Maplecrest Park

I recently started walking though Maplecrest Park anywhere between 5-7am and within a three day period I unfortunately noticed two different gentleman who regularly sleep in the park nodding out. One while trying to ride his bike on the paved walkway and another hunched over the garbage can near the playground. I am not a narcotics expert but know that these guys were not ok and certainly didn't want these folks to lose their lives, so I called the police. Nothing happened. After several more days of strange behavior, at the recommendation of the police dispatch,  I wrote a letter to the mayor. Based on his reply, I will no longer be walking through Maplecrest Park as I do not believe the plan in place will be a successful one. I was told by a neighbor that in November of 2022 she received a similar response from the mayor after raising a similar concern.  I have received the mayor's approval to share his reply with anyone who may also be concerned. If you provide me with an email address, I can forward you the chain. If you have children, I would encourage you to have conversations with them regarding avoiding the port a potties, as well as not exploring tote bags or other items they may find. I have particularly noticed tote bags stashed behind the evergreen shrubs near the brick building. 

Please share the mayor's reply. We want to keep the park safe.

galileo said:

Please share the mayor's reply. We want to keep the park safe.

Provide an email address and I will be happy to forward it on. It has been a fairly lengthy exchange.

No need to get an email address from anyone on this board who would like more information regarding the situation you allude to in your post.  This forum allows for the sending of personal messages (PM) between users.  I would appreciate it if you would send me the information you received from the Mayor using this format.

If the exchange is lengthy, a cut and paste should work.  That will save effort in the long run since many of us would likely want to know the information you do not feel comfortable posting to the full board.

Dess said:

I recently started walking though Maplecrest Park anywhere between 5-7am and within a three day period I unfortunately noticed two different gentleman who regularly sleep in the park nodding out. One while trying to ride his bike on the paved walkway and another hunched over the garbage can near the playground. I am not a narcotics expert but know that these guys were not ok and certainly didn't want these folks to lose their lives, so I called the police. Nothing happened. After several more days of strange behavior, at the recommendation of the police dispatch,  I wrote a letter to the mayor. Based on his reply, I will no longer be walking through Maplecrest Park as I do not believe the plan in place will be a successful one. I was told by a neighbor that in November of 2022 she received a similar response from the mayor after raising a similar concern.  I have received the mayor's approval to share his reply with anyone who may also be concerned. If you provide me with an email address, I can forward you the chain. If you have children, I would encourage you to have conversations with them regarding avoiding the port a potties, as well as not exploring tote bags or other items they may find. I have particularly noticed tote bags stashed behind the evergreen shrubs near the brick building. 

Thank you for sharing the cited correspondence with me.  The problem you refer to homelessness and substance abuse in Maplewood is far from new, although we have been seeing an uptick since lockdown.  It is encouraging that the town is seeking to partner with government and not for profit organizations that have the resources to bring the needed support to the individuals you refer to.  Getting Marthe Eustache involved has been an important first step.

If possible I too would like a PM to see the letter as I frequent that park and would like to know what's going on . Thanks in advance

Why can’t we see the response from the mayor? Any correspondence from the mayor should be public record. It can’t be that bad can it? I have stopped going to maplecrest since my kids are all grown. I like the gazebo concerts though. 

When my four kids were little, we lived  a few blocks away from Maplecrest — it was their approved “safe”destination to go to on their own — not having to cross Prospect and Valley streets was a important factor, and  the park provided a safe haven for neighborhood kids: sports, ice skating in winter, the library’s programs for preschool kids and their moms, and so  much more. 

Back in the late ‘60s- early ‘70s, my athletic husband (captain of his university’s track team) went for a run in Maplecrest every morning, before jogging was a thing.

Parks are vital  and important aspects of suburban living. Keeping them safe is the job of the township governing body and police force — but the community has to be informed for its own safety.

I live alongside Maplecrest Park.  It is completely safe, full of life and activity all day long.  

max_weisenfeld said:

I live alongside Maplecrest Park.  It is completely safe, full of life and activity all day long.  

I have lived on Courter Avenue for 28 years and I'm in and out of Maplecrest Park a lot. I agree with Max.

I just agree with Max because I like him.

Soul_29 said:

I have lived on Courter Avenue for 28 years and I'm in and out of Maplecrest Park a lot. I agree with Max.

But Soul, how often are you there between 5 & 7 AM?  Not the time you'd find the daily, daytime users of the Park there. 

I used to walk at that same time of day (a LONG time ago) in BORDEN Park, in a slightly different part of town.  Because of the way that park is set up -- with an oval around a grassy center -- I had many other exercisers and dog walkers, etc, keeping me company.  I'm not sure Maplecrest has that kind of set up -- you'd know better than me.  But if not, I could see why it would be a good idea to find a more populous area to exercise (there are plenty).

