By JASMINE GOMEZ

With climbing temperatures and daylight hours extending, the barbecue season is heating up. And along Mosholu Parkway, some residents are fuming over illegal barbecues, a common sighting as hints of summer settle in.

The parkway has seen an influx of non-community members hosting illegal barbecues where alcohol drinking, drug use, and heavy littering takes place, according to Sandra Pabon of Norwood. For the past few years, Pabon has watched grillers cooking on the parkway, often lounging there for hours.

The unsanctioned gatherings have long resulted in several quality of life concerns that trouble Bedford Park and Norwood, who’ve battled unwanted barbecues for years.

Residents typically notice a dirty parkway and heavy smoke that seeps into residents’ homes as the parties on the grassy span convene. In some instances, barbecue parties become territorial, leaving passersby to feel unwelcome, sometimes avoiding a section of the parkway altogether.

At the end of parties, locals are often forced to pick up after partygoers through organized cleanup days. Pabon sees this as a constant struggle, blaming a spike of vermin to barbecues.

“I’m talking about the battles with infestation that I already have in this building because of all this littering and loitering that is going on within the parkway,” said Pabon.

But the illegal barbecues extend beyond the parkway. At nearby Sachkerah Woods, numerous barbecues invaded the park during Memorial Day, despite red signs at the entrance prohibiting open fires and barbecues.

Jonathan Arroyo, a resident working the grill at the playground with his uncle, explained that despite residents’ awareness that barbecuing is illegal, they continue to host them on holidays since it’s a special occasion. His uncle, acknowledging barbecuing is illegal, said he was prepared for a fine.

Still, concerns toward illegal barbecues range. While Pabon sees it purely as a nuisance, Elizabeth Quaranta, president of Friends of Mosholu Parkland, views illegal partying as an environmental hazard since leftover charcoal can contaminate trees and the water system.

With no coal disposal units in Mosholu Parkway and Sachkerah Woods, and barely any trash bins, families tend to throw their burning, smoking coals towards the base of the trees, which have the potential of killing them.

But Quaranta said that many may be unaware of the no barbecue rule. Although there are signs that ban barbecuing on the parkland, the signs may be too interpretive or disregarded by people who do not speak English. She described one sign reading “No barbecuing in this area,” leading some to think it’s permitted in an area where there is no sign posted.

Miriam Torres, a resident barbecuing at Mosholu Parkway on Memorial Day, was surprised to learn that barbecuing on the parkway was illegal, blaming her ignorance on lack of signs.

“What signs? Not on this side…I didn’t see no signs,” said Torres, who does exercise caution by grilling away from a tree.

Enforcement  
Despite no barbecue pits along Mosholu Parkway and anti-barbecuing signs, Pabon feels that police officers from the 52nd Precinct are lax on enforcing the rules. At the May 6 Bedford Mosholu Community Association meeting, Pabon pleaded with an NYPD Community Affairs Officer to have fellow officers issue more summonses.

Officers can fine those hosting illegal barbecues, but only if the officer actually witnesses it, according to the Community Affairs officer. Even then the decision boils down to discretion.

The New York City Parks Department, which shares enforcement oversight of the park, also has Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) officers who can issue summonses on behalf of the Environmental Control Board. They do prefer education first, according to Lawrence Scoones, the newly-appointed Bronx Chief of Operations for the Parks Department.

“People who come out and barbecue are not horrible people that are criminals. They just want to enjoy themselves…We just want to redirect them to places where we think it’s more appropriate to do that activity where we can,” said Scoones, adding PEP officers usually let picnickers off with a warning.

But a long running concern is the agency’s handful of officers who patrol parks.

Finding Solutions
Quaranta, members of Community Board 7, and the Parks Department recently walked the parkway to identify areas where the barbecues routinely occur, and determine how they could stop them.

With Bedford Park/Norwood home to a new wave of immigrants, all parties collaborated to identify areas that could use more multi-lingual, illustrative signs for non-English speaking families.

“There is a sign that we are advocating for. It’s a green sign and it’s got a picture of a barbecue pit and it’s got a line going across with a big circle around it and on the bottom it says no fires, no barbecues,” said Quaranta describing the new sign she hopes to see in the park.

Both Pabon and Friends of Mosholu Parkland hope the new signs will curb some of the unsanctioned barbecues, but Quaranta wants to make sure Friends takes more of an educational approach towards the gatherings by handing out informational brochures that detail the dangers of illegal barbecues and where to safely cook outdoors.

The Parks Department is also willing to increase patrol of the parkway if the new signs do not do enough to minimize the issue.

“If the signs aren’t working and we see problems continue to develop, we will focus more officers and more of their time on Mosholu Parkway. This is a condition unfortunately that is a very popular activity and it well outstrips the capacity of us to provide areas. The areas that people want to use aren’t especially appropriate,” said Scoones.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.