Violence In Our New York City Parks

Ms. Annette Harris

P.S. 116Q Second Grade

 

INTRODUCTION:  Our playgrounds were created to provide a safe space for children to gather, play and have fun. Today, greater awareness and concerns have reached an all time high for our playgrounds and parks. While overall violence in New York City has reached a record low, the violence on our New York City playgrounds have reached a record high in which our youth are either the target or the cause. Our stories we read this week focused on the roles of park rangers, being safe and what to do when you witness or experience harm in the park. 

 NYC Parks

Today, many people use the reasons of such incidents as being in poverty, low self-esteem, alcohol and drug abuse as well as parental neglect. Not fully understanding the creation of parks for teamwork, good habits and social skills diminishes its effectiveness of usage and creates areas of negativity to happen when in misuse.  You are now working for the NYC Department of Parks Department as Jr. Park Rangers and will help in finding a solution for the violence in our NYC parks.

 

Courtesy: New York Times,  Queens, NY,  Published April 20, 2026

Courtesy: NBC News,  Brooklyn NY,  March 9, 2026

TASK: Today as park employees, we are going to persuade the NYC Park Commissioner, Ms. Tiricia Shamaura, to listen to your thoughts about violence in the playgrounds. You will be divided into groups and given assignments to persuade her to look at some of your solutions as a way to take back our safe spaces to play and end the violence in our parks, using the Public Policy Analyst Steps (PPA).

 

Park Rangers:  you will identify your responsibilities as a Ranger. Use the information from the story and explain how you can assist in addressing the violence, in a letter to the commissioner.

Safety Committee: you will read your story and discuss ways children can protect themselves while inside the park. You will make a video for safe and unsafe behaviors that we find in our playgrounds.

SEL Committee: You will talk about feelings and how to find support when bad things happen and design a poster about finding someone to talk to when violence happens.

 

PROCESS

First Read your stories for the group you represent:

Park Rangers: Constelancio, Farrah, Nathaniel, Wynter, Devontae and Amir

By James, Lockhart (2025)

 

Safety Committee: Fatiha, Mya, Jace, Jaylin, Nathaniel

By David Ray, (2025)

SEL Committee: Abrar, Summer, Shyara, Ashton, Jamari, Josue

 

By Margaret M. Holmes, 2020

 

1.   Define the Problem:  Violence in our New York City playgrounds have reached a record high.

 

2.   Gather the Evidence

Park Rangers: They provide a uniform presence to ensure safety, inform the public about Parks Rules & Regulations, and help enforce safety standards in parks. To be a Jr. park ranger according to our story is a lot of responsibility and  it makes us active workers of nature and gives us a  sense of responsibility for the environment while making learning about keeping our parks safe, fun and active.

Safety Committee:  Our text and research showed us that we must use our voice and alert others when something is not correct. By staying aware and informed of the rules of the park this committee investigated the number of incidents that have been reported and actions that were taken to help alleviate the issues. This committee research had them discussing conflict resolution skills as in this article.      Conflict Resolution Skills Article

 

SEL:  Providing social, emotional and learning support when something tragic happens to a friend or family member on a playground is a key component in how people address the violence they have witnessed or caused. While our book talked about how to use our emotions when interacting and discussing it with an adult we got more evidence from Helping Children manage Distress which we were able to look at the different ways to guide those who may have direct or indirect relationships with those involved in the violence.

3.   Identify the Causes: These steps are  what the students from each role captured and recorded based on their assignments.

Park Rangers: Park Ranger group

1.     There is not enough staff in the parks to help patrol the parks.

2.     Not enough money available to hire people.

3.     Not enforcing the current rules that have been put in place.

Safety Committee: Safety Committee

1.     Lack of supervision

2.     Poor lighting conditions

3.     No cameras to catch inappropriate behaviors

SEL:  SEL Committee

1.     Poor social skills

2.     Interpersonal conflicts, different definitions of what “fun” is.

3.     Parks become play deserts for children to become part of undesirable environments.

 

4.   Evaluate an Existing Policy

1.     Park Hours is from 6 am-10 am

2.     Safety Enforcement

3.     Prohibited items.

 

5.  Develop Solutions

1.     Increase the number of officers in the park before, during and after closing hours to enforce the laws already in place.

2.     Provide more recreational activities for all ages to promote social skills.

3.     Emergency call boxes in every park when an officer can not be located.

 

6.  Select the Best Solution  (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)

Feasibility

	High	Medium	Low
High	Increase the number of officers in park before, during and after closing hours
Medium		Provide more recreational activities for all ages to promote social skills
Low		Emergency call boxes located throughout the park when an officer can not be found.

 

Additional Resources:

Park Rangers:  Jr. Park Ranger Video

Safety Committee: Playground Safety

    

SEL: Helping Children with tragic events           Conflict Resolution for Kids in 60 seconds 🧠💥 A Social Emotional Learning Must-Watch | SEL for kids

   

https://www.peaceisalifestyle.com    

https://www.innovatingjustice.org/program/save-our-streets-s-o-s/

                     https://www.nycgovparks.org/events/kids

 

 

Evaluation Rubric

Park Rangers:

Rubric for Letter Writing

Student Name:

 

 

Safety Committee:                                       Rubric For Video

Name:

 

 

SEL:                          Rubric for Poster on how character respond to major events

 

CONCLUSION

Our parks are gathering places for everyone to socialize and have fun while doing it. There are so many things we can do in the park besides playing, we can have picnics with our families, listen to music concerts and watch sports games.

Everyone should come to a N.Y.C. park and feel safe at all times. Having more officers in the parks, cameras and even ways to say there is an emergency will help when situations may happen and we need immediate help.

 

 

STANDARDS:   

 ELA Standandards:2W1: Write an opinion about a topic or personal experience, using clear reasons and relevant evidence

2R3: In literary texts, describe how characters respond to major events and challenges. (RL) In informational texts, describe the connections between ideas, concepts, or a series of events. (RI)

2R4: Explain how words and phrases in a text suggest feelings and appeal to the senses. (RI&RL)

2R9: Make connections between self and text (texts and other people/ world). (RI&RL)

 

Social Studies Standards:

2.4a Communities have the responsibility to make and enforce fair laws and rules that provide for the common good

2.4c Citizens provide service to their community in a variety of ways.

2.7a Cause-and-effect relationships help us to understand the changes in communities.