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July 29, 2013- By Steven E. Greer, MD
BatteryPark.TV has extensively reported on the problem of the BPCA-paid city Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) still refusing to patrol the West Thames playgrounds, despite there being large numbers of teenagers routinely breaking the rules of the park (e.g. kids too old playing on the short basketball rim, dunking and damaging the rim, organized adult games of soccer on the grass field that destroy the turf, etc). A local source is reporting today that over the weekend, a BPC mother and her son were robbed and assaulted on the basketball courts by Albany Street in the park.
According to reports, an organized gang staked out the mother and her son on the basketball court, posted a lookout man outside the courts, then threw a basketball at her face as they stole two Apple electronics products from her purse. Local residents spotted the crime and came to her assistance, but the men ran away.
Based on the woman’s description, the men did not fit the description of high school students or BPC residents, and fled toward the 9/11 Memorial (where thousands of vulnerable tourists gather every day, making for easy crime victims). It should be noted that most of the high school kids who play on the courts during the weekday have not caused any problems, based on the observations of this author.
The woman who was robbed was unable to find any PEP officers nearby, despite the BPCA funding the city parks department to provide far more PEP staff than any other park in New York City. The reason for this is that the PEP staff, led by Captain Edward Falcon, still view the West Thames park as Hudson River Park Trust property, and some refuse to patrol the area. At most, one might occasionally glimpse a PEP electric cart driving by. In contrast, Wagner and Rockefeller Parks have routine patrols of PEP officers.
In addition to this crime incident in the West Thames Park, crime throughout the BPC parks is on the rise. A recent Community Board 1 meeting discussed the problem. A new satellite office for the PEP was installed on North End Avenue, yet no new patrols have been obvious.
Anyone concerned by these developments should contact the head of the city parks who manage the PEP Deborah.Zingale@parks.nyc.gov as well as the BPCA matthew.monahan@batteryparkcity.org
Mr. Greer,
You’ve got a lot of nerve reporting this story as your own.
You ought to be ashamed.
robert simko
publisher
The Broadsheet
Mr. Simko
What are you talking about? I wrote “A local source is reporting today”. Can you read?
I am not going to give your Broadsheet free links since you make a living of stealing from our stories.
By the way, the big story about the crime was not that one incident. It was the bigger picture, which your biased Broadsheet has not covered whatsoever because you take money from the BPCA. We have been all over the problem of growing crime in the parks.
Mr. Simko
Also, I wish you would remove your advertising fliers called the Broadsheet from our building. I do not know how you suckered Milford Management into thinking they are news and getting preferential treatment, when they do not allow other fliers to be stored on the counter.
This is absolutely appalling and I applaud your efforts to get the PEP officers to engage in mitigating the real problems in the neighborhood: littering tourists, skateboarding thugs who vandalize our parks, flyby criminals and inconsiderate dog owners. Although BPC is by far the cleanest and safest neighborhood in NYC it only takes a few “broken windows” for this to collapse.
One additional point on your story that was reported elsewhere and was even more disturbing : the NYPD officers who the victim approached were unable to help because they couldn’t leave their posts! Huh?? They have more than enough time to chat up pretty tourists, but can’t stop an actual crime in progress? Plus the cops that were called didn’t know where Thames Park was — although it was in their Precinct!
Ridiculous — Ray Kelly, a BPC resident should be embarrassed. What happened to Community policing? Too much worry about terrorists and protecting Goldman bankers from protesters, not enough focus on the people paying their salaries!
Thank you for commenting and getting involved. Our stories are meant to motive the residents. We can’t do it alone. Thanks again.
Please, go away Robert Simko! Or at least answer how your “newspaper” manages to appear in every BPC building.
It really is clear that maintenance of the neighborhood amenities has gone markedly down hill in the past few years.
…and I also preferred the old “tire swing park” to that generic spot we have now!
This new steel themed piece of shit West Thames park attracts crime…thanks Jeff Galloway and all the CB1 who rammed that through in 2009
As a father of an active 5 year old boy, I have to disagree with the characterization of West Thames Park — specifically the playground. The new super-kid-friendly place is a favorite of ours and many of our friends and a big improvement over its shabby predecessor. Let’s keep the focus on where it belongs — making sure our beautiful, safe community stays that way and that the exorbitant fees that we pay as residents are used to protect and serve US — not as a city/state slushfund!
To Robert Simko
Publisher, The Broadsheet
You should be ashamed!!! The editor did nothing wrong!! He stated “According to reports!!” I swear every time I see The Broadstreet I will dispose of it properly!! I will talk with the board of my building and make sure it is not EVEN placed in our building as usual.. This story must, and has to be shared in any way possible I am a mother and my child plays in the same park the robbery and assault occurred. If I had a blog or newspaper I would also spread this story, and I would dare you to tell me to be ashamed. This poor lady who was victimized, and the many who were not reported is what is important… NOT!! How you feel.
Simko is just cranky cuz he had to pay for a meal yesterday. Usually he’s out shaking down restaurants in lower manhattan with the good old free meal= good review in the Broadsheet scam. Just joking. That is my opinion.