4 MAY 2, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Holden seeks Forest Pk. noise crackdown
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Queens Councilman Robert
Holden met with local law
enforcement April 25 imploring
them to crack down on noise violations
aft er a surge of constituent made 311
complaints about auto enthusiasts
blasting music in the nearby Forest
Park (Seuff ert) Bandshell in two closely
timed incidents.
In the lead-up to the meeting, Holden
made a series of Facebook posts about
the issue that raised strong emotions
among residents. While many of the
hundreds of commenters, expressed
full-throated appreciation for Holden’s
aggressive measures, members of the
auto community pushed back. They
were skeptical that aspects of Holden’s
hardline approach would be eff ective.
“So far, the precincts are discussing
increased patrols in the problem areas,
checkpoints near the park entrances,
arresting and confi scating ATVs and
dirt bikes, potentially confiscating
speakers and amplifi ers and enforcing
noise code laws,” said Holden’s
spokesperson aft er the meeting with
offi cers from the 102nd Precinct, the
104th Precinct, 110th Precinct and
Parks Department.
The spokesperson said that Parks
Department is also looking into
installing bollards or other barriers
to restrict vehicles from entering the
parking lots aft er hours.
Holden released a statement, making
a similar call to action against noisy
ATVs in Highland Park back in March,
warning that these incidents are only
going to increase as the weather gets
warmer.
On April 21, when his staff er Daniel
Kurzyna heard amplified music
blasting from the Forest Park bandshell,
Holden’s offi ce was ready. They called
the 102nd Precinct and sent multiple
squad cars to the parking lot, followed
by Kurzyna to monitor the scene.
Two days later, on April 23, Holden
made another Facebook post about
stopping a group of auto enthusiasts
who gather in the park to show off their
cars and play loud music, this time
commending the 102nd Precinct on
creating a strategy to eff ectively stop
the noise pollution.
Reaction to both posts turned
contentious.
In Holden’s April 21 post, he referred
to the group as “thugs,” language
he later edited out. When some
constituents questioned his wording,
Kurzyna, who was there at the park,
defended it, saying that group cursed
at the police, “stuck their fi ngers out”
and played music with gunshot sounds
as they left the park.
In response to the second post, Justin
Gonzalez, a former Forest Hills resident
and leader of the 2 Exclusive Auto Club,
stuck up for auto enthusiasts, unlike
the ones at the park in Saturday, who
try to use the park in accordance with
the rules.
Gonzalez told QNS that he was
not present at either of the incidents,
George Seuff ert, Sr. Bandshell parking lot Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
but he thinks more communication
between local precincts and the auto
clubs would be mutually benefi cial.
He said that tickets are not going to
stop auto enthusiasts from showing off
their audio systems, on which they can
spend anywhere between $25,000 to
$30,000.
“That’s just another ticket that’s going
to be collected,” Gonzalez. “They’ll pay
it off and they’ll be right back there the
next day.”
In the ZIP codes within Council
District 30, there have been 2,182
vehicle music complaints filed in
the 311 system since 2010. According
to Holden’s office, just 22 of those
complaints — or 1 percent — have
resulted in a summons. The fi ne for
violating the noise code is $250. He is
encouraging stricter enforcement.
Gonzalez said that he works with
members of the 83rd Precinct in
Bushwick when he organizes some of
his club’s events. He suggested that
when police work with established auto
clubs, it provides them with in-roads to
the more disorderly street teams that
he believed to be responsible for the
incident on Saturday. When there’s a
noise violation, the offi cers can reach
out to members of the club who can
help keep other groups in line.
“Playing music at loud decibel levels at
2 a.m. is illegal. Period. When people’s
homes are vibrating and you can hear
the music all the way in Middle Village,
there’s a problem,” wrote Holden in the
comments of his Facebook post. “If they
had hung out at the park playing music
at a respectful level there wouldn’t be
a problem.”
On this point, Gonzalez said he
agreed 100 percent. He thinks music
should be cut off at 9 p.m. when parks
close. “I work at four o’clock in the
morning so I don’t want to be up at two
because of the music.”
Meet the new commander of the 104th Pct.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@QNS.COM
@ROBBPOZ
The 104th Precinct‘s new boss
made her introduction to
residents at the Juniper Park
Civic Association meeting in Middle
Village on April 25.
Captain Victoria Perry takes
over for Deputy Inspector John
Mastronardi, who served as
commander of the 104th Precinct —
which covers Ridgewood, Glendale,
Maspeth and Middle Village — since
March 2017.
Mastronardi made the changing
of the guard official during the civic
association meeting, as he presented
Perry with the commanding
officer’s pin.
Perry is the first female
commanding officer of the 104th
Precinct in more than two decades,
according to the Juniper Park Civic
Association.
Perry, a more than 14-year NYPD
veteran, most recently served as
commanding officer of Brooklyn’s
79th Precinct. Prior to that stint, she
was also the executive officer at the
94th Precinct, also in Brooklyn.
“It was an absolute honor
to serve the #MiddleVillage,
#Maspeth, #Glendale #Ridgewood
neighborhoods and work with
amazing cops,” Mastronardi said
in a post on the 104th Precinct’s
Twitter page. “It was a pleasure
to pass the 104 CO’s pin to Captain
Perry today. Thank you to the 104
Precinct community!”
Mastronardi, meanwhile, is
moving on to Brooklyn’s 75th
Precinct, according to Assistant
Chief Martin Morales, commander
of NYPD Patrol Borough Queens
North.
Residents from across the 104th
Precinct will get the chance to
meet Captain Perry at the next
104th Precinct Community Council
meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
on Tuesday night, May 21, at St.
Margaret Parish Hall, 66-05 79th
Place, Middle Village.
former 104th Precinct boss Deputy Inspector John Mastronardi and Captain
Victoria Perry, the precinct’s new leader.
Photo courtesy of 104th Precinct Community Council
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