The Washington Square Association, like most everyone in our neighborhood, has been deeply dismayed by the recent chaos and lawlessness in Washington Square Park (WSP). What we are witnessing is worse than the 80’s crack epidemic, and we hear often from residents and visitors that recent activity has left them feeling unsafe.

The Park is also constantly targeted by vandals and frequented by individuals who abuse the space. As an example, since April, the WSP fountain has been vandalized five times, each time requiring it be closed and serviced, and the mountains of litter left behind demand greater clean-up resources in the morning than ever before.

The Association recognizes that there are various factors at-play and that an issue with such complexity cannot be solved easily. We are committed to being a credible resource to our members and to helping influence solutions.

To accomplish these goals:

We formed a Community Affairs Committee of the Board to monitor issues and advocate for our neighborhood as issues arise.
We’ve been meeting regularly with the Parks Department, conferring with Park-facing co-ops, and attending meetings of Community Board 2 and the 6th Precinct Community Council. We will continue to engage these community stakeholders and conduct outreach to many more.
We will continue to provide you with updates and information you can use. This email is just the beginning!

Based on what we’ve learned, we are pleased to share there is reason for hope.

PARK SAFETY UPDATE

A Few Notes:

Increases in criminal activity are occurring throughout NYC and across the country. Every public park in The City reports struggling with the same issues we are. Loss of social places to congregate has made Washington Square Park, in particular, a hotspot for partying. City government officials are hoping that this, combined with increased enforcement, will dissipate as NYC opens up.
Since the pandemic, the NYPD’s 6th Precinct staff has been cut by 20% and by 50% over the last decade. · The recent cuts and reassignments resulted in major reductions in the Street Narcotics Unit (SNU) and in the number of undercover officers; both groups are effectively responsible for many serious arrests. However, Precinct 6 will soon have 10-12 newly graduated officers from the NYPD’s Police Academy join their ranks.

Parks/NYPD Precinct 6 Enforcement Partnership:

Parks and the NYPD’s 6th Precinct have formed a partnership and secured resources to address WSP rules and safety enforcement, including Park closure at midnight, that will be in place for three weeks. At the conclusion, they will evaluate its efficacy and possibly continue the effort (this will require finding additional resources). Until then, three Sergeants and 24 Officers from the 6th will arrive every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 6pm and will stay until 2am. As we saw last weekend, aggressive push-back from the partyers has required additional support from the NYPD.

WSP Park Closing at 10pm This Weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun):

After 10pm, the crowd’s intoxication level increases dramatically, as does their lawless behavior. Initially the Parks/NYPD partnership discussions involved closing WSP earlier in the near-term, but they opted for 10pm instead in an effort to strike a balance between public safety and public use of The Park. This 10pm closing time may occur next weekend as well.

Parks Enforcement Police (PEP) Expanded Presence

WSP is in a unique situation in that, unlike every other park in Manhattan but one, our PEP officers are grant-funded. In anticipation of The City’s public outdoor pools opening on June 26, PEP officers funded by The City will be reassigned and there will only be two PEP officers serving the entire lower half of Manhattan from 59th Street on down. WSP’s PEP force will not be affected by this change because ours are grant-funded.

PEP officer presence in WSP has been expanded for the summer! Normally in The Park from 10am to 6pm, PEP officers are now on-site from 10am to 10pm daily. Specifically, there are two officers on site from 10am to 6 pm, four officers from 2 pm to 6 pm, and two officers from 6 pm to 10 pm.

Repeat Offenders

The NYPD has been conducting bi-weekly sweeps of The Park targeting individuals that are known to engage in criminal activity and/or are wanted by police for violence, drug sales, etc. As a result of these sweeps, they made 15 arrests over the last 4 weeks.

Northwest Corner

The Northwest corner of The Park has been closed for the foreseeable future. Barricades were installed at 10am, Tuesday, and they are chained (normally they’re zip-tied). Parks will begin by opening it only for the children’s program, “Art in the Park with Miss Debbie” on Wednesday afternoons and, over time, for other programs that fill the space. Anyone found in the cordoned off area will be removed and possibly receive a summons.

Skateboarding

Beginning in April, the NYPD began an educational campaign with the skateboarders to let them know that skateboarding is prohibited in WSP and providing them a map of skate parks across The City. They were also informed that police officers would soon begin issuing summonses for failure to comply ($250 fine) if they continue to ignore the rules. This ticketing has begun.

Four large planters will be installed, June 1, in Garibaldi Square to prevent skateboarders from damaging the statute and stage when practicing tricks, etc. If successful in discouraging skateboarding in the area, two of the planters will be moved to Holley Plaza to flag that statue.

Other Wheeled Transport

Signage has recently gone up throughout The Park stating that skateboarding, bicycling, and scooters are prohibited.

Graffiti

The Parks Department is looking at adding a permanent coating to statues to protect them from graffiti. They need to wait for the old graffiti to fade before applying the coating and will begin with the Garibaldi statue. If successful, they will consider protecting the Arch with the coating, as well. For Graffiti related concerns or locations, please contact: PETER.PLESSA@nypd.org

YOU Can Help!

Get Your Complaints on the Books -Contact 311

In order to bring attention to Park issues and get the funding and resources required for solutions, we MUST make sure our complaints are recorded as often as possible. You can file a complaint/report via 311 on the web (https://portal.311.nyc.gov/ ), through the NYC 311 smart phone app, or by calling 311. To file a noise complaint, contact 311 and provide the following WSP noise complaint case number: 311-06004197.

Call 911 If a Person or Property Is in Immediate Danger

The 911 operator will ask if you need police, fire or emergency medical (EMS). If you don’t know, the operator will decide how to route your call based on the information you provide.

Help Keep The Park Clean & Beautiful -Volunteer for Monthly Park Clean-Up

The Washington Square Park Conservancy hosts a Monthly Clean-Up on a weekend day for volunteers ages 14+. Work consists of weeding, raking leaves, mulching, planting, and other work – whatever is necessary to keep Washington Square Park clean, safe and beautiful. No experience is needed for this program and there is no long-term commitment. Sign-ups for the June 13 Clean-Up are open now.

Support Precinct 6

The Association will be meeting with the 6th Precinct soon and will share opportunities for you to support their efforts shortly. Until then, click here for information about volunteer opportunities with the NYPD.

WSA Statement On The Recent Lawlessness In Washington Square Park