Community Urged to 'Take Back Arc Park' From Unruly Teens

Why do a few bad apples have to ruin the bunch? Or in this case, a few unruly kids, who are ruining a Central New York playground for everyone else.

There has been an issue recently with some teens creating "an unpleasant atmosphere" at Arc Park and Arc Herkimer is stepping up to take the park back. The disorderly kids have been seen littering, using foul language and bullying other children. "This has made it uncomfortable for families with smaller children and will not be tolerated."

Arc Herkimer is urging the community to help 'Take Back Arc Park.' They are working with police to address the problem by taking the following actions:

Daily (weekends included) security supervision during the most active times at the park for at least the next month.
New signs at the park with the Herkimer Police Department number to call with issues.
Updating our camera security to identify people behaving poorly.
Working collaboratively with the Herkimer Police Department on their regular patrolling of the park.
Discussion of a neighborhood watch group to assist us with the safety of the park.

"Arc Park is a tremendous community asset for which we all should take great pride. Let us all do our part to make sure the environment is conducive for all to enjoy."

Cheryl Karpowich hopes the new initiatives will solve the problem after she had a run-in with a few foul mouthed kids last summer. "My daughter asked some teenagers to stop using foul language in front of my young grandson and the teenagers resorted to throwing a shoe at her."

Cheryl isn't alone. She's one of many parents or grandparents who've spoken out. Giovanna Skinner says she had to leave the park with her 7-year-old for the same reason just last week. "There was a group of teenage boys playing loud foul language music and scaring younger kids. My daughter loves this park. It's very unfortunate."

The community is happy to see action being taken and look forward to a day kids can enjoy the park again. "Thank you for taking immediate action on this matter," said Lisa Yerina. "This playground is a great place for parents to take their young children and I'd hate to see that ruined by a few unruly kids or for anyone to feel uncomfortable or unsafe. It's a wonderful place and we appreciate you keeping it that was."