New retrofitted gates, enhanced lighting, and security cameras will be installed by early spring in response to high levels of summer nighttime activity at Devoe Park in University Heights.

The installation of the nine locking gates at nine of the park’s entrances, spearheaded by Councilman Fernando Cabrera, should help curb insufferable disturbances for residents living in the neighboring Fordham Hill Oval Co-op and on the adjacent streets of Father Zeiser, Webb Avenue, and University Avenue.

Residents near Devoe Park have long been concerned about heavy late-night activity and noise, from partying to drug dealing, particularly during the summer months. A representative from Cabrera’s office told the Norwood News that Devoe Park will be closing and locking at dusk once the project is completed. Parks are usually closed at night. The gates and added security measures are planned to be completed by July using mayoral funding granted to Cabrera by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The additions come on the heels of a new homeless shelter/affordable housing residence at 233 Landing Rd, blocks from the park. But residents of Fordham Hill say the homeless are not the problem. Israel Ruiz, a longtime Hill resident, says that the term ‘shelter’ is almost too harsh for the new facility. “These are transitional, screened, people looking for work. They get screened in Manhattan and other places. These are people who should be helped,” said Ruiz adding that he cried in shame at a community meeting during which residents were vilifying their new homeless neighbors.

Another Fordham resident, Natalie Martine, agrees with Ruiz, clarifying that it is the fights, often drug related, that raise safety concerns, not the homeless who “don’t bother anybody.”

The greatest disturbance, however, stems from the summer parties that drag late into the night. Myrna Calderon, president of the Fordham Hill Cooperative Board says the parties “will start in the afternoon and it will go sometimes until two, three, four in the morning.”

“One block wide and one avenue – that’s not a giant park, and yet we were dealing with the same issues that Mosholu Parkway had, Pelham Parkway had,” said Calderon, who adds that the request for enhanced had nothing to do with the opening of 233 Landing Rd. “I like a good party too, but you know we have to be reasonable. We have a lot of seniors here and they will do it on a school night, a work night. People gotta work the next day!”

Martine, who raised her son in a building right next to the park, spoke on the recent violent incidents that haven’t raised as much concern as has a 2011 double murder committed in the park. One of the victims in 2011 was the son of Martine’s close friend. Martine says security improved at the park after the tragedy, as the community demanded a change. A squad car from the 52nd Precinct began to patrol the park regularly, and the community enjoyed a couple of comparatively quiet years.

The summer of 2017 was a different story. Preempting what would be a boisterous summer, there was a gang related fight last June, hospitalizing a 15- and a 17-year-old, who were clubbed and stabbed respectively. Two shots were fired during the incident, but no casualties. A summer with substantial amount of noise and activity ensued, prompting Cabrera to seek funding for added security measures at the behest of the community.

All the residents the Norwood News spoke to praised the community, citing a hardworking, always diversifying, populace that doesn’t want any trouble. Martine and Ruiz hope for more youth programs and events at the park in the future. Both think the security measures could be the first step on the way to further positive steps for the park and community.

Residents also mention an underfunded Parks team of five who are tasked with maintenance of the entire park, alongside a 52nd Precinct that is stretched thin, with greater activity in other areas.

Calderon, on the necessity of closing the park at night, concludes that “I don’t know what else to do – I mean you hate to do that. But what are you going to do… Because everything else has not worked.”

Additional reporting by David Cruz