Senator Peralta and Assemblymember Kim Urge Parents and Residents to Use App Intended to Increase Safety in City Parks and Playgrounds
East Elmhurst, NY — State Senator Jose Peralta and Assemblymember Ron Kim urged parents, caregivers, and educators to download a free smartphone application designed to increase the safety of city parks and playgrounds, especially when children are playing in the local public spaces. The ParentPatrol app allows users to report and record suspicious activity in an effort to safeguard the parks. Several parents joined Senator Peralta and Assemblymember Kim at the Northern Playground, in Jackson Heights, while they discussed the advantages of using the app.
“Technology is here to stay, and it is vital that we use it as much as we can to ensure the safety of our children. This free resource will permit users to report any inappropriate behavior or potentially dangerous instances to the local authorities,” Senator Peralta said. “Clearly, this smartphone application enhances safety in the parks and playgrounds for everyone, not just for children. This tool can be the difference between having a wonderful time at the park or experiencing a nightmare. I applaud Assemblymember Kim for this initiative intended to increase safety for all.”
Assemblymember Ron Kim said: “Nearly a year ago, I began working on introducing a ParentPatrol, a free app for parents and caretakers to crowdsource community safety. As an elected official and a father, I was alarmed by the recent rise in inappropriate activities and violent incidents in our city’s public parks. I am proud to announce that we’ve now hit a new milestone, with nearly 2200 downloads of the app and over 200 incident reports logged. The constructive feedback we’ve received convinces me that ParentPatrol is ready for even greater implementation across our city. I thank Senator Peralta for working with me to expand its use in his district, and encourage anyone who visits parks or public spaces like Northern Playground to download it.”
ParentPatrol empowers New Yorkers to take active steps to safeguard our parks, including reporting suspicious activity or inappropriate incidents to local community leaders and nearby residents. Once users open the app, they can record video of suspicious activity, make reports of incidents they have seen, and even call a hotline to speak to someone about the inappropriate behavior they’ve witnessed. Users can include important details like the GPS-tracked location where it occurred, and any reports received will be used to notify crucial local entities like the districts’ elected officials, community boards, Parks Department, local police precincts.
There is an interactive map where incidents can be reported and then seen by other users. Additionally, a recent update to the application enables users to send or receive notification or alerts of recent incidents nearby.
After a year since its launch, the app has been downloaded close to 2,200 times and over 200 incidents have been logged.
