Council Passes Vallone’s ‘Report Crimes In Parks’ Legislation
by john toscano

Vallone, as chairman of the Council Public Safety Committee, has led the fight on disclosing crime statistics throughout the city. On one bill, which requires the Department of Education (DOE) to make information about school crime and disruptive behavior available to the public, the council had to override a mayoral veto.

A sexual assault on a 9-year-old girl in Astoria Park last August has led to legislation sponsored by City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. requiring the police to report all major felony crime complaints in the city’s 20 largest parks.

The bill passed the City Council last week and Vallone said Mayor Michael Bloomberg has indicated he will sign it into law.

The legislation was co-sponsored by Councilmember Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D–Ozone Park), chairman of the Parks Committee. The Bloomberg administration participated with the sponsors in drawing it up to ensure passage.

The bill also provides that eventually all crimes occurring in parks that are over one acre in size will have to be reported by police.

Vallone stated, “Parks are our ‘safe havens’, but many times they can leave a person isolated from help. The public has a right to know which parks are safe and which aren’t.”

Vallone said the assault on the 9-year-old girl occurred on the corner of Ditmars and Shore Boulevards, just yards from the lawmaker’s home. It was not reported by police because it occurred in a park.

“From now on,” Vallone declared, “when it comes to crimes in parks, New Yorkers will no longer be left in the dark.”

In recent months, several crimes, such as the assault in Astoria Park, have occurred in city parks, Vallone said. Vallone introduced his bill, he said, to help both the police and the community better fight crime.

Vallone, as chairman of the Council Public Safety Committee, has led the fight on disclosing crime statistics throughout the city. On one bill, which requires the Department of Education (DOE) to make information about school crime and disruptive behavior available to the public, the council had to override a mayoral veto.

Now the DOE is planning to use a Compstat-like technology in reporting crimes throughout the school system.

Vallone said he also has plans to ensure that all crime levels within the city’s public housing developments will also be made available to the public. “It’s commonsense that one of the most important tools to fight crime is information,” Vallone stated.

Over 25 groups, including New Yorkers for Parks, Friends of Morningside Park, the New York Amateur Sports Alliance and others had expressed support for the legislation, he said.

Christian Di Palermo, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks, commenting on the bill, stated:

“While crime will not deter all New Yorkers from using their parks, it does shake our confidence in freely enjoying the city’s open space.” His organization, a parks advocacy group, has been pushing for enactment of the Vallone, Addabbo crime reporting bill for more than two years, he said.