BBQ Under Attack
From the Brooklyn Paper....
Park is BBQ crazy!
By Emily Lavinfor The Brooklyn Paper
Illegal barbecuing in Prospect Park has gotten so out of control this summer that officials are deploying park rangers to crack down on a wave of grillers that even included one man pulling in a huge apparatus fit for a suburban backyard.
Complaints from non-BBQing park users has led the Prospect Park Alliance to send in the rangers to remind people that grilling is only legal in nine designated barbequing areas.
“Our staff is definitely trying to be vigilant,” said Alliance spokesman Eugene Patron, who acknowledged that more people have been cooking in the park this year. “We have rule cards that the rangers give out to people that explain fire dangers and tell them how to properly dispose of their hot coals.”
It’s no surprise that the Alliance is concerned about the smoky haze that has been covering vast portions of the park on summer weekends. Even casual users of the park have noticed that grill-toting families are setting up camp wherever there’s a nice patch of grass.
“The other evening I took a run and the haze of smoke around the park was incredible, you would have had to see it to believe it,” Park Sloper James Burt told The Brooklyn Paper. “[The other day], I even witnessed someone wheeling in a huge Sears Kenmore gas grill. That definitely seems excessive.”
Another resident, Jen Bettencourt, was at the park over Memorial Day weekend, and saw most of the grillers blatantly ignore the park’s restrictions.
“It was so crowded that people basically parked their stuff wherever they could find a spot,” Bettencourt said. “There were adults, children and pets trying to navigate around smoking barbeques. The whole thing is just one big accident waiting to happen.”
Patron noted that visitors to the park who continue to disregard posted grilling regulations will be kicked out, but he stressed that as a last resort for handling the situation.
“We obviously don’t want to have to ask anyone to leave, because everyone should be able to enjoy the space however they choose,” Patron said. “We just ask that everyone be respectful of other people and of park rules, and that they let the rangers know if there are any problems.”
Designated barbecue areas are adjacent to entrances at Third Street, Grand Army Plaza, Ninth Street, 10th Avenue, Parkside Avenue, Vanderbilt Street and Parkside Avenue at Parade Place.
©2008 The Brooklyn Paper
posted by WhiteTrashBBQ @ 7:33 AM
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15 Comments:
Well what do they want us to do? My house is in for-closure due to the housing crises so I can't BBQ there anymore.
I was using a small grill in my car but with the price of gas being artificially manipulated by speculators (who don't even use their own money) I can't afford to BBQ there anymore either.
So now I can't BBQ in a public park either. I heard that Bloomberg was going to tax park BBQ'ing anyway.
I think this is just one more failure of the Bush administration.
Thank goodness that they are out there protecting the public. I guess if they are out there cracking down on "illegal" grilling, then the problems of murder, rape, and robbery have all been solved in NY. You are very lucky.
But they should have cited the dude with the gasser :)
I sure hope that the last comment was a joke because if he/she was serious they have a lot bigger problem than where to BBQ.
I think we lost the right to BBQ when we lost the first amendment.
In response to anonymous, your house is in foreclosure because you are a moron who didn't read the fine print during your signing. Someone who wants the market to adjust for your mortgage! You and the rest of the Americans who are losing their house are just plain idiots!
How in the hell do you really think that parks and bbq are in the top priorities of the Bush Administration? Get an education then you will be entitled to your own opinion!
To the previous comments. They're not saying you can't grill in the park, there's just designated areas where you can grill and people aren't grilling in these areas.
To Chris:
When did park rangers start solving murders, rapes, and robberies? The cops aren't writing tickets for violations of park rules the park rangers are.
You didn't lose the right to BBQ, you in a sense lost the right to do it in an area where it isn't allowed.
I think the article indicated that there are a number of designated areas set aside for BBQ. I've seen them and they're fairly large but probably not large enough to accomodate all who want to use them on a crowded weekend.
This situation is like someone setting up a softball game, not on a designated area but rather in the middle of the conservatory garden or the quiet zone.
to the dude who is getting foreclosed on....don't worry, your attempt at sarcasim was not missed by me....
to the moron who chided the sarcastic comic...
you are not a griller and probably don't even know how to grill so go crawl into your little tea totling hole and have sex with your wife the only way you know how, missionary style. get a life!
To Chris
When did park rangers start solving murders, crimes and robberies? The rangers enforce park rules and that's what they're doing. If you're not grilling in a designated grilling area then you're getting a ticket, simple as that.
To the second anonymous who said all the Americans who are losing their homes are just plain idiots. You're absolutely right, it was stupid of me to get caught up in a 2500+ person layoff. The whole cancer thing, I'm sure I could have avoided that as well. When I had to make a choice between medical care, food, utilities, credit card bills, and my mortgage, I obviously should have chosen the mortgage, it's clearly the most important thing in life. I should have planned better for all of this.
Oh, btw, I think the original post was what we call sarcasm. Get a sense of humor and quit pretending that your education entitles you to lump sum evaluate those around you, you might find that you smile more often.
the most surprising thing about the article for me is the picture. what the hell are orthodox jews cooking on a grill that was probably used the day before to cook pork chops?
The only way I will stop grilling in the park is when they pry the barbecue tongs from my cold dead hands!
Anonymous, you were working at a company that had to lay off over 2 thousand workers and you had no frigging idea you were not pulling your load and making widgets the proper way so that the public would buy it? Next time if you think you have a gravy job, maybe time to change jobs where you are more visable and needed at your company.
...and NO, anyone with a grain of sense knows you let the credit cards go unpaid, they are not tied to anything you own. Never your mortgage. You HAVE to have a roof over your head, but you don't HAVE to pay Mastercard and Exxon.
I suppose this means that Naked Barbecuing is against the rules as well. A once free people is losing its freedom incrementally each and every day!
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