When it comes to fines, the Prospect Park Enforcement Patrol officers are slack on summonsing litterbugs, but have no problem ticketing an unleashed pup. And now according to the Brooklyn Paper, they turn a blind eye to law-breaking fishermen as well.
The city has a "catch and release" law when it comes to fishing in the parks, but one local whistleblower—Shelley Hendlin—says they aren't enforcing it in the Brooklyn park. Last Sunday she saw a man reeling in fish from the lake and stashing them by his side. When she she told him to empty his bag into the lake, he did—but the 45 fish were all already dead.
In a citizens arrest kind of moment, Hendlin threw him out of the park; she thinks he was gathering the fish for a feast. The Park's spokesman Eugene Patron told the paper, “People caught keeping the fish can receive a summons. Also, anyone over the age of 16 is supposed to have a state fishing license, so … they can also face fines from the state.” Them's the rules, but they aren't getting enforced! Stats show that zero fishing summonses have been written this year, even though Patron acknowledged knowing who this particular fisherman—a repeat offender—was.
Since the fishermen also don't seem to get fined for illegally disposing their hooks and lines in the lake—injuring animals that reside there—Hendlin believes fishing should be banned until rules are enforced.