Late afternoon into nightfall our kids were not to play at Borden alone, because there could be some beefy guys by the Orchard Rd exit teaching their pit bulls to hang by their teeth from tree branches.  Were they breaking the law?  No.  Would I want my kid playing near them unsupervised or even observing what they were doing?  NO.  We all hold some responsibility to make good decisions about safety.
.
Sure, all our parks should be safe, and I'm confident for the most part, they are.  But they are public grounds.  Anyone should be able use them if they're not breaking the law.  And if those who are there appear threatening in any way, the police should be called, made aware of any incident, and adjust their patrols based on knowledge of what's going on. 

It concerns me that the police seemed to not respond to Dess's initial call -- and that one or both of those he saw could be in need of medical help.  I'm not jumping into the fray of getting my own copy of the correspondence.  If it's posted here publicly, I'll certainly read it.  The police share the responsibility of monitoring all neighborhoods, andacting when someone is reported sleeping in the parks if it's not permitted at the hours they're there.

Carry on.

Juniemoon said:

But Soul, how often are you there between 5 & 7 AM?  Not the time you'd find the daily, daytime users of the Park there. 

I used to walk at that same time of day (a LONG time ago) in BORDEN Park, in a slightly different part of town.  Because of the way that park is set up -- with an oval around a grassy center -- I had many other exercisers and dog walkers, etc, keeping me company.  I'm not sure Maplecrest has that kind of set up -- you'd know better than me.  But if not, I could see why it would be a good idea to find a more populous area to exercise (there are plenty).

Late afternoon into nightfall our kids were not to play at Borden alone, because there could be some beefy guys by the Orchard Rd exit teaching their pit bulls to hang by their teeth from tree branches.  Were they breaking the law?  No.  Would I want my kid playing near them unsupervised or even observing what they were doing?  NO.  We all hold some responsibility to make good decisions about safety.
.
Sure, all our parks should be safe, and I'm confident for the most part, they are.  But they are public grounds.  Anyone should be able use them if they're not breaking the law.  And if those who are there appear threatening in any way, the police should be called, made aware of any incident, and adjust their patrols based on knowledge of what's going on. 

It concerns me that the police seemed to not respond to Dess's initial call -- and that one or both of those he saw could be in need of medical help.  I'm not jumping into the fray of getting my own copy of the correspondence.  If it's posted here publicly, I'll certainly read it.  The police share the responsibility of monitoring all neighborhoods, andacting when someone is reported sleeping in the parks if it's not permitted at the hours they're there.

Carry on.

maplecrest park is much more open than Borden park. Out of all the parks in maplewood, I have never been inside Borden Park. I knew someone who lived in that section of town who didn’t feel safe there after dark. I’m a Dehart guy. 

I'm in a the park every day and I know the three homeless people a bit.  I'd be very surprised if they posed a threat to anyone. 

.  

Jaytee said:

maplecrest park is much more open than Borden park. Out of all the parks in maplewood, I have never been inside Borden Park. I knew someone who lived in that section of town who didn’t feel safe there after dark. I’m a Dehart guy. 

Probably most people don't feel safe in Borden Park after dark.  How many people have any reason to be in one of our parks after dark?  (I believe they're closed after dark)  Our neighborhood bumped right up against Newark.  You just learned what was safe & what wasn't.  We liked it in Maple-Hood.     People weren't snobby over there.   (And our taxes went DOWN during the Re-Val!  ssssshhhhh!)  We wanted a diverse town.  My grown children still value highly that they grew up with all kinds of people. 

Juniemoon said:

But Soul, how often are you there between 5 & 7 AM?  Not the time you'd find the daily, daytime users of the Park there. 

I used to walk at that same time of day (a LONG time ago) in BORDEN Park, in a slightly different part of town.  Because of the way that park is set up -- with an oval around a grassy center -- I had many other exercisers and dog walkers, etc, keeping me company.  I'm not sure Maplecrest has that kind of set up -- you'd know better than me.  But if not, I could see why it would be a good idea to find a more populous area to exercise (there are plenty).

Late afternoon into nightfall our kids were not to play at Borden alone, because there could be some beefy guys by the Orchard Rd exit teaching their pit bulls to hang by their teeth from tree branches.  Were they breaking the law?  No.  Would I want my kid playing near them unsupervised or even observing what they were doing?  NO.  We all hold some responsibility to make good decisions about safety.
.
Sure, all our parks should be safe, and I'm confident for the most part, they are.  But they are public grounds.  Anyone should be able use them if they're not breaking the law.  And if those who are there appear threatening in any way, the police should be called, made aware of any incident, and adjust their patrols based on knowledge of what's going on. 

