Hero Parks Worker Succumbs To Fire As Deadly Brooklyn Blaze Claims Second Victim

Brooklyn

By Geoffrey Croft

A beloved Parks employee who leapt from a second floor window to escape a deadly fire in Brooklyn last week has died NYC Park Advocates has learned.

James Anthony Frye, 47, passed away last night in Brookdale Hospital where he had been in a medical induced coma since June 2nd. The blaze also claimed the life of a 59-year-old woman who was buried this week.

The deadly fire happened just after 3 a.m. at NYCHA's Unity Houses at 390 Georgia Avenue in East New York.

James had braved the fire and helped rescue 4 grandchildren in the flame and smoke-filled apartment. After helping to get them out he went back in a second time to try and save the 59-year-old woman but it was too late.

He was forced to leap from a second floor window to escape.  

No word yet on what caused the fire.

James's mother Betty Heyward said this week that she was not surprised he went in to help rescue them. 

"That's the kind of person he is, he would give you the shirt off his back."

She said he had been staying with a family friend in the building for only two days while his apartment was renovated when the deadly accident occurred.

James worked for the Parks Department as a City Seasonal Aid providing security throughout Brooklyn at different facilities including Bushwick Inlet Park where he was also assigned. 

"He was a down-to-earth loving person who would help anyone in need," said Park Enforcement Patrol Captain Tanya Prince who worked with him for the last 4 years.

Captain Prince said for the past two years James worked year-round including helping to secure the beaches and boardwalk in Coney Island during Hurricane Sandy recovery work.  

"We are deeply saddened his death,"  said Joe Puleo,  president of Local 983 which represents the workers. 

"He will be missed. Mr. Frye was a hero, and he deserves recognition from the city."

According to Mr. Puleo,  James worked for Parks Department as a seasonal worker for over ten years.

"NYC Parks is saddened by  the passing of Seasonal Officer James Anthony Frye, who had worked for the agency in various assignments since 2005 as a member of the Parks Enforcement Patrol staff," the Parks Department said in a statement.

"Mr. Frye’s death on Thursday, June 12, following his brave rescue of several others in a fire in his Brooklyn home, resulted from his trying to rescue another person trapped in the blaze and suffering grievous injuries as he then tried to flee. His bravery was reflected in the words of his co-workers, who called Mr. Frye a gentle giant who was always committed to his job. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Frye family and with those whose lives he touched while working for Parks."

Betty Frye, a mother of three said she lost her only daughter years ago due to a heart condition. 

James had shown signs of improvement at the beginning of the week his mother and colleagues said.  He was moving his arms and legs and was partially breathing on his own,  but things took a turn for the worse the last few days.  

On Monday when reached by phone Betty said the incident was "devastating" and a "shock" and that the family was hoping and praying.

"We are just waiting for him to wake up. He's my baby boy." 

Read More:

Woman, 59, dies after fire breaks out in Brooklyn apartment building 

New York Daily News - June 2, 2014 - By Tina Morre  

Six Teen Girls Wanted For Brutal Attack Of 16-Year-Old In Bronx Playground

Bronx

Six girls are wanted for questioning in a brutal attack that left a 16-year-old hospitalized, authorities said Saturday, according to the New York Daily News.

The victim and her friend, also 16, were leaving a basketball court at Campanaro Playground on Eastchester Road near East Gun Hill Road in Williamsbridge at 6 p.m. May 31 when a a group of girls attacked them for no apparent reason, punching them several times in the face. 

The two victims suffered black eyes, bloody noses and cuts and scrapes to their faces and bodies, cops said. One of the victims needed medical care at Jacobi Hospital, officials said. 

Cops identified the six teens as Lauren London, Infinity Hammonds, Joy Starr, Samoi Emm, Celene Miller and Fanny Lexus. They are wanted for questioning in the attack, although it is unclear what role, if any, they played in the fisticuffs, police said.

 Anyone with information regarding the attack is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.   

Read More:

Six girls wanted for brutal attack of 16-year-old in the Bronx 

New York Daily News -  June 8, 2014 -  By Thomas Tracy   

Scissors-Wielding Teen Girls Arrested for Muggings In Fort Tryon Park Playground

Manhattan

Two 15-year-old girls threatened to stab people with scissors if they didn't hand over their cell phones and wallets in a Washington Heights park, police said according to DNAinfo.

