The Battle for the Lincoln Park Place Playground?

If this is a playground, as opposed to a park (like Prospect Park), adults are not allowed in the playground unless in the company of children, and there are rules about behavior. Also playgrounds are supposed to close at dusk. While I do not have a problem with people hanging out in a park, especially in a densely populated urban environment like Brooklyn where space is at a premium, I think that the police should harass these gangs until they move on. These are not social clubs, they are gangs, motivated by an intention to initimidate residents to create an environment where their criminal activites will go unreported.

The absolute best way to get rid of these gangs is for everyone to stop using illegal drugs. If you take away the market for their most profitable criminal enterprise, most of them will go away.

I bet those kids live within a few blocks of that park.

It is their park too.

I am sick and tired of the New York media always making young latinos/blacks look like thugs and criminals. Here we have a group of young citizens spending the day in the park doing nothing but playing cards and chewing the fat. Lord forbid some racist columnist comes along and labels them gang members and christens their gathering under one the flag of the "TNG" (Top Notch Gentlemen). This senseless classification of minority youth must be stopped and articles like this must be ignored. One can clearly see that these young boys are up to nothing evil. Their only crime is being in a park thus making it impossible for the new residents of the area to enjoy the same area. Some call these new residents interlopers or hipsters but I just call them "new". God forbid that they can't go to the park and have first dibs on the benches. OH THE HUMANITY! It just sickens me that some hipster took the time to exaggerate the facts to the media in order to have these young men removed from the park. The true culprit here is over crowding and it is an evil shame to blame the original residents of the area for not making room for the hipster plague. Perhaps they prefer these young men go about doing something more unproductive with their lives instead of playing cards and discussing the urban plight of the minority man in Park Slope.

This sort of journalism really sickens me. Anyone who believes and supports this sort of journalistic dribble is a racist buffoon in my book.

Couple of interesting comments from the Daily News:

As a young adult who spends time in that park I'm disgusted with how this reporter is trying to portray the people who hang out there. And furthermore I am so disappointed in the comments I am reading! Complaints about profanity are just rediculous especially since parents heard those same words on their work TOO the park. They`re saying that "TNG" hangs out in the park at about 6 which is actually the time that children should be home starting on homework in my opinion. At least they have the decency to wait until that time. I have yet to see anyone robbed stabbed shot or anything in 282 park. All the people you see in that photo attended public school 282 from kindergarten to 6th grade ... does that not give them the right to go there for cards and basketball? The reporter failed to inform you that this is one of the safest parks in brooklyn by far! As far as illegal drug use no, its not right but you can get that anywhere, and i have NEVER seen anyone smoke near a child in that pa

@IMPEACHEM THE REPORTER WAS IN THE PARK TWO DAYS AGO WHILE WE WERE ALL IN THERE. WHEN HE CAME IN HE SAID HE WAS THERE BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE MARIJUANA SMOKE BUT WHEN HE CAME IN ALL HE SEEN WAS THE GUYS PLAYING BASKETBALL AND CARDS AND IF HE COULD TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT. NO ONE WANTS TO BE PORTRAYED AS A "THUG" AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY IN THE PICTURE YOU WILL SEE A GIRL WHO IS NO MORE THAN A 11 YEARS OLD. DID SHE WANT TO BE PORTRAYED AS A "THUG" TOO. IF HE TOLD THEM WHAT HE WAS IN THERE FOR THERE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A PICTURE OF THEM. THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY GUYS THAT HANG IN THAT PARK

there was a lengthy exchange about this on park slope parents. suffice to say that it was pretty convincing that there is, at least, one group of young men who regularly drink, smoke and threaten parents and kids in that playground. that doesn't mean it's the same people this article mentions or pictures.

haha, no thanks. among other reasons, my guess is they don't necessarily feel the need to convince brooklynians, as long as the police are handling it.

SoldierSantana, is there anything that doesn't "shock and nauseate" you?

Such spirited debate. Really well argued.

I just came all in my pants.

Alas, children will be children on this forum. It just tickles me how a ninny like Why_not has opinions on people and matters he can not possibly comprehend. Ah yes, so is the inner workings of an opinionated child. If I seem excitable it is because I am older than most of the ranters on this forum. My years on this planet have earned me the right to be excitable and deal in absolutes. Yes, I am an old leather shoe but an experienced one at that. I still have a pep in my step, son and don't you forget it.

Now let us try to stay on topic instead of finding reasons to dissect each other. If you insist on trying to bait me then I shall ask the moderator to please close this thread.

If I am referred to as being excitable and absolute due to my postings I hate to see what the venerable poster "Stretchy" will be classified as.

All joking aside, the comment was a bit sleazy and should be removed.

Oh! I just remembered about a month ago, the Garfield tot lot in Prospect Park was vandalized by someone tagging TNG all over the place with a pink marker. On the slide, the metal poles, etc. I was pretty miffed at the time. Guess I know who it was now! TNG can suck a ****!