BRONX WEEKLY S www.BXTimes.com eptember 1, 2019 12
Law enforcement, community and Parks leaders joined elected offi cials and residents in cutting the
ribbon for the newly reconstructed el Parque de los Niños.
Photo courtesy of Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.’s Offi ce
Investigation ongoing of
46th Pct. robbery pattern
Parque de los Niños
reopens after $4.35
million reconstruction Footage of the fi rst incident on Morris Avenue from Saturday, July 6 was captured on camera.
BY ROBERT WIRSING
A Soundview Park has
reopened to the community
following its nearly
three year long reconstruction.
NYC Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver
joined Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr.; Councilman
Ruben Diaz, Sr.; Assemblyman
Marcos Crespo,
Community Board 9
and residents on Tuesday,
August 13 to cut the ribbon
for the $4.35 million reconstructed
Parque de los Niños
.T
he park now features
a brand new synthetic
turf mini soccer field, a
new 160 meter all-weather
running track with a 100
meter straightaway sprint
lane and reconstructed
ballfields including newly
skinned infields, natural
turf outfields and Americans
with Disabilities Act
accessible dugouts.
Additional amenities
include a drinking fountain;
misting station; bike
racks; shaded bleachers
and 1964 World’s Fair replica
benches; outdoor adult
fi tness equipment; picnic
tables and a planting bed
consisting of trees, shrubs
and groundcover.
“With the brand new
track, turf soccer field and
renovated ball fields, we
have diversified the park’s
recreation spaces, transforming
it into a world
class facility for the community,”
Silver expressed.
The project was funded
by an $802,000 allocation
from Mayor de Blasio,
$2.75 million from Borough
President Diaz and
$800,000 from Councilman
Diaz.
The borough president
said that providing quality
park spaces such as Parque
de los Niños is paramount
to the #Not62 health initiative
which seeks to build a
healthier Bronx.
“What starts off as
‘kids being kids;’ running
around and having fun in
our park spaces becomes
the building blocks to developing
a healthier lifestyle
habits as our kids
become adults,” Diaz, Jr.
said.
Following the ribboncutting
ceremony, local
youth enjoyed playing soccer,
running track and participating
in an exciting
game of parachute ball.
Since 2001, Councilman
Diaz has hosted the annual
Morrison Avenue Festival
next to Parque de los Niños
.“
People of all ages use
this park to soak up the
sun, play basketball, baseball,
soccer and they will
be ecstatic once they see
the dramatic improvements
made by the Parks
Department,” Diaz, Sr.
stated.
The playground’s twopart
reconstruction commenced
on August 24, 2016
following a groundbreaking
ceremony.
Phase 1, which involved
the playground’s amenities,
was completed on July
10, 2017 with $156,000 from
the mayor’s office, according
to Parks Department.
Phase 2 involved rebuilding
the park’s ballfields
and adding the running
track around much
of the greenspace’s perimeter.
“Our children deserve
the very best and thanks
to the efforts of NYC Parks
and my colleagues in government,
we will give the
very best to the families
who visit and build their
life long memories at el
Parque de Los Niños,”
shared Crespo.
Completed in 1956, the
playground, located on the
corner of Morrison and
Watson avenues, was originally
known as the ‘James
Burke Ballfields.’
It was renamed Parque
de Los Niños in 1995 to
honor six neighborhood
children killed in the late
eighties.
Photo courtesy of DCPI
BY STEVEN GOODSTEIN
Two individuals are
currently being pursued
by the NYPD for a pattern
of robbery incidents that
took place last month.
The NYPD is currently
asking for the public’s assistance
in identifying two
males who were allegedly
involved in two robberyrelated
incidents in the
west Bronx in a three-day
period back in early July.
The fi rst incident occurred
on Saturday, July
6 at approximately 7:15
p.m., when two males in
their mid-20s were sitting
in front of 2081 Morris Avenue,
between East Burnside
Avenue and East 181st
Street, when two unidentifi
ed individuals, both
males, approached them,
displayed a fi rearm and
demanded property.
The two victims complied
and relinquished
$200, jewelry and a cell
phone. The armed individuals
apparently then
fl ed the location in a double
parked white Hyundai
SUV on Morris Avenue.
No injuries were reported
as a result of this incident.
The second incident
took place two days later at
about 4:15 a.m. on Monday,
July 8 at 23 E. Tremont Avenue,
just two blocks south
from the fi rst incident and
also within the confi nes of
the 46th Precinct.
That morning, a 65-
year old male was walking
across the street when one
of the individuals from
the fi rst incident grabbed
the victim’s necklace
and knocked him to the
ground.
The victim initially
held on to his necklace but
relinquished it when the
individual drew a fi rearm.
The other individual also
displayed a fi rearm while
attempting to remove the
victim’s necklace, but was
unsuccessful.
The second individual
then fi red a shot at the
victim but missed, before
both of the individuals fl ed
in the white Hyundai SUV
in an unknown direction.
The victim sustained minor
cuts and bruises from
falling on the pavement.
To add insult to injury,
the two individuals were
reported to have been involved
in another robbery
in Manhattan’s Hudson
Heights just 20 minutes
earlier. In that incident,
the two men approached a
31-year old male and again
displayed a fi rearm demanding
property as he
was walking in the lobby
at 4395 Broadway.
The victim complied
and the males fl ed the
scene with $3,000, jewelry
and a cell phone. No injuries
were reported.
Community Board 5
chairman, Dr. Bola Omotosho,
said that he was
aware of the robbery pattern
and that it is “a major
concern for the neighborhood
as well as the merchants
in the area.” He
added that an NYPD vehicle
is frequently stationed
on Jerome and West Burnside
avenues to deter similar
activities, as well as
theft and looting from taking
place.
The offi ce of the Deputy
Commissioner, Public Information
also provided
footage of the fi rst scenario,
which shows the
two individuals jumping
in the white Hyundai SUV
after the incident. It is unknown
if they were accompanied
by other individuals
in the vehicle. DCPI
confi rmed that the investigation
is ongoing.
The 46th Precinct did
not return request for
comment.
Anyone with information
in regards to the identity
of the two individuals
is asked to call the NYPD’s
Crime Stoppers Hotline
at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or
submit their tips at the
Crime Stoppers website at
www.nypdcrimestoppers.
com or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls are kept
strictly confi dential.
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