The teen muggers were part of a group of four youths who police said pulled scissors on a man near the Fort Tryon Park playground just after 2 p.m. June 2. 

The victim, 47, was in the park when he was approached by the teens and two young men, police said. One of the men eyed the victim's iPhone, telling him "Nice phone" before demanding he give it up, police said.  

That's when one of the girls drew a large pair of scissors and threatened to stab the man, who picked up a stick to try to defend himself, according to police. When a passerby intervened, the group scattered.  Minutes later, the group confronted a 24-year-old woman sitting on a park bench. 

One of the teen girls placed her in a choke hold while the thieves rummaged through her purse and stole her makeup, keys and a wallet with $450 inside, police said.  

Officers from the 34th Precinct spotted the youth committing the second crime and cuffed the teen girls, though the males escaped, police said.  The girls are suspected of threatening other people with scissors the previous Monday morning, May 26, police said. 

Three other victims said they were mugged by teen girls in the 33rd and 34th Precincts, according to police. An investigation is ongoing.  The girls, whose names are being withheld by DNAinfo New York because of their age, were charged with first-degree robbery, police said. 

Attempts to reach their lawyers were unsuccessful. 

Read More:

Scissors-Wielding Teen Girls Arrested for Muggings in Uptown Park

DNAinfo - By Nigel Chiwaya on June 7, 2014

Plan To Cut Into Historic Ridgewood Reservoir Has Activists Fuming - Fears This Will Lead To Development

Flood Hazzard?  The New York State DEC has classified the Ridgewood Reservoir's three basins as a "Class C" High Hazard Dam, critics disagree.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) click on images to enlarge


The decommissioned Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park is a natural oasis on the Queens-Brooklyn border. Local activists are worried that a state-mandated plan to dig out culverts in the reservoir will destroy the natural beauty of the area. Park and State officials say it is necessary to prevent flooding, activists disagree. 

For years the community fought against Mayor Bloomberg's $50 million PlaNYC proposal to clear out 20 acres of one of the basins for ballfields and develop the area for active recreation. 

Community residents instead wanted the unique area as let along as a natural oasis.

Mayor Bloomberg finally got the message and cut funding for the project.

Critics of the culvert plan say the $ 6 million dollars would be much better spent clearing out the invasive species and providing facilities for educational programing and for security personnel.

Community members and envirmentailists have long advocated for the repurposing two of the existing gate house buildings located on the basin's perimeter for use as an environmental center and a Parks Enforcement Patrol/Ranger facility.  

These funds could play a vital role in the future success of a newly reclaimed natural area! 

 - Geoffrey Croft

Invasive species strangle heathy trees and dramically reduce bio-divercity. 



Queens/Brooklyn

Local activists are fuming over a city plan to cut culverts into the historic Ridgewood Reservoir in order to stave off the threat of future flooding. They say the $6 million plan — currently awaiting state environmental approvals — is unnecessary and wasteful of money, according to the New York Daily News.  

“It would have to rain 24 hours a day for months to reach capacity,” said Geoffrey Croft of New York City Park Advocates. 

Critics also worry the project will disturb the ecosystems in the defunct reservoir. 

“Construction will destroy the natural habitats within the basins, not to mention that it is also a colossal waste of taxpayer money,” said local civic activist Christina Wilkinson said. 

“Furthermore, if this weather event actually were to occur, allowing the basins to drain into a small catch basin on Vermont Place would be pointless as the sewer system would already be overflowing.” 


The reservoir, located on the Brooklyn-Queens border, was built in 1858 and supplied water to Brooklyn until 1959. 



But the Parks Department said it will face fines by the state if the work is not done, since the reservoir is considered a flooding hazard. 

The only other solution that would satisfy the state — which would involve extensive tree removal and ongoing maintenance — is more costly and intrusive, parks officials said.

The reservoir, located on the Brooklyn-Queens border, was built in 1858. It supplied water to Brooklyn until 1959.

Former Mayor Bloomberg announced 10 years ago that the site would be transferred from the city Department of Environmental Protection to the Parks Department as parkland.

