A “lion’s den” at the Lions Gate: Day to night in Sara D. Roosevelt Park

Chinatown residents frustrated after years of declining conditions, Brooklyn activist advocates for change

January 3, 2024 Ella Napack

A known drug dealer, pictured in a red and orange jacket, interacts with two men in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Chinatown, December 10, 2023. The dealer arrives daily between 2 and 3 and uses the Eastern corner of the park South of Delancey Street. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

Share this:

Sara D. Roosevelt Park, a stretch of green in Chinatown, has seen an increase in violence and illicit drug use in the past two years. The park began to draw city-wide attention in February of 2022, when a man with mental illness followed 35-year-old Christina Yuna Lee home from the park and stabbed her to death.

The Lions Gate, the part of the park between Grand and Delancey streets, “becomes a lion’s den at night for trouble,” according to local Eugene Tsang, employee at a law firm next to the park.

The park has become notorious for visible drug traffic and violence. And although millions of dollars have been allocated to the park in state and local funding, residents remain frustrated with the park’s conditions.

A group of older women in the Chinatown community sit on the playground benches in Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Chinatown, December 8, 2023. Only one child was present on the playground in the early afternoon. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

A group of 4 men play handball on the courts next to Grand Street in Sara D Roosevelt Park in Chinatown, December 8, 2023. The handball courts are full in the afternoons and weekends with pick-up handball regulars. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

An elderly couple walks through the East path towards Hester Street in Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Chinatown, December 10, 2023. The benches near Hester Street are often occupied by many members of the Chinatown community in the afternoon. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

Chinatown locals use the park during the daytime for handball, lunch on a bench or the playground. Older Chinatown residents frequently gather in the area south of Grand Street, some play chess and others chat on the benches in groups. This section of the park is empty by sunset.

But the Lions Gate section of the park remains active through all parts of the day. Individuals spend time on the benches that line the soccer field, many using and purchasing illicit drugs at the Northeast corner of the Lions Gate section. Many locals opt to walk in the bike lane next to the Lions Gate area rather than walk past these benches.

Frank Brown, a homeless member of the Lower East Side, was stabbed in the park by a stranger last week. “I come here to get a quick high, then get out like nothing happened,” Brown said. “But it’s not safe here at night.”

Advocacy groups such as the Sara D. Roosevelt Park Alliance and the Sarah D. Roosevelt Park Coalition are working to revitalize the park, while also making sure that the members of the community that frequent the Lions Gate area are cared for.

A man walks out of the field south of Delancey Street after soccer practice, as three men nod off on the benches outside the field in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Chinatown, December 10, 2023. There are frequently dozens of individuals sleeping on these benches during the day, most of them nodding off because of opioid use, according to to Lieutenant Brian Malone of the FDNY. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

A member of the NYC Fire Department walks around looking for an individual believed to be overdosing in Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Chinatown, December 10, 2023. The FDNY receives hundreds of calls each week about an overdosed individual in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, according to Lieutenant Brian Malone of the FDNY. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

A known drug dealer, pictured in a red and orange jacket, interacts with two men in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Chinatown, December 10, 2023. The dealer arrives daily between 2 and 3 and uses the Eastern corner of the park South of Delancey Street. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

Anli Liu, Brooklyn resident and co-founder of the Park Alliance, advocated for a renovation of the Lions Gate area at the heart of Chinatown. Liu’s son graduated from a preschool close to the park, and she experienced firsthand the frustrations of the Chinatown community over the lack of safety.

The park was awarded over three million dollars in funding for renovation in early 2023 because of a grant proposal that the Alliance submitted, two years after the park received $15 million in funding from the state for the rezoning of Lower East Side neighborhoods.

“Keeping the park safe isn’t just about the one-time capital investment,” Liu said. “We need to involve the police and community organizations to make the park safer.”

The Alliance aims to advocate for the residents of Chinatown that do not have representation in parks meetings and planning meetings due to the language and cultural barriers, according to Liu. “It is very important to the Chinese community that safety is increased,” Liu said. “There is so much crime that does not get published in the English newspapers but gets published in the local Chinese papers.”

A group crowds around a man selling assorted stolen goods in the courts South of Grand Street in Sara. D Roosevelt Park, Chinatown, December 8, 2023. Many members of the Chinatown community gather at this location throughout the day to purchase the discounted items. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

An older Chinese woman plays basketball with a group of high school youth after school dismissed in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Chinatown, December 10, 2023. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

A ball sits alone on the courts between Grand Street and Delancey Street in Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Chinatown, December 8, 2023. Community members stop using the facilities for recreation when the sun begins to set. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

A man rides his bike into the handball courts South of Grand Street in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Chinatown, December 8 2023. The handball groups leave by sunset. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

The Eastern Corner of Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Chinatown below Delancey Street after sunset, December 8, 2023. This area remains a hotspot for drug activity at all times of day, and community members walk on the Eastern bike path to avoid walking through this area. Photo: Ella Napack 2023

Frank Brown smokes a joint on a bench in Sara D Roosevelt Park in Chinatown, December 8 2023. Brown was stabbed in the park by a stranger earlier in the week. “They stabbed me for no reason,” Brown said, “There were no police anywhere around, so now I carry a knife too.” Photo: Ella Napack 2023

The Alliance says that they do not want to push anyone out of the park that uses it right now, Liu explained. “Gentrification is not the goal; we just want a brighter and safer space for local residents.”

Community organizations, such as the Bellevue Hospital Primary Care Outreach program, frequent the Lions Gate area to provide care for the residents. Eric, a social worker with Bellevue unable to disclose his last name, has been working with the Primary Care Outreach van on Grand Street for over a year.

“So many people view the people struggling here as an infestation, so we need to be humanizing them whenever possible,” Eric said. Yet as some community organizations do their best to help those that spend time at the park through outreach programming, the fire department arrives at least once a day to the Lions Gate area after they receive a call about an overdose.

“This park is a really tough place to be,” Lieutenant Brian Malone of the FDNY said.