General

Residents just want some peace and quiet from Russell Pedersen Park

July 12, 2012 Helen Klein

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Hordes of kids hanging out into the evening hours at Russell Pedersen Park have made life a misery for residents living nearby.

A group of homeowners from the blocks adjoining the park, near Colonial Road, descended on the June meeting of the 68^th Precinct Community Council to make their concerns known.

It gets out of hand, contended one man during the meeting at the station house, 333 65^th Street. They are in there, drinking, and the bathrooms are locked so they use the driveways.

The teens more than 100 at times, the residents said also get loud and unruly, fighting and damaging nearby private property. I got a dent in the back of my car, the irate resident reported. It happened in my driveway a couple of weeks ago.

Residents who have previously come to community council meetings to ask the cops for help — have called the precinct on numerous occasions when the situation escalates.

Usually when we call, its at the point where we are disgusted. [The cops] always respond when we call, the man added, noting that homeowners in the area would like to see regular patrols of the park in the evening hours.

You call; we respond, replied Captain Richard DiBlasio, the precincts commanding officer. We definitely issue a lot of quality-of-life summonses, not only in that park but at others. We continue to be aggressive with it. However, he added, police presence at the park is not strictly based on calls. We do go into the parks at other times.

In addition, said DiBlasio, to head off drinking by teens and adolescents, We have done some underage operations and we continue to do them. For stores that are caught selling alcohol to minors, DiBlasio emphasized, there are hefty fines, and the State Liquor Authority goes after them as well.

And, the stores shouldnt count on silence on the kids part as to where they buy their booze. Some of the stings the cops have done have been based on information gleaned from the kids hanging out at the park whom the cops have spoken with, DiBlasio added.

Residents have said they would like to see the entire park locked at night. They send someone to lock the bathrooms, one person pointed out at an earlier precinct council meeting. Why dont they just lock the park?

That is something that is currently being explored, said Josephine Beckmann, the district manager of Community Board 10 who said that the board continues to get calls from area residents complaining about teens noise, drinking, smoking marijuana and being disruptive in the park.

But, she added, residents arent just worried about their quiet nights. They are also concerned for the kids. They see them with six-packs, some getting drunk or smoking marijuana, Beckmann explained, stressing, They are young, 14 to 17.

For now, the board is trying to bring cops and representatives of the Parks Department together with residents, who want the park closed at night, added Beckmann. That meeting has not yet been set up.