For The Record: Sitting Near A Playground Without Children Is Legal

Ruppert Park on the Upper East Side (GoogleMaps).

Good news for fans of sitting near playgrounds without children! Back in June we told you about four twentysomethings who were ticketed by the police because they were sitting, eating doughnuts, in a Bed-Stuy playground unaccompanied by children. Two months later at least half of those tickets have been dismissed and sealed. Meanwhile in Manhattan, at least, it seems that cops are giving elderly women warnings about where they are sitting rather than tickets. Oh, and the Parks Department seems to understand that their signage can be a little confusing if placed in the wrong spot.

But first the "doughnut tickets." The woman who first told us about the tickets wrote in recently to tell us that she and her friend from out of town, after writing letters to the court, were informed that their summonses had been dismissed. They didn't even have to go to court. The other ticketed couple didn't write any letters, however, and we're waiting to hear from them how their court appearance went last Friday.

Meanwhile WCBS today has the story of Harri Molese, a 73-year-old Upper East Sider who likes to go and sit in a Ruppert Park, which is by her apartment. She doesn't even sit in the playground area, preferring to read at a checkers table. Unfortunately some kids like to use that table as third base while playing Wiffle ball and recently they hit her with one. After the hit she asked them to move but they declined. So last weekend when she returned to the park she asked one of their parents if they could move them into 91st Street, which is closed to traffic. But the parents didn't like that idea and told her she wasn't even allowed to be there, something a police officer she then spoke to agreed with (though he didn't write her a ticket). But there is a reason why you don't mess with older ladies!

Molese knew that, unlike those doughnut eaters, she had every right to be sitting where she was. So she contacted CBS, who contacted the Parks Department and complained. And they say they are on it, telling the news station that "We will move the signage indicating the no adults in playground rule away from the park entrance at East 91st Street and move it closer to the physical playground, to avoid any future confusion.” Huzzah!

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By Garth Johnston in News on August 17, 2011 6:24 PM

Comments [rss]

skidzy

i'm a parent as of a year and 1/2 ago but knew nothing of the playground laws before i became a father.. before my son was born, i wouldn't have been too happy if i was told to move from a playgroung because i wasn't with a child. now that i have a child, the law works just fine for me and i'll tell you why. the 1st time you see a man look at your child with the "i want to undress you stare", you'll want to beat their head in with a baseball bat. it's the same hard stare that women get from drucken lonely men at bars. these men are out there and they know exactly where go to get their rocks off, the playground! i do see plenty of adults without children enjoying the playground scene without malice. but there is no accurate way to decide who is respectively enjoying the children play and who is getting off watching the children play. unless cops are stationed at every park full time (which would not be possible) the only reasonable choice is to keep adults without children out of the playgrounds. i feel the same rules should apply for bars. kids shouldn't be at bars either(i actually beleive it's law), that's a place for grown ups.

MEDICNYC

The signs that state this are posted very conspicuously at every NYC park and playground.

FU Boy

But that stipulation of "unless with a child" only applies to the playground areas of the park, not the entire park.

The woman was within her rights to be in the park, as she wasn't in the playground area.

And personally, I think the "you can't be here without a kid" thing sucks. I like swing sets and occasionally want to play on monkey bars. But the public places that house those fun amenities, which my taxes help pay for, is illegal for me to be near.

I understand the reason behind it, but it's a broken window approach to a problem - treating all of society as criminals because one person might do something wrong.

We are, after all, talking about a state that allowed pedophiles to drive school buses up until this week, so the laws and regulations are spotty, at best.

SFNY

Agreed.

The only outdoor public spaces with benches and trees within a 15 minute walk from my apartment are all playgrounds with no "childless adult" space. In all cases there's plenty of room to fence in the kids and make a separate child-free area, but it hasn't been done, and having a kid just to legally drink a cup of coffee and read a book in a nearby park doesn't seem like a good enough reason to procreate.

mishamashes

If you are black or Hispanic you do get arrested and often convicted. Must only be legal in upper Manhattan.

e non

well, how about the parks dept providing some signage that children shouldn't be using a games table as third base.

take that, asshole parents.

cr17

I would keep my eye on anyone who's name is Harry Molestee.

But seriously folks, it sounds like the kids are way more mature than the either their parents or the old lady.