LONG ISLAND CITY — Residents in Hunters Point are calling on police to increase patrols at two waterfront parks following a reported assault on a woman inside one of them.
Concerns about safety at Hunters Point South and Gantry Plaza State parks came to a head on Tuesday after a neighbor reported seeing a man sexually assaulting a woman in a tall grassy area of Gantry Plaza earlier this month.
Dozens of residents gathered at Plumbers Union Hall on Tuesday to address safety concerns in regards to the green spaces, where neighbors say drug dealing, public drinking and drag racing have become the norm.
"It's out of control," one resident told officials and the crowd. "What is known about this park is you can come here and do whatever you want."
Officials with both the NYPD and the New York State Park Police — which has lead jurisdiction at Gantry Park — are investigating the report about the assault on the woman.
The witness, who did not want her name published, said she was in Gantry Park shortly before 10 p.m. on Aug. 1 when she heard what sounded like a woman crying in the park's tall grassy area.
Believing the woman was being attacked, she yelled out, and says a man emerged from the bushes screaming profanities and then threatened to stab her, she said.
The witness said she then helped pull the victim — who was disheveled and had a cut on her head — out from the grasses, and walked her out of the area. The victim told her she did not want to report the incident, according to the witness.
Police would not confirm details, citing privacy issues and the fact that the victim has not come forward.
"We do have the allegation of a sex crime that has taken place," Capt. John Travaglia, commanding officer at the NYPD's 108th Precinct, said at Tuesday's meeting.
"We don't have a victim who has come forward. We don't have a hospital in the region that has told us that they had a victim claiming this," he added.
Lt. Jason Jones, with the State Park Police, said they are "turning over every leaf."
"This unfortunately is a report of a horrible incident, if it is in fact true, and we're doing everything we can to investigate it," he said.
Leslie Wright, a regional director for the New York State Parks, said the agency cut down all the tall grass in the park after the incident was reported, and are replacing any dim or broken lights.
Other residents at the meeting agreed that crime has become an increasing issue at the parks, including people drinking, smoking marijuana and racing cars down Center Boulevard.
"There are people selling drugs, they're doing drugs, they're drinking, they're hanging out by the waterfront taking pictures," one woman, who described herself as a new resident, told the crowd, adding that she thinks the problems are getting worse as more people move to the area.
"I feel less safe after dark out here," she said. "This area is really booming and we need some help."
Despite the complaints, Travaglia says crime for the area is very low. In the sector of the precinct that covers Hunters Point, between Vernon Boulevard and the East River, there have been just 31 index crimes — the seven major felony categories the NYPD uses to track crime statistics — so far this year, he said.
Those include two robberies and four assaults, he said, as well as 22 grand larcenies and five stolen cars (added up, this appears to mean there have been 33 index crimes this year. Travaglia did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for clarification about the numbers).
For the 108th Precinct overall, which also includes Sunnyside and Woodside, Travaglia said major crimes are up 3 percent this year compared to the same period last year, a bump he attributed to a rise in grand larcenies driven by identity theft and financial scams.
"I can tell you, this is one of the safest places in New York City to live," he told the crowd.
He said he uses the crime statistics to determine how many officers are deployed to each area, and that they try to cover as much ground as possible with the resources they have.
"The police can't be everywhere," he said.
Jones, of the State Park Police, said they have been working to have more officers patrolling Gantry Plaza State Park recently in light of complaints from residents.
"We're making a concerted effort to be here more than ever before, we're working hard at that," he told residents.
Both officials told residents that it was important they report any crimes they see in the park to either the NYPD or the State Park Police.
"I need to hear these things, I need to hear that stuff," Jones said. "If it's in my park, I need to know about it."
