Councilman Deutsch Steps Into Homecrest Playground To Combat Illegal Drug Activity

City Councilman Chaim Deutsch met with a group of families at Homecrest Playground Tuesday night to discuss efforts to rid the park of criminal activity that some say has made the area unsafe.

Neighbors who live nearby have campaigned for months to increase police presence at the park. They say the playground has been overrun by homeless, teen pot smokers, and drug dealers who brazenly engage in illegal activity.

“I feel like we’ve been neglected by the police and we were in a disadvantaged situation. It’s become really unsafe and I want a patrol in the park constantly,” said neighbor Yuliya Golubev. “I feel grateful that the councilman has come and that a dialogue can start between the police and community.”

Deutsch held a private meeting in the park for more than an hour with some of the neighbors. Many of them were members of the Facebook group Save Homecrest Playground, which was founded in April as a forum to discuss strategies for improving safety at the park.

The councilman did not allow reporters to attend the meeting with the families.

Afterwards, Regina Move Groyzburg, one of the Facebook group’s founders, said she was pleased her councilman had stepped in to make the playground safer.

“He’s vowed to make sure the police presence increases here,” she said. “So hopefully in the next few months we’ll see a significant difference in the safety of this place.”

During the night, several police officers stopped by to walk through the area and another police cruiser drove slowly along East 12th Street, which borders the park’s eastern edge.

Deutsch said that he reached out to the precinct’s commanding officer two weeks ago when he first became aware that criminal activity was terrorizing local residents. He said the 61st Precinct had committed to conducting daily patrols of the park and credited an arrest at Homecrest Playground last week, in which cops recovered several bags of marijuana and prescription pills, to the greater police presence.

“This is a partnership between my office and 61st Precinct and there are now increased patrols in the area,” Deutsch said. “They are going to be watching and there’s going to be zero tolerance for any drug dealing or any type of crime.”

Deutsch also said he has asked the Parks Department to install a new gate at the park so it can be locked up after dark. He encouraged people in his district to contact his office (718-368-9176) to report any quality of life issues in their neighborhood.

A representative from Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz also attended the meeting in Homecrest Playground. In a statement, Cymbrowitz said he received complaints this summer about noise and trespassing in the park and had asked the 61st Precinct to address the issue. He also met with Borough Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey in early August about installing gates to lock up the park after dark.

“Prevention is the best course of action. Gates and brighter lights will prevent the drug dealing, trespassing, and noise that have plagued Homecrest Park for too long,” Cymbrowitz said.