         

The long abandoned gate houses along the reservoir basin's perimeter could be repurposed and used as an environmental center and a permanent station for Parks Enforcement Patrol officers and park rangers.


The Bloomberg Administration originally pegged the reservoir and surrounding Highland Park for renovations. But the $50 million proposal to clear out 20 acres for ballfields and develop the area for recreation died for lack of funds.   

A Tale Of Two Reservoirs? The community had also requested the fences in the redesign match the historical ones but Park Department officials said that could not be done for safety reasons.  The fence around the Central Park reservoir (left) however used the exact same design as in Ridgewood (right). (Save Ridgewood Reservoir) 

The city did complete a smaller project to repair pathways and lighting around the reservoir, and make the areas more handicapped accessible. Agency officials said the flood prevention project would not change the condition of the reservoir or reduce public access. 

But concerned citizens worried that the culverts could pave the way for future development. 

“It is my firm belief that (the Parks Department) crying crocodile tears when they say that they’d rather not breach the basins but are being forced to by the DEC,” said Rob Jett, who founded the Save the Ridgewood Reservoir website.

He and others worry that the city will revive old plans to clear parts of the reservoir to build the ballfields.   


Familiar bluet at the Ridgewood Reservoir. (Photo: Steve Nanz)

 Interpretive Sign.

Read More:

Parks Officials Say State Wants Ridgewood Reservoir Basins to Be Safer
NY 1 - July 10, 2014 - By Agnes Chung 
http://www.ny1.com/content/212041/parks-officials-say-state-wants-ridgewood-reservoir-basins-to-be-safer/

Plan to cut culverts in historic Ridgewood Reservoir has local activists fearful it will lead to development of the natural oasis   

New York Daily News -  June 4, 2014  - By Lisa L. Colangelo  

Transgender Man Sues Parks For Being Kicked Out Of Male Changing Room In Staten Island Pool

Bryan John Ellicott, 24,  claims in a lawsuit filed Monday that three Parks Department employees violated his civil rights and discriminated against him when he visited Lyons Pool In Staten Island in July. Ellicott says in the suit that three workers told him he had to leave or use the women's room. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Staten Island

A transgender man who claims he was kicked out of a city pool by Parks Department employees who wouldn’t let him use the men’s changing room has sued the city to try and stop it from happening again, according to the New York Daily News.

Bryan John Ellicott, a city employee who works for the Office of Emergency Management, claimed in a lawsuit filed Monday that three Parks Department employees violated his civil rights and discriminated against him based on his gender when he visited a Staten Island pool last July.

The 24-year-old is currently transitioning from female-to-male, according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. Ellicott takes hormone replacements but hasn’t had sex-reassignment surgery yet, the suit said. 

He wore a t-shirt at the pool to cover up the binder he wears to compress his chest, the lawsuit said. But it wasn’t discreet enough to keep Parks Dept. employees from ordering him out, the suit claimed. 

“You need to leave ... someone complained about someone being in the locker room who doesn’t belong here,” a Parks Dept. worker identified as Employee No. 1 told Ellicott, according to the suit. 

The young man has been openly living as a male since February 2012, according to the suit. 

His doctor recognizes him as a male and on his driver’s license, New York State recognizes his sex as male, the lawsuit said. Ellicott lives in Manhattan now but was raised on Staten Island and maintains strong community roots there, according to his complaint.  

He returned to his hometown on July 21, 2013 to use the Lyons Pool. He wore jeans and a black t-shirt, and proceeded to the male changing room, the lawsuit said. Ellicott wore male swim trunks under his jeans and a binder meant to compress his chest under his shirt. He removed his jeans and secured his things in a locker before proceeding outside, dressed in his swim trunks and a black t-shirt, his binder still hidden under his clothes, the suit said. 

Ellicott soon returned to change into a white t-shirt, and that’s when a Parks Dept. employee told him he had to go the women’s room to change or leave the facilities, the lawsuit alleged. 

When Ellicott protested and asked to speak to a supervisor, the employee called over another Parks Dept. worker, the suit said. The men were “hostile” to Ellicott, according to court papers. 

