Park-goers furious about cave-in on Shore Road Park ramp

Park goers-and residents who live by Shore Road Park are furious about the cave-in on the entrance ramp leading to the baseball fields at 97^th Street and Shore Road.

The ramp, which is the only entrance to the park at 97^th Street, has been closed off for over a month, residents near the park say.

“People walking their dogs and walking with baby strollers can’t enter. You can see children climbing over the fence to get to the baseball fields,” said Domini Mallette, a Bay Ridge resident who lives by the park.

Mallette, like many of her neighbors, has voiced has concerns about the safety of people climbing over the ramp, wondering when and if it is going to get fixed. Anthony Santamaria, who has lived on 97^th Street for over 20 years and who walks his dog, Molly, in the park daily, said he finds it  a nuisance to walk to the closest ramp entrance, at Third Avenue and Shore Road.

“It’s really inconvenient,” said Santamaria. “It’s much harder to walk my dog and enter the park.”

According to the New York City Parks Department, the entire ramp will be reconstructed in the beginning of the fall. District Manager of Community Board 10, Josephine Beckmann, has been working with the Parks Department on the effort and urges park-goers to be patient and to respect the ‘Do Not Enter’ signs located by the 97th Street entrance.

“It’s very difficult to close off the area. The public has torn these signs down and the fencing has been broken,” said Beckmann. “It’s very frustrating.”

Because of the need to find the funds to fix the ramp, Beckmann explained that the repair has taken a while.

“It’s a long process because it’s a major emergency replacement. Now that we have the funds, we will start the replacement this fall,” said Beckmann.

While park-goers want to believe the ramp will be fixed just in time for their fall strolls through the park, they don’t want to get their hopes up.

“This is supposed to be our park, and no one has done anything about it,” said Mallette.