14 APRIL 5, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cops release safety alert after Kew Gardens car break-ins
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
The morning of April 3 started as
every other day when Kew Gardens
resident M.K. Moore went
out to walk his dogs, but on Metropolitan
Avenue near Park Lane South, he
began to see the shattered glass.
According to Moore, president of
the Friends of Forest Park civic group,
as many as 20 cars had shattered
windows along Park Lane South all
the way to 115th Street. Inside the
cars, glove compartments and center
consoles had been ripped open and
peoples’ belongings were scattered out
onto the sidewalk, Moore said.
A police source confirmed that
eight reports of criminal mischief
were received by the 102nd Precinct
on April 3.
Since the crimes were fi led as criminal
mischief, that means none of the
victims who reported their broken
windows said any of their property
was stolen. The problem is, Moore
said, that not enough people report
incidents like these to the police.
“I’ve been in contact with the 102nd
Precinct asking to increase police activity
in the area,” Moore said. “There’s been
a lot of illicit activities around the park.”
If people don’t report these crimes,
Moore said they won’t get the added
patrols that are needed to prevent the
crimes.
Later in the aft ernoon on April 3,
the 102nd Precinct released a fl ier on
Twitter to warn residents of possible
car break-ins and provide tips to dissuade
the criminals:
• Park your vehicle in a well-lit area
• Make sure all doors are locked
• Never leave keys in the vehicle,
especially when it’s running
• Do not leave valuables in the vehicle,
such as wallets, pocketbooks, GPS,
laptops, tablets and charging cords
Moore added that he reached out to
the local elected offi cials’ offi ces to tell
them about the break-ins and hopes
that other residents will do the same.
A spokesperson from Assemblyman
Mike Miller’s offi ce confi rmed that
they heard from Moore and other
members of the community about the
issue and are working with the 102nd
Precinct to come up with a solution.
Photo courtesy of M.K. Moore
A car with a shattered window in Kew Gardens on April 3.
Voice your opinion about Starr Playground’s $2.5 million in upgrades
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Starr Playground in Ridgewood
is set to get millions in city funds
for future improvements, and
residents can voice their opinions on
how the money should be used.
Councilman Antonio Reynoso
recently announced that he will host
an open meeting at Starr Playground
on April 17 to discuss future improvements
that residents want to see at
the park. The Parks Department is
co-hosting the event, and a Parks
spokesperson confi rmed on April 4
that it has $2.5 million from Reynoso
and Borough President Melinda Katz’s
offi ces to renovate the park.
“Parks hosts public input meetings
as our fi rst step whenever we begin
a capital project,” the spokesperson
said. “At these meetings we get feedback
from elected offi cials, community
board members, neighborhood leaders,
and all park users about what they
envision for their park. This input
helps us create a design, which is the
fi rst step of our capital process.”
According to Jennifer Gutierrez,
chief of staff at Reynoso’s offi ce, the
funding for Starr Playground was
fi rst allocated in the fi scal year 2016
aft er a number of constituents spoke
out about the park’s needs. Reynoso
is one of the few Council members to
cover multiple boroughs in his district,
and Starr Playground is the only open
space in the portion of Ridgewood in
that district.
Gutierrez said that since they
are so limited in how they can help
Ridgewood, Reynoso’s office wants
to help Ridgewood in any way that
it can.
Aft er the money was fi rst set aside,
residents formed a group called the
Friends of Starr Playground and
began holding meetings of their own
to provide input to Reynoso’s offi ce,
Gutierrez said. Those meetings have
already led to agreements about
which phases of construction will be
performed fi rst, Gutierrez said.
The goal of the April 17 meeting is
to “tie it all together” and introduce
the project to more people in the community,
Gutierrez added. The meeting
will take place at 6 p.m. at Starr Playground,
and in case of rain the meeting
will move to P.S. 305 on Seneca Avenue.
Starr Playground will be the second
Ridgewood park that is set to undergo
renovations, with Rosemary Playground
currently in the design phase
of the project.
Photo via Google Maps
Starr Playground, on the corner of Starr Street and Onderdonk Avenue in Ridgewood.
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