Editor’s Note: Norwood News is officially on our annual summer hiatus. However, we are continuing to publish some ad hoc stories online that we couldn’t get to earlier this year. We hope you all get to enjoy the last few weeks of summer and thanks, as always, for reading. 

Following the fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Ángel Miguel Mendoza Hernández in the Williamsbridge Oval on Aug. 5, and recent calls for more security in the Norwood park, Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11) and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) joined local community groups and concerned residents at a press conference in the Oval on Friday, Aug. 15, to reiterate the need for greater park security and oversight to protect not just children and young people, but all residents who use the beloved park.

 

As reported, police said a 17-year-old male was also stabbed during the same Aug. 5 brutal gang assault and was reported to be in stable condition in hospital. They said five people were initially arrested and were charged with criminal possession of a weapon, four were later charged with murder and other charges, and two more are still sought. The defendants are deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

The council member, the assemblyman, and Assemblyman John Zaccaro, Jr. (A.D. 80), whose representative, Evan Weinberg, was also present at the Aug. 15 press conference, sent a joint letter dated Aug. 7 to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch requesting, among other things, the installation of security cameras at all entrances and secluded areas of the Oval, increased uniformed presence in the park, during after-school hours, on weekends, and overnight, and a dedicated NYPD point of contact at the 52nd Precinct “to monitor conditions [at the park] and ensure follow-through.” For more on this, click here.

 

“This tragedy should never have happened,” the councilman said. “Our parks must be safe spaces for every child and family in our community. That means not only investing in stronger safety measures like better lighting and security cameras, but also providing engaging, positive programming for our youth so they have safe and healthy outlets. We owe it to Ángel, his family, and every Bronx resident to make sure the Oval is a place of safety and joy, not fear.”

 

The question of cameras and who is responsible for installing them has been a confusing one. As reported, Norwood News reached out to the NYPD and NYC Parks for comment on this longstanding security camera request by Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7). State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33) confirmed he had written to NYC Parks on this same topic after securing funding for cameras throughout the park last year, while the councilman said the camera installation request is for the NYPD to implement. Having shared details of the allocated funding and the senator’s letter with both departments, we did not receive a response since then. For more on this, read our previous story here.

 

Meanwhile, on Aug. 15, the council member said it was extremely disappointing that as of that date, Tisch had reportedly not acknowledged the letter. “These directives need to come from the top,” Dinowitz said adding that while he was informed there is increased police coverage in the park now, it could not wane over the coming days and weeks.

The councilman talked about how the Oval is a beloved community hub where local football teams train, the NY Junior tennis league play, events like Norwood Pride are held, Bronx CB7 hold some of their meetings, and where Bronx Opera and Bronx Arts Ensemble give musical performances.

 

“At all hours of the day and night, there are people here enjoying each other’s company and enjoying our parks and that’s what our parks are for,” Eric Dinowitz said, adding that nonetheless, the Oval had become a hotspot for unsafe conditions, citing various prior violent incidents, drug activity, and adding, “It still lacks basic safety infrastructure such as security cameras.”

 

He referenced the many emails his office had received from residents since the fatal Aug. 5 stabbing, including one from a local football team. “There’s been an uptick in menacing behavior from the teenagers in the park with unfortunately little support from the NYPD, with mopeds and motorcycles being ridden through the field while they’re practicing, and they’ve been trying their best to combat it,” he said. “They call 911 and the police never show up.”

 

He said last month, some bikers had reportedly been harassing children and football players again, and so they called 911 around 6 p.m. and nobody allegedly showed up. He surmised the harassers know cops will not show up, adding “because historically they have not shown up.” He said the team told him after that 911 call, the practice ended at 8 p.m. and the kids starting going home “with no cops in sight.”

 

He said at around 8.20 p.m., a group of teenagers allegedly started an argument with one of the football players and were trying to get into a fight. “Luckily the adults were there to break up the fight where one of the kids grabbed a gun in his waistband,” the councilman said quoting the email. “Luckily, the situation was diffused, 911 was called again, and it was reported that someone was there with a gun, and nobody showed up.” On the day Angel was stabbed, the NYPD were seen patrolling the park.

 

Norwood News asked the councilman’s office for the date of the incident in order to follow up on the incident with the NYPD. Should we receive it, we will do so. The councilman said it was not an isolated incident of kids getting into fights or of fights leading to violence.

He went on to say that he was working with NYC Parks “to expand safe, healthy, and enriching programs that engage young people and families” to help prevent dangerous or fatal situations, mentioning he secured $10 million last year for the reconstruction of the Williamsbridge Oval, which will include brand-new lighting. He added that Parks informed him they were short-staffed and unable to fulfill additional hours currently.

 

Eric Dinowitz also announced his office was sponsoring a “Movies Under the Stars” series in the Oval in September and October, among other initiatives and he urged NYC Parks to expedite the installation of the new lighting.

 

For his part, the assemblyman said Angel’s murder underlined the importance of taking every step possible to make local streets and parks safer. “While I applaud the hard work of the 52nd precinct and the NYPD in general, we should do as much as possible to improve safety. This includes better lighting, additional cameras and a greater police presence in our parks and in the 52nd precinct. I look forward to working together with the NYPD, Council Member Eric Dinowitz and other elected officials to make all of this happen.”

Other speakers included Barbara Stronczer, Bronx CB7 Parks Chair, who said it was “very important” that residents showed up for the press conference but warned that it was important to keep up the momentum afterwards.

