My husband and I noticed this weekend that there's a teenager "living" in Shady Park (Andrew's Grove) and the surroundings.  We've seen him lounging around at the park at nights and has also been there early in the mornings (still sleeping).  Sunday morning for instance our friends saw him sleeping there since 8am and we showed up later that morning and left at 12:30pm and he was still there (just woke up to drink some water from the fountain, then laid back down).

We thought reporting it to the Precinct would be the right thing to do, which we did.  If he's a runaway, his parents might be worried and looking for him.  If he's not a runaway, but just homeless, we still don't feel comfortable with him there while having our toddler playing.  Whatever the case, when we did report it, instead of getting a normal, nice reply of "thank you, we'll check it out", we were drilled with a snotty attitude of why we cared and why it bothered us if he had not done anything.  Is somebody sleeping in the park for 3 nights and days normal and allowed?  Do they want me to go and report the situation until something bad has happened to this kid or someone on the park?

This precinct is the worst. They never ever help in homeless park situations... A homeless man took a poop in front of the kids and they didn't get him out of the park...and they drive so fast on Center Blvd almost running over women and children. Next time I would call 911 directly or maybe even 311. I saw him as well this weekend. if I see him again I will call.

Maybe the precinct should stop throwing their community event in shady park and start actually protecting it.

I agree with you Reliro and thdd re: the unresponsiveness from the 108 pct. The desk sgt should have taken your report and acted on it. There is a sign on the park fence "not adults unless accompanied by a child" that's for the protection of our CHILDREN. I can see a quick visit to the park to read the paper or have lunch at a table, but not to loiter or sleep there! I think Terry at Delta Force has something to do with locking the park up at night. If I see the guy in there sleeping, or after dusk, I will make a complaint to 311 and also call the Community Affairs officer. Thanks for letting us know about this situation.

re: the parks dept sign at shady park, I meant "no" adults, sorry.

Instead of calling the police on this person, you could call 311 for the NYC campaign to help the homeless. The city Dept of Homeless Services operates 24 hours a day and has field offices in every borough. Someone from the field office is supposed to physically go to the location where the homeless individual is and offer assistance. This may be a more appropriate response than calling the police, especially if this person is a teenager - a child - in need of specific social services (the city has pretty good services for homeless teens that include lots of wrap around programs that provide shelter, counseling, drug treatment, educational services, food programs, etc. depending on someone's need/desire). Perhaps the police should contact the Dept themselves, but that's another story.

I have also seen an older guy sleeping on the lawn in Peninsula Park (Gantry Park).  It is tough to tell he is homeless because he looks pretty clean and travels light but I have seen him sleeping on the lawn when I finish jogging and I walk around the lawn to cool down at 6:30 am.  I guess once it starts to get colder he will have to move on.  However, our local precinct should get involved and make sure this people are pointed to the city services and just left alone.