NYC Parks To Receive Additional Security Funds Following Gang Rape
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP)-- New York City parks are poised to receive additional money for security less than two weeks after a young woman reported being gang-raped by teenage boys in a playground.
Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to increase funding by 30 percent, allowing the city to hire 67 full-time Parks Enforcement Patrol staffers and 50 part-timers. He'll announce the plan Thursday as part of his preliminary budget proposal.
De Blasio said he was "disgusted and deeply saddened" by the rape accusations.
Four teenagers were charged as adults in connection with the rape. Police identified the four teens facing charges as two 15-year-old boys, one 14-year-old boy, and one 17-year-old boy.
Sources said the 18-year-old victim admits she had been drinking in the park with her father when the teens approached, as reported by CBS2's Janelle Burrell.
Police said one of the teens threatened the father with a gun, ordering him to leave. When the father left to get help, that's when investigators said the teens took turns raping his daughter. According to sources, two of the suspects said the incident with the woman was consensual, Burrell reported.
Mayoral aides briefed The Associated Press on Wednesday regarding the increased funds. They say the mayor will propose the city add $5.3 million to the park security's $14.7 million budget.
The new agents would largely be sent to high-traffic parks including the Coney Island boardwalk, Battery Park and Staten Island beaches.
Dennis Vourderis, owner of Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park -- one of Coney Island's iconic amusement parks -- said the additional funding is ``fantastic news.''
``With a higher volume of people coming here, inevitably there is going to be more quality-of-life issues,'' Vourderis said. ``We want people to want to come back, and having more eyes on things helps.''
The Parks Enforcement Patrol staffers largely focus on enforcing parks regulations, such as illegal vending, prohibited alcohol consumption and visitor harassment. Officials said the new agents' presence will free up police officers to focus on more serious offenses.
``By boosting security in our parks, we'll help ensure that all New Yorkers have access to safe, clean and green open space,'' de Blasio said in a statement.
Mayoral aides say the funding plan was put in place before the rape report.
Budget hearings in the City Council, which is overwhelmingly Democratic, will begin in the next few weeks and will be followed by a revised mayoral budget this spring. A final deal is expected to be struck in June. Last year's budget totaled $78.5 billion.
The budget covers the fiscal year that begins July 1.
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