 

“The parks committee of CB7 meets in this [Oval rec center] building on the second Wednesday of each month from September through June and you can rest assured that the security of this park will be on our agenda each month because I think it’s important that we follow up, find out what the police will be doing, if the Parks department is doing anything differently here in the park etc., so rest assured that we will be following up on this issue each time.”

 

For her part, Elizabeth Quaranta, executive director of Future of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP), who, as reported, works locally with youth as part of the Summer Youth Employment Program, extended her deepest condolences to the Angel’s family and friends. She then reiterated a list of proposed actions she had previously shared with the community in efforts to prevent another similar tragedy. Read those proposals here.

 

Quaranta also acknowledged the work of Sarah Bishow from NYC Parks in particular, who she said did a phenomenal job with indoor programming at the rec center and called for more outdoor Parks programming like a basketball league. “Let this playground not be remembered for what [the life] it took, but for what we can give back to it, a place where dreams grow and every child’s future is protected,” she said.

 

Jean Hill, president of Tracey Towers Tenants Organization and a Bronx CB7 member, said in part, “I hate to meet at sad occasions like this. We are losing our children. We cannot afford to lose a whole generation of children to the streets, to the gangs, to lose their lives when they have such bright futures that could be ahead of them.”

 

She added in part, “We, as a community, we, with our elected officials, we all have to embrace these children and find a better path for them. We cannot let the gangs let them be fodder for the prison pipeline. We do not bring our children into the world to live a future like that.” She said that when she was growing up, everyone looked out for all the kids, irrespective of whose kids they were and the community needed to go back to that.

 

“This little boy at 14 should have had a brighter future than the one he just wound up with,” Hill said. “Please don’t let this happen because in every ZIP code, every ethnic background, I don’t care what your money situation is, this is happening to everybody. So all of us, all of us, have to get on the bandwagon and save our children.”

 

Heather Guerino from Crusaders for Children’s Rights said in part, “I’m asking all the parents as well to just be more active with your children. Find out who their friends are, ask questions, reach out to your teachers, because school is going to be starting shortly, and I’m sure our council member is going to have mental health services for the students that were friends of Angel, right?”

 

After the event, we spoke to Danielle Guggenheim, District 11 city council candidate, who said, “Now is not a time for us to play the blame thing. Now is the time for us to come together as a community and listen to all voices in the community about what the problems are, and what we feel the solutions can be. Our youth who use this park and who are friends with Angel, we need to have counseling for them. This has been a traumatic experience. So moving forward, how can we bring counseling to the people who use this park?”

 

Meanwhile, Aldo Rafael Perez, VP of governmental affairs for the Muslim & Immigrant Coalition for Justice, said any future community initiatives needed to involve all local stakeholders and be inclusive given the multicultural make-up of the local community, addressing language barriers, preventing PTSD, enhancing communication skills, and providing job opportunities. He also said with the new school year approaching, the impact of cuts was going to worsen the situation.

 

He added, “They need to stop having mini-bikes coming into these parks, e-bikes coming in, scooters coming in to these parks. These are guys that are coming in to recruit people into gangs.”

 

During a Q&A after the press conference, Norwood News raised the issue of allowing light-weight, motorized e-bikes in parks, referencing a trial program and survey launched in June 2023, which allowed for this despite most residents we spoke to opposing the use of such bikes in parks. The councilman said he would double-check the point, adding in part, “Motorized vehicles aren’t allowed in the park. They’re certainly not allowed on the turf, which is where we actually got the complaint.”

 

However, NYC Parks confirmed that light-weight electronic bikes (but not mopeds) are allowed in parks and the temporary initiative launched in 2023 is poised to become permanent. On July 3, this year, NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa announced that “NYC Parks intends to propose rule amendments to permanently allow the same e-bikes and stand-up e-scooters that are allowed in bike lanes to also be operated on park drives and greenways.”

 

Parks later told Norwood News, “Regarding timing – this proposed rule would have to go through the usual CAPA process, so substantial public input before anything is approved. It hasn’t yet actually been submitted through the process so we don’t have a timeline at this point.” For more on this, click here. We also asked the councilman about the camera situation at the Oval. For more on this, click here.

 

Also present at the meeting were Abigail Martin, female district leader for A.D. 81, Christiano Robles from Bronx CB7, Brenda Caldwell Paris, president of the 52nd Precinct Community Council, Marcelo Lopez from the Unity Democratic Club, Dominique Smith from Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, Steven O’Shaw, formerly of Bronx CB7, representing the Office of the City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, NYPD Community Affairs Officer with the 52nd Precinct, Jose Torres, and Sirio Guerino of Guerinos against Graffitti*.

 

As reported, two GoFundMe pages have been set-up to support Ángel’s family with various expenses. Click here and here for details.

 

For more on Ángel’s family’s reaction to the tragedy and what local youth had to say about it, click here. For more on the assault, initial reaction from local elected officials, as well as prior measures proposed by Bronx Community Board 7 to promote safety in the Oval and other local parks, click here. For more on calls by residents for more security in the park following the incident, click here. For more on the latest tactics employed by some to intimidate local youth in the park, click here.

According to the NYPD, Neighborhood Coordination Officers, or NCOs, are NYPD local problem solvers. They spend their working hours within the confines of their assigned sectors of each precinct, actively engaging with local community members and residents. “They get to know the neighborhood, its people, and its problems extremely well,” the NYPD said. Use the map on this page to find your local sector, your local NCO, and your local Community Affairs team contacts.

 

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.