‘Park’ & slide days are over

Tix blitz vs. cars on NYC greens

The city Parks Department is cracking down on rogue drivers who illegally park on public lawns and other green spaces.

Parks Enforcement Patrol officers wrote 10,209 summonses from July through October of last year — a nearly 52 percent increase over the 6,722 issued in the same period in 2016, according to recently released statistics from the Mayor’s Office of Operations.

Much of the ticket spike stems from PEP officers writing 2,500-plus more parking summonses.

City officials say Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens and Randall’s Island have been the biggest hot spots for the ticket blitz.

Joseph Puleo, president of DC 37 Local 983, which represents the PEP officers, said Randall’s Island is a popular concert and ballfield destination and patrons think it’s OK to park on grassy lawns.

The same, he said, applies to Meadow Lake at Flushing Meadows.

“I think the PEP officers are showing that the more staff the city gives us the more effective we can be in helping drive down city operating costs,” Puleo said.

“Driving vehicles on park land can cause a lot of damage that is expensive to fix.”

Since 2014, the city has increased the number of PEP officers by 52.3 percent, from 239 to 364. They are responsible for patrolling the city’s 30,000-plus acres of parkland.

Besides illegal parking, other offenses targeted include urinating in public, ignoring leash and pooper-scooper laws for dogs and littering.