IN case you haven’t heard on social media, there’s a continued uproar over the late night shenanigans in the waterfront parks. While the fireworks have faded out, loud vehicles and music, vandalism, and large parties have not, and seemingly little has been done by authorities to stop them. In light of this a group of residents took it upon themselves to raise money for private security to patrol the two parks at night, which subsequently lead to a backlash from other citizens about access, accusations, acceptance, etc., leading to elected officials jumping in on both sides.
While there’s no easy solution, one thing that’s certain is the waterfront is a world class park that should be enjoyed by all, just like Central Park. Which is the exact reason the crowds have grown over the years as the word spreads. This year’s garbage issues should be a temporary issue (hopefully), as Covid through a wrench in the expected growth rate. All else being equal the crowds have been extremely well-behaved and have added a layer of buzz to Hunters Point that I personally enjoy.
The problems arise at night, when technically the park is closed. While I don’t have a solution, I do believe the 10pm closing time is unreasonable, especially in the summer. As anyone who lives here knows, the lack of shade makes the waterfront ungodly hot during the daytime, so the crowds don’t begin to show up until after 6pm. So a compromise might be to keep them open until 11pm and maybe midnight on the weekends, followed by a sweep 15 minutes prior, just like last-call at the bar. Don’t know, just sayin’, either way we’ll be on to other issues like school re-openings after Labor Day, and the crowds will quickly dissipate soon after.
//CENSUS & VOTING – while we’re on the subject of possibly criminal behavior on the waterfront, per the below, census takers have been turned away by doormen at various towers on Center Boulevard! 1 Nevertheless a seemingly inconsequential task is actually essential for procuring long term funds for both NYC & NYS from the federal government. Lord knows we pay enough in taxes, might as well get some of it back, so Stick it to The Man and fill it out today right here: Census 2020
While you’re at it, Stick it to The Man again and vote using the NYS absentee ballot if the worry over Covid has you wavering about doing it onsite. Request a ballot here: NYC Absentee Ballot Request
Residents, Leaders Pushing For NYC/NYPD To Better Patrol Hunters Point Parks – or wait for the Fall clean-up
Confounding The Count: Some Buildings Are Simply Turning Census Workers Away – see which ones here
Trash Piles Up In Parks, Just When New Yorkers Need Them Most – it’s not just in Hunters Point
Restaurant PennyBridge At The JACX To Open In November – new restaurant from Dan Kluger coming to Queens Plaza
- Rockrose & TF Cornerstone per the story, but not Citylights whose visage was errantly in the video but a board member contacted me to state the reporter included them despite her sharing that the building was enthusiastically cooperative w/ the census workers and had no issues [↩]
J says
September 3, 2020 at 9:08 amWe live up against the park, and often have to walk the dog overnight. The sweep idea would never work, as most of the people in the park at odd hours don’t even SHOW UP until after midnight, long after the daytime people have all gone home.
There are nights when I’ll see nearly a dozen cars show up at 2:30 in the morning, all filled with young men, and they get out and go into the park until the sun comes up.
Agree that the daytime folks are all just doing their best (other than the garbage – for heavens sake just carry it out or find another trash can!)
But the overnight problems are a completely separate issue in my experience, and doubt extending the park hours or doing a sweep before closing would do anything whatsoever. Good thought though.