JERSEY CITY — A playground at Dr. Leonard J. Gordon Park near Manhattan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard suffered nearly $200,000 damage as a result of vandals setting the equipment on fire, said Hudson County Executive Chief of Staff Bill Gaughan, who also serves as a councilman in Jersey City.
“We’ve had a rash of vandalism incidents on playgrounds throughout the city, some in city parks, some in county parks,” Gaughan said. “While the police have made arrests in some cases, most of the time, these things are being done by juveniles and we’re trying to find a way to make these things stop.”
Recently, he said the playground in Lincoln Park near Casino in the Park in Jersey City was torched, causing significant damage to the equipment, and there was damage done to the playground at Riverview/Fisk Park near Palisades Avenue in Jersey City.
The county is currently installing surveillance cameras in county parks – Lincoln Park in Jersey City and Stephen Gregg Park in Bayonne currently have them – but many city parks must rely on police patrols.
Gaughan asked for the public to report all suspicious activity near public playgrounds.