Big problems at Cleveland Park

From the Forum West:

A main source of frustration for many of the residents at the meeting is problems at Grover Cleveland Park, particularly with food vendors. Residents reported that the sidewalks around the park become unusable when the vendors set up shop, double-parked cars are causing unsafe crossing conditions and that illegal gambling is taking place inside the park.

Residents also described “unhealthy conditions” regarding the food preparation, with large open barrels of boiling oil creating a potential hazard. To add insult to injury, the park is left strewn with trash after events are held there, even though cleaning up is part of the requirements for obtaining event permits from the city. A resident said the situation has led to rodents and insects in nearby homes.

“If a police officer comes on one weekend, they will fill their quota for tickets,” said one resident. Added another: “We as residents on weekends don’t feel like we have any rights to go across the street to the park. This is not the first time we’re raising this issue.”

Deputy Inspector Green said officers will look into the complaints regarding the vendors and will conduct traffic enforcement in the area.

“We don’t have to tolerate anything that wouldn’t happen on Mayor Bloomberg’s block,” said Michael Hetzer, vice president of the CBR. “There are at least six, seven, eight different things going on that have to be dealt with by different agencies.”