Fight for independence from vandalism

By Maria Clark

On a snowy afternoon, Fort Independence Park, located next to the Jerome Park Reservoir, is the very picture of serenity. The silence is only broken as leaves are swept up in the air by the chilly breeze.

But when the weather is more welcoming, this attractive little park can be a source of torment for many of the residents who live in the surrounding buildings.

Neighbors have complained that the park has been used as a late-night hang-out spot for rowdy teenagers for several years. At times their presence can even lead to violent incidents, according to Nat Solomon, a resident of the Mutual Housing Association building located on Sedgwick Avenue behind the park.

On Dec. 4, large stones were thrown down from the park, shattering the windshield of a car and damaging the doorframe of another in the Mutual Housing parking lot, he said.

“This isn’t a new problem, but it has escalated to the point where people and property are targets,” Mr. Solomon said.

Approximately two years ago, a man was struck in the head by stones thrown over the fence in the parking lot of the Mutual Housing building, according to a long-time resident of the Mutual Authority building and a Montefiore Community Advisory Board member who accompanied the man to the hospital. He asked not to be identified for this article, for fear of repercussions at his job.

In response to the incidents, the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation has installed higher chain link fences behind the basketball and handball courts, which residents agree have been helpful in limiting this form of vandalism. When the park is renovated the height of the fence will be 16 feet, said Bob Bender, the chairman of Community Board 8’s parks and recreation committee.

Police officers from the 50th Precinct have conducted sweeps of the park on several occasions, but were unable to catch anyone poised to conduct vandalism according to police sources. School safety officers also conduct periodic sweeps of the park for truants.

“There haven’t been repeat incidents, but the height the rocks were thrown from makes the incidents quite dangerous. Anyone who’s arrested will likely face charges of reckless endangerment as well as criminal mischief,” said 50th Precinct Captain Brandon del Pozo.

Rebecca Patt, 68, who lives on the fifth floor of the Mutual Housing building, has spent many a sleepless night because of noise emanating from the park. Ms. Patt remembers being woken up at 2:30 a.m. during the summer by a noisy basketball game. Another night, she said she was woken up by a girl’s screams at 2:15 a.m.

Ms. Patt said that up until two years ago, the park was kept locked at night. The Parks Department started leaving it unlocked to allow police patrols in, she said.

“We know that on occasion, when the park was locked, some guys would climb over the fence anyways. But if the park is locked, it is telling you that it is off limits,” she said.

Ms. Patt suggested that police patrols be given a key to the park, to limit the number of people using it as a late-night hang-out spot.

“The noise problems aren’t dangerous to anyone, but it is affecting our quality of life,” she said.

This is part of the January 14, 2010 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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