The New York Post reports that four teens, all 16 or 17, were caught scaling a staircase up to the lowest tower of the abandoned New York State Pavilion from the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. They were given summonses for trespassing.
“These acts of trespassing go beyond simple rule-breaking. The towers are not suitable for access and they are locked as a matter of public safety,” Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski told the Post.
But here’s the thing: they’re barely locked. According to the Post story, there’s one easily clippable padlock and no cameras. If the Parks Department doesn’t want teens climbing up the towers, maybe they should make it more difficult to do. A chain-link fence and a flimsy lock isn’t gonna stop an adventurous kid with a camera or a spray can who wants to climb to the top of a 226-foot tall tower to claim the spot for their own.
This is the second time in the past month kids have been caught climbing the towers.
“This is definitely happening more,” said Joseph Puleo, a former park officer who now heads Local 983, the union that represents them. “These kids see other people have gotten up there and posted video and photos, and they want to do the same thing. They are putting their lives at risk and those of the officers who have to go up to get them.”
He says that like it’s a terrible thing.
(Photo: Wally Gobetz)