Both workers said he had to leave or use the women’s room, but Ellicott persisted in asking for a supervisor, the suit said. A third male employee, older than the others, eventually came over but also refused to let Ellicott stay in the men’s room, the suit said. 

“At no time did the employees of the Parks Dept. city any law, rule or policy to justify their actions,” the suit said. 

“Ellicott’s binder and men’s swim trunks remained on at all times.”   

Read More: 

Transgender man sues city after allegedly being kicked out of 

men's changing room at Staten Island pool

New York Daily News - June 2, 2014 - By Barbara Ross, Ginger Adams Otis   

Lower East Side Awarded $335 Million For East River 2-mile Eco-Friendly Storm Barrier Park

The federal Housing and Urban Development's Rebuild by Design competition awarded 

$ 335 million to the Danish firm Bjarke Ingels Group to build a 2-mile long eco-friendly storm barrier park which could be completed as early as four years. The project will run from E. 23rd St. to Montgomery St. on the Lower East Side and will create landscaped berms 10-to 20-feet high, which officials say will stop floodwaters from pouring onto the streets in the event of another hurricane  The project will also include a bike lane,  walking paths and swimming pools.

The design competition was launched by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its Hurricane Sandy Task Force to address and protect vulnerable areas hit by Hurricane Sandy from future storms and flooding.

The Bjarke Ingels Group is currently involved in building a viewing platform for Pier 6 at the Atlantic Avenue entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Manhattan

A 2-mile stretch of Manhattan along the East River will be transformed into an eco-friendly playground with swimming areas, officials said Monday, according to the New York Daily News.

The ambitious proposal won $335 million in the federal Housing and Urban Development’s Rebuild by Design competition, launched to rebuild areas hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy. 

The project, which will run from E. 23rd St. to Montgomery St. on the Lower East Side, could be completed in as little as four years. The money will help create landscaped berms 10- to 20-feet high, which will stop floodwaters from pouring onto the streets in the event of another hurricane. 

 The berms will be located on what is now a low-lying service road for the FDR highway. 

The designers — Danish firm Bjarke Ingels Group — also plan on adding wharfs, swimming pools in the East River along E. 10th St. and a bike lane and walking path. It was the grand prize winner in the contest, which awarded $415 million to New York City sustainability projects.

Read More:

EXCLUSIVE: Danish firm wins $335M to build 2-mile eco-friendly park in East Side

New York Daily News  - June 3, 2014 - By Jennifer Fermino   

Lower East Side Awarded $335 Million For East River Barrier

thelowdown - June 3, 2014

4 Shot In St. John's Park

Four people were shot including three men and a woman on Saturday night just after 8pm in St. John's Park in Crown Heights Brooklyn. The victims were shot during an “Old Timer’s Day” barbecue reunion in the park by Troy Avenue. Police said a man in a hoodie walked up to the group near the Albany Houses and began firing.  (Photo: Robert Mecea)

Brooklyn

  

Four people were shot on Saturday nigh in a Brooklyn park.

Police told 1010 WINS the three men and one woman were shot at St. John’s Park in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. All four were rushed to Kings County Hospital. A 31-year-old old man is in critical condition with gunshot wounds to his chest, leg and arm. A 32-year-old male is in serious, but not life-threatening condition with a gunshot wound in his right ankle. A 33-year-old male is listed in stable condition with a gunshot to his left wrist. And a 33-year-old female is in serious, but not life-threatening condition with a gunshot wound to her hand. 

Police said the investigation into the circumstances of the shooting is ongoing.

Resident David Ortiz, who heard the shots, said he doesn’t feel safe. 

“How you going to feel safe with somebody shooting all night?” 

Penny Jackson, who was catching a bus to work Sunday morning just outside St. John’s Park, also heard the gunfire.

“I heard three shots, and I saw people scrambling.” 

Jackson said she her first thought was to worry about her 14-year-old son, who plays basketball in the park, steps away from where the gunfire erupted. 

All four victims in the Crown Heights shooting were rushed to Kings County Hospital.

Read/Hear More:

Police: 4 People Shot In Crown Heights

CBS - May 31, 2014

13 shot in 9 bloody hours in NYC

NY Post -  June 2, 2014 - By Kirstan Conley and Elizabeth Hagen