It concerns me that the police seemed to not respond to Dess's initial call -- and that one or both of those he saw could be in need of medical help.  I'm not jumping into the fray of getting my own copy of the correspondence.  If it's posted here publicly, I'll certainly read it.  The police share the responsibility of monitoring all neighborhoods, andacting when someone is reported sleeping in the parks if it's not permitted at the hours they're there.

Carry on.

Maplecrest is well used even early in the morning.  It is also adjacent to the Police Station, if that means anything.  All three posters of the posters who affirmed the safety of Maplecrest Park live within a half block of Maplecrest Park.  I would trust what they wrote regarding the park's safety.

joan_crystal said:

Juniemoon said:

But Soul, how often are you there between 5 & 7 AM?  Not the time you'd find the daily, daytime users of the Park there. 

I used to walk at that same time of day (a LONG time ago) in BORDEN Park, in a slightly different part of town.  Because of the way that park is set up -- with an oval around a grassy center -- I had many other exercisers and dog walkers, etc, keeping me company.  I'm not sure Maplecrest has that kind of set up -- you'd know better than me.  But if not, I could see why it would be a good idea to find a more populous area to exercise (there are plenty).

Late afternoon into nightfall our kids were not to play at Borden alone, because there could be some beefy guys by the Orchard Rd exit teaching their pit bulls to hang by their teeth from tree branches.  Were they breaking the law?  No.  Would I want my kid playing near them unsupervised or even observing what they were doing?  NO.  We all hold some responsibility to make good decisions about safety.
.
Sure, all our parks should be safe, and I'm confident for the most part, they are.  But they are public grounds.  Anyone should be able use them if they're not breaking the law.  And if those who are there appear threatening in any way, the police should be called, made aware of any incident, and adjust their patrols based on knowledge of what's going on. 

It concerns me that the police seemed to not respond to Dess's initial call -- and that one or both of those he saw could be in need of medical help.  I'm not jumping into the fray of getting my own copy of the correspondence.  If it's posted here publicly, I'll certainly read it.  The police share the responsibility of monitoring all neighborhoods, andacting when someone is reported sleeping in the parks if it's not permitted at the hours they're there.

Carry on.

Maplecrest is well used even early in the morning.  It is also adjacent to the Police Station, if that means anything.  All three posters of the posters who affirmed the safety of Maplecrest Park live within a half block of Maplecrest Park.  I would trust what they wrote regarding the park's safety.

I trust what they wrote, but I also don't have any reason to believe that the OP was posting false information and there does seem to be concern about lack of response from the police there. We can have a generally safe locale and still have issues that should be dealt with. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. I would be interested in reading the information via MOL direct message if @Dess is willing to send it that way and I'm a bit concerned that this is the only way it can be shared.

joan_crystal said:

Maplecrest is well used even early in the morning.  It is also adjacent to the Police Station, if that means anything.  All three posters of the posters who affirmed the safety of Maplecrest Park live within a half block of Maplecrest Park.  I would trust what they wrote regarding the park's safety.

I always thought it was a great park. My daughter was one of the teenagers who were instrumental in getting the skate park built. My only worry was the kids crossing Springfield avenue to get to the park, my neighbor actually got killed right on the crosswalk at Vermont Street one Sunday morning taking her dog to maplecrest park. Car ran the red light. It was horrible, but that was before the bump outs to temper the traffic. 

joan_crystal said:

Maplecrest is well used even early in the morning.  It is also adjacent to the Police Station, if that means anything.  All three posters of the posters who affirmed the safety of Maplecrest Park live within a half block of Maplecrest Park.  I would trust what they wrote regarding the park's safety.

Oh, did I misinterpret the OP's post?  It seemed there was a degree of uncertainty about safety at Maplecrest Park -- at least in the early morning.  I've known Soul 29 ever since I can remember, and certainly don't doubt his comments.  I simply wanted to know if he was including the very early morning hours in his comment.

I don't know Maplecrest Park.  I know Borden Park.  I haven't lived in Maplewood for 18 years, but I lived there for over 20 years and in S.O., Maplewood and now East Orange during the 14 years since then.  Maplewood will always be "home" to me, because during my time there I was married and raised my kids there.

My biggest concern was the OP's comment that the people he saw seemed to be unwell, he reported that to police, and there was no police response -- at least to the first call.

Don't all the parks in town close at dark?  That was my assumption.  Unless some are appropriately lit for after-dark activities (which they may be by now, particularly DeHart), I personally don't think it's a good idea for anyone to be in the parks after dark and before sunrise. 

As a NYC commuter, I was not in Borden Park regularly during the day.  I was pleasantly surprised to find it so full of activity and neighbors in the early morning so many years ago. but could understand if some parks might not attract the same amount of activity at that time of day.  

I suppose I'll have to request the full correspondence from the OP. Perhaps this is more a story of police response than safety after all.