Police broke up a group of cars gathering and playing music at the Forest Park Bandshell parking lot yesterday.(Council Member Robert Holden)
April 24, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan
The NYPD is cracking down on cars blasting music in the Forest Park Bandshell parking lot, hoping to put an end to the trend that has become a nuisance to neighbors.
Council Member Robert Holden asked officers from the 102nd Precinct to pay special attention to the parking lot after receiving complaints from constituents of excessive noise and left-behind trash. The disruptive behaviour, Holden says, tends to increase in the summer months.
On Tuesday, officers responded to a group of individuals who had gathered in the lot, located at the southern side of the park, and remained there overnight to dissuade any further gatherings.
“I spoke over the phone earlier today with Commanding Officer Nilan of the 102nd Precinct and we have a strategy to finally end this intrusion on our quality of life,” Holden wrote in a statement yesterday on Facebook. “I said I would not tolerate this, and I intend on ending this nuisance once and for all.”
According to Holden’s office, the surrounding precincts are discussing increased patrols in the problem areas, checkpoints at the park entrances, potentially confiscating speakers and amplifiers, and enforcing noise code laws. The Department of Parks and Recreation is also looking into installing bollards or other barriers to restrict vehicles from entering the parking lot after hours.
The majority of constituents responding to Holden’s statement were supportive, even suggesting further action be taken such as implementing a curfew for the parking lot.
Those who are responsible for the gatherings and music playing, however, also voiced their opinion, asking Holden to meet with them so that they could come to an agreement.
“This is our way of staying out of trouble,” one commenter wrote. “We are in a open park not disturbing anyone in a parking lot .. yes i agree we leave a mess but add trash cans and it will be cleaner !!”
Holden’s office will meet tomorrow with the 102 and 104 Precincts, as well as the Department of Parks & Recreation, to finalize their strategy for dealing with the noise.
