire parameter is lined with cameras,  surveillance cameras inside the 843 acre park is still limited. 

On Friday a 21-year-old Bronx man grabbed a jogger by Lasker Rink and attempted to rape her according to charges filed against him. 

By The Numbers:

Murder  0

Rape  0

Robbery 4 vs 4 

Burglary 5 vs 0

Felony Assault 3 vs 5

Grand Larceny 26 vs 22

Grand Larceny Auto 0

Separate From Major Crimes numbers 

Petit larceny 38 vs 39 

Narcotics (Pct arrest.) 19 vs 2 up 850 % 

OCCB narcotics  - (Organized Crime Control Bureau) 18 vs 4 up 350% 

Source: NYPD CompStat  (June 19 - June 26)

Depraved Would-Be Central Park Rapist To Victim: 'You Asked For it'

Manhattan

The man who tried to rape a jogger in Central Park over the weekend snarled to his victim, “You were asking for it,” court papers claim, according to the New York Post. 

Saul Alvarez, 21, allegedly grabbed the 29-year-old woman from behind as she walked past Lasker Pool at the north end of the park at 8:30 p.m. Friday.

He put his hand over her mouth, dragged her to a wooded area and tried to rape her, according to a criminal complaint read at his arraignment Saturday.

Alvarez was ordered jailed in lieu of $75,000 bail.

The woman was able to get free by scratching him and screaming, scaring him off, authorities said yesterday.

Read More:

Park ‘attacker’: You asked for it

New York Post -  July 1, 2013 - By Kirstan Conley

Police Arrest Man In Attempted Rape In Cental Park
A Walk In The Park - June 30, 2013