The start of the holiday weekend was interrupted when the doors of the Williamsbridge Oval Park Recreation Center were vandalized during evening hours of operation.
The front doors of the Williamsbridge Oval Park Recreation Center were shattered when rocks and cinderblocks were thrown at the door, by what many believe to be adolescent thugs, leaving the entryways partially destroyed. The incident happened around 6 p.m. on Dec. 24.
While initially thought to be a direct attack to the center, a few people who asked not to be identified fearing reprisal said there appeared to be a fight between members of a few crews from the neighborhood, with the center serving as collateral damage. Staffers immediately called the 52nd Precinct. No arrests were made.
Mario Lopez, a spokesman from the New York City Department of Parks, said in a statement that the agency has dispatched “an extra mobile Parks Enforcement Patrol unit to the area during the evening hours.” In the meantime, Parks “will continue to work closely with NYPD regarding related safety issues.”
Concepcìon Flores, 39, a center regular, said the neighborhood around the location has been growing hostile lately. “Around four weeks ago I was picking up my kids from one of the programs they attend here, and while all the kids were coming out another group of older teenagers came across and slapped one of the children in the head,” Flores recounted.
Flores brings her two children to many of the programs that the center offers and said there has been a lack of surveillance. “I don’t feel so safe around here anymore,” she said.
Many consider the center to be a safe haven in the community and find the attack to be unsettling.
A younger member of the center, Jahmeal Martin, 16, said he had never felt like it was an unsafe neighborhood. “Nothing bad has ever happened to me,” said Jahmeal. ”I just come lift [weights] and then go home.”
Repairs are now under way.