CORONA — The city is considering adding gates to entrances of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to put the brakes on late-night partying and "reckless" racing after dark, officials said.
Roads through the park stay open overnight because drivers use it as a shortcut to highways, officials said.
But it also gives late-night partiers and "drifters" — drivers who speed their car then let their wheels spin out of control — access to the park, according to police.
While local precincts have boosted enforcement — a recent bust yielded dozens of summonses — the Parks Department, along with the NYPD, said they're now looking at other ways to control the activity.
"As always, safety is our first priority — we have already installed speed bumps at the entrance to the boathouse lot to deter reckless driving and are exploring the feasibility of purchasing and installing gates as well as other options," Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said in a statement.
At a recent Community Board 3 meeting, Deputy Inspector Christopher Manson from the 110th Precinct said the entrances will be closed by July 1. The entrances are near Meadow Lake and Marina West inside the park.
The Parks Department would not confirm this.
The 898-acre park, the borough's largest, has attracted late-night activity due in part to the easy access, especially for drivers.
On May 31 officers from the 110th Precinct doled out 39 summonses after multiple complaints about partying. Last summer and fall, police arrested drivers and handed out tickets after a "drifting" ring was busted.
