Central Park Curfew

[kapow]

I feel your pain. On the night of the 26th, just after midnight, my friend and I were walking from a show at irving plaza to the train, through union square park as it was the quickest route. Plenty of other heads were walking through as well. A cop stopped my friend (from Queens) and I (from Maine) and gave us a summons for violating the rule that the park is closed after midnight, which was in relatively small print at the bottom of a laundry list of violations, on one sign. There was also a chain which could have been put across the entrance with ease by the cops but was not. His partner also stopped another couple and processed us all at the same time at their car. The cops were both white men in their 30's, I'm white, my friend's brown, and the other couple was a black guy and hispanic girl. The other people consistently going through the park, even while we waited for roughly 1/2 hour, were white and were not bothered. Looks like I'm going to have to miss work to appear for this crap, maybe even get a lawyer. Let me know if you come up with any better ideas on how to handle the situation.

[Tom Paine]

The NYPD in Central Park must be very bored and resentful of having to work there, else why would they have suddenly begun enforcing a curfew law that even Parks Commissioner Henry Stern said (in the only public statement of parks policy--above) would only be sparingly enforced--and not against neighborhood dog walkers? I know someone who was handcuffed, told he was arrested and locked in a cell for an hour for the "crime" of walking his dog at 1:30 AM on one of the well-lit Park roads near his house, and asking a cop "Why?" when ordered to leave the Park. Sure he was dumb to question a bully with a badge, but the way they treated him was obscene and probably actionable. Once he got off (as anyone so treated likely will be by judges who don't like their time wasted, either) he thought about suing or a civilian complaint, but then realized he'd be throwing good time after bad. By the way, when he was released from the jail cell (he hadn't actually been arrested, the cops had lied in a feeble attempt to scare him), they told him to leave the CP precinct, forcing him to break the exact same law he's been "arrested" for and walk home through the park. Commissioner Kelly, your officers lose respect and you lose votes (assuming you are planning to run for Mayor) this way. Wake up and stop abusing peaceful law-abiding tax-payers this way!

[stache]

Stay out of the parks at night. You can walk your dog on the sidewalk outside of the park.

[MidtownGuy]

That would be the simple fascist reply.

Cops in this city are out of control. There has to be some more common sense in what to enforce and when. Are you also against dancing wihout a cabaret license?

[antinimby]

My take on all this is: there's no more, widespread serious crime in many parts of the city so cops (and the city) are now targeting minor, petty infractions such as this.

The city better be careful in not going overboard in "cleaning up" the city or else there will be very little interesting left of it.

[stache]

and trust me I am not thrilled with the parks curfew. I think NYC will be like this until we have another big recession.

[MidtownGuy]

I've got something for them to do that is 800 times more useful than busting moonlight dog walkers...start ticketing people for noise, especially honking horns incessantly.
That is something that actually affects my life, listening to people literally laying on their horns, sometimes honking when the light is red anyway! Or, how about the noise created by trucks that leave their engines idling for an hour while they eat lunch in a deli. Surly that's more worthy of policing than people who are bothering nobody. I don't care if Joe Shmoe is out walking his dog past 2am, or somebody is walking through the park at night to get across town. Cops are harassing people for things that affect nobody, and ignoring things that piss everyone off. NYPD needs to start showing some common sense, and while they're at it they can improve the nasty attitudes on 80% of them.

Another thing, whatever happened to walking a beat? The only police I ever see are whizzing by in vehicles, they're never around when you actually need them.

[stache]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yor..._Police#Duties

These are volunteer/fake cops. I know they do a lot of work in Central Park at night. They used to (maybe still) do tours of the Ramble, to make sure nobody's having sex. These are essentially people that get off on wearing a uniform and bossing other people around. I have a feeling these are the people that might be causing the altercations everyone is describing.

[NoyokA]

When the pope was in town a couple of weeks ago a friend and I walked across the park at about 4am because we were partying on the westside. We forgot the Pope was staying on the East Side and there was a literal throng of police vehicles and personnel where we were walking. A cop car drove by us and shined a light on us and then continued driving. We walked by a police officer with a police dog and nodded at him.

We weren't questioned at all, infact one word wasn't exchanged between us and the police. I would wager our condition was worse than yours, we were drunk, it was late, and the pope was staying nearby. There's definetly something wrong with the situation you described. Fight the summons.

[antinimby]

^ Example of how life isn't fair.

The guy that was well-behaved was harrassed by the cops while another, that actually was more deserving of being reprimanded by the police wasn't.

[NYatKNIGHT]

Handcuffed and locked in a cell for walking a dog after hours is abuse of authority, if that's all that happened. Anything beyond a ticket is worth fighting, but I'm sorry to say may be futile if it's his word and there are no witnesses.

[Tom Paine]

I've been scared out of the park at night, moderator, by the police, not the potential for danger, and that's nothing I am proud of or happy about. The fellow who says the cops should try enforcing noise laws is absolutely right. They could also stop people from speeding down Central Park South cutting across oncoming traffic at top speed and menacing pedestrians on the corner of Seventh Avenue--but that would require them to work a little harder instead of harassing sitting-duck citizens who live nearby--the very people whose presence in the park should be encouraged. BTW, I did fight the tickets (which were misdemeanors) and I did win, but the satisfaction is tempered by the knowledge that my "crime" was ridiculous and the NYPD's behavior outrageous.

[stache]

They're the volunteer cops. Does anyone know if other American cities have this program as well?

[Tom Paine]

No, they were not volunteer cops or sex "cops". They were full fledged NYPD, packing guns, sorry. I thoroughly doubt that one of my neighbors would have handcuffed me and thrown me in a cell for the crime of dog-walking.

[capedbadger]

My friend and I appeared in court, waiting in the court room for a solid 2-3 hours. We did not have a lawyer, just waited for our names to be called once they were called, this is what happened...

Judge: Do you know now that there is a park curfew in NYC?

Me: Yes your honor

Judge: Stay out of the parks after hours.

Me: Yes your honor

Judge: Dismissed

Biggest waist of time EVER for EVERYONE involved!