There was tension in the air at the Robert Ross Johnson Family Life Center in St. Albans on Monday.
It quickly became standing-room-only as nearly 230 people filed in for the Southeast Queens Parks Update meeting, which became contentious as accusations were lobbed from elected officials and some members of the crowd about the existing and planned Roy Wilkins recreation centers, located at 177-01 Baisley Blvd. in St. Albans.
“I love to speak facts because the numbers speak for themselves,” said Borough President Donovan Richards. “We don’t do rhetoric, we do results. There has been a lot of misinformation disseminated around Roy Wilkins, but we are not just going to stay there tonight. We are going to make sure that we speak about the progress being made in Southeast Queens.
“Tonight is not about revisionist history. All of you are ambassadors for your parks. The parks are lungs in our community.”
As Richards told the crowd to join park friends groups and advocate on behalf of their specific green spaces, James Johnson, the advisory chair of the Southern Queens Park Association, the predominantly Black stewardship group responsible for programming at the existing center, accused the elected official of kowtowing to the Parks Department.
Johnson shouted that the sprinklers and fire panel at the existing center were not working, resulting in one member in the crowd asking if the facility is safe for children who attend summer and afterschool programs there.
“We heard that it is a major fire hazard,” the crowd member said on a postcard that was read aloud by a staff member from Richard’s office.
On whether it is safe, “Yes, yes, yes,” said Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “The children are safe. The facility is safe and we would not run — we could not run a facility that was not safe. ... We have to get permits by the Department of Buildings. There is no way we could run a center if it was not safe. It is our top priority always in all of our centers that they are safe for children and families.”
Donoghue said there are fire guards in place at the center and there are such personnel at 12 other centers across the city, which meets Fire Department code, and the sites are FDNY-certified because of that.
A source from SQPA, who wished to remain anonymous, said their organization was receiving fines meant for the Parks Department because of issues related to the fire safety and a staff member had to go to court to address the matter.
A source from Parks said the fire alarm is currently functional and is monitored by fire guards. Also, as part of Parks’ upcoming capital needs assessment, the agency will determine the work needed to have the sprinkler system repaired and have the fire alarm system registered with the FDNY.
According to the SQPA, the sprinklers have been out since 1986.
The FDNY was not available for comment as of press time.
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