CORONA — Four drivers were arrested and had their cars impounded for the “Fast and Furious”-style driving in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park that has driven the community crazy for years, officials said.
Kareem Ali, 26, and Michael Mahabir, 27, both of Richmond Hill; Joel Santiago, 36, of Maspeth and Darren Tang, 24, of Manhattan were arrested Oct 26 and charged with reckless driving, among other charges, according to the district attorney’s office.
Ali was also charged with possession of marijuana.
The bust in the park followed 66 complaints to 311 and efforts by the 110th Precinct to curb the drifting in the park at night — which Deputy Inspector Ronald Leyson called a “thorn in our side” at an October precinct meeting.
District Attorney Richard Brown said “cars are not toys” and noted the dangers of drifting, which is when a driver speeds up and oversteers their car, then lets it spin out.
“Driving at high speeds and intentionally skidding a roughly 3,000-pound vehicle, especially where spectators are gathered, is dangerous and can result in tragedy,” he said.
Commissioner Bill Bratton said the drivers — who meet up at night in a parking lot at the park, blasting music and drawing a crowd — placed others in danger and the city would “continue to address crime conditions which needlessly endanger lives and threaten the quality of life in our communities.”
As of October, roughly 200 summonses were given for lack of registration, being in the park after dark and excessive tints to their windows, among other violations, according to the NYPD.
A lawyer for Ali said his client just did one “donut” in the parking lot and uses his car to drive his sick parents to doctor’s appointments — which he can’t do now that it has been impounded.
“I understand that they need to prevent these kinds of things from happen, I have the utmost respect for the necessity of preventing driving situations to occur that are uncontrolled and unmonitored,” he said.
“But you have to be a little more selective in who you arrest.”
A lawyer for the other suspects could not be reached.
They are due back in court in January.
