Pelham Bay Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, December 11, 2000

BREAKING THE CONTRACT:
WHEN PELHAM BAY PARKLAND IS MISUSED BRONX PEP INTERVENES.

The fine for dumping debris in Pelham Bay Park is $1000 to $4000 dollars. It's a waste of resources and a misuse of parkland. The proper destination for trash is the sanitation site in Hunt's Point. Last week, PEP officers taught one Bronx contractor this lesson.

Monday, December 4, 2000, PEP officer Corporal Hector Reyes wrote the summons for the illegal dumping of three cubic yards of household debris and concluded his investigation into an offense that threatened the safety of park users and added to a list of chronic offenses.

In the month of November, three summonses were written for illegal dumping of trash in Pelham Bay Park. Homeowners and contractors were choosing to redefine the function of New York City's largest park. But in the last two weeks, PEP officers and Pelham Bay staff have been on a roll, cleaning up the Bronx and reclaiming the Park for its intended use.

Monday, November 20: Trash appears on the side of the road in Pelham Bay Park. Concrete. Dry wall. Half a household cabinet.

Monday, November 27: More concrete, more drywall, and a refrigerator show up in the center of the road.

Monday, December 4: Pelham Bay Parks staff and Bronx PEP officers team up to nab the dump-and-run offender.

Corporal Hector Reyes was the officer assigned to stake out the site. Rooting through the trash-cabinets, planks of wood with nails sticking out, concrete, drywall, half a staircase-he found an address in Pelham and traced the trash. Back at the site, he found the matching half of a staircase, identical drywall and the missing pieces of a cabinet. He issued a summons to the homeowner of the house who explained that he'd hired an independent contractor who was removing the trash himself. The contractor was saving money on a dumpster and dropping half his client's household trash in Pelham Bay. That is, until Corporal Reyes joined two halves of a kitchen cabinet, and pinned the evidence on the offender. Congratulations to Park Manager Chris (Scout) Trivino and SPMO Gary Cullen and Bronx PEP officers Captain William (Suave) Cardoza, Corporal Hector Reyes, and Sargent Donald Koonce on placing a roadblock in the way of a bad trend.

VERBAL JUDO, THE GENTLES WAY

Tuesday, December 5 Class Ofs got a taste of PEP officer training. Director of PEP Richard (Bronco) Gentles and Captain Ken (Wood Thrush) Brown exposed a group of twenty to the practical skills PEP officers use on the job every day. Richard Gentles presented Verbal Judo, a communication technique formulated by English professor turned police officer, Dr. George Thompson. According to Dr. Thompson, situations where a physical threat is posed foreground communication skills. He argues that officers ought to have the best verbal skills rather than the impulse to favor force. When Ken Brown took the floor, he distributed copies of the summonses that PEP officers use. (A copy is printed above). He led the group through the proper protocol for filling these out. Class Ofs left the training with the skills to help enforce Parks rules and regulations. Thanks to the presenters and to Director of Recruitment and Internships Sarah (Ground Zero) Kay for organizing the event and to Julia (Sprout) McCarthy for the great idea.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Monday, December 14, 1987)

RANGERS & PEPs APPREHEND TWO WITH SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPON

Two youths allegedly firing a semi-automatic weapon in Kissena Park, Queens, were apprehended last Thursday by unarmed Urban Park Rangers and Parks Enforcement Patrol officers according to Chief of Citywide Services William F. Dalton. Rangers Janel Gillen and Charles Cino were on regular duty Thursday afternoon at the Kissena Park Nature Center in Queens when at 2:15 P.M. they thought they heard gunfire. They immediately called Parks Enforcement Patrol officers (PEPs) to the scene.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"What terrible discipline it takes to live harmoniously."

Angela Carter (1940-1992)

Know Before You Go

Pelham Bay Nature Center

Pelham Bay Park