Police, Parks Department Address Anger Over Tickets At Parade Grounds

After a neighbor told us about being ticketed for walking home through the Parade Grounds at dark (after which an NYPD deputy commissioner said he would look into the matter and there was more media coverage), police and the city Parks Department addressed the matter during the 70th Precinct Community Council meeting last week.

The manager of the Parade Grounds said at Wednesday night’s meeting that additional signage stating the Parade Grounds closes at sunset would be placed around the area (which we noticed while walking around this weekend), and the commanding officer of the 70th Precinct, Deputy Inspector Richard DiBlasio, said that the “signage will be corrected, and we’ll work together to make sure everybody knows what’s going on.”

DiBlasio also said that, despite neighbors’ reports to the contrary, police have consistently been ticketing people in the Parade Grounds after dark in order to “keep our parks safe.”

“The Parade Grounds has, for a very, very long time, been closed at sunset,” DiBlasio said. “Maybe additional signage needs to be posted. What you have to realize is, it didn’t happen overnight. We’ve always been out there enforcing the rules in that park. We use our discretion very wisely in that park. Unfortunately, crime happens in that park – about a year ago there was a violent incident where someone got seriously injured.

“Unfortunately, there’s been some recent crime in that area – there’s been an increase in crime in that area,” DiBlasio continued. “We don’t want to prevent anyone from using our park, but when it gets dark in that park there are different rules because it’s not safe.”

Neighbors upset with the ticketing attended the precinct meeting, and Geoffrey McFarlane told DiBlasio that he was displeased with the ticket he received for being in the park after dark for a number of reasons, including a lack of signage indicating individuals are not supposed to be in the Parade Grounds after sunset, that it was surprising to receive the ticket on a well-traveled path that “looks like a road,” and that he has used the area that connects Parkside to Caton Avenue for years without any notice from police that he was not supposed to be there.

“A lot of people resent it,” McFarlane said of the Parade Grounds tickets. “…It’s not the cops being there that upsets me, it’s the summons. A warning would’ve been nice. I have to take time off from work now for this.”

“We want to make sure you’re safe, everybody’s children are safe – our job is to create a safe environment for everybody,” DiBlasio responded. “Sure, who wants to get a summons…but the rules are the rules.”

“I’d like to thank you because you’ve brought attention to the park,” DiBlasio continued in reference to Geoffrey. “We’ll turn this into a positive thing… I’ve been through there many times, going through that center breezeway, especially when the leaves are out, the lighting there is very, very poor. It’s a bad person’s environment. I’m glad it closes at sunset. And, again, we use our discretion very wisely. We do tell people, ‘Hey ma’am, I don’t know if you know, but this is closed.”

In other news from the 70th Precinct meeting:DiBlasio and Community Council President Ed Powell honored 11 officers for particularly notable arrests over the summer.

Sergeant Matthew Fried and officer Carl Patelli were praised for their action in mid-August near Regent Place and East 21st Street, where they responded to shots fired and saw the perpetrator drop his firearm and run.

“They were able to apprehend the perpetrator and retrieve the loaded nine millimeter,” DiBlasio said. “This individual will hopefully be paying the price for a very long time.”

Police Officers Elvis Alcivar, Max Rolffot, and, again, Sergeant Matthew Fried, received recognition for an arrest that also occurred in mid-August, by Church Avenue and Bedford, where the police saw an individual begin to run from them.

“We immediately pursued this individual and recovered a loaded firearm, which was thrown over a fence,” DiBlasio said. “They were able to apprehend this individual and recover a loaded firearm, saving another life.”

Sergeant Joe Alohan,Det. Michael Lobosco, Officer Christopher Donohue, Officer Brian Dennehy, Officer Jennifer Velez, Officer Michael Foder, and Officer Michael Temperino were all honored for executing a search warrant for an Ocean Avenue apartment, in which they found drugs, weapons, and cash.

“With the assistance of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, we secured a warrant,” DiBlasio said. “..We found over five pounds of marijuana, all kinds of drugs, several rifles, and over $12,000 in cash. There was an abundance of pit bulls.. We surprised the perp, were able to arrest him and put him in jail, and the Brooklyn DA’s office has taken it from there.”

Additionally, during the meeting:

DiBlasio reported that the 70th Precinct is now on Twitter. You can find them here.
The commanding officer urged individuals to not give any personal information during an unsolicited phone call, especially in light of the continued problems with the Green Dot Money Pak scam, in which people will steal money from individuals by saying they’re from Con Ed and that the person hasn’t paid their bill.
Councilman Jumaane Williams reported he and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal launched a change.org petition to end affordable housing discrimination and “poor door” policies.
Williams also noted that the season’s last Flatbush Junction Youthmarket will be held September 20 from 10am-4pm.
Councilman Mathieu Eugene reported he is creating a task force to “try to see what we can do to help our young people,” including addressing youth unemployment.
Eugene also said constituents will be able to access free legal services at an event he is holding at his office (123 Linden Boulevard) on September 16 from 10am to 4pm.