Chess/checker players in NYC parks, playing on the tables provided for that purpose, are ubiquitous. I’m sure that the NYC police have crime to take care of rather than harassing chess players. Then, the judge can devote his time to lawbreakers that actually did something wrong. The Police Commissioner himself should apologize and arrange to have the tickets dismissed so that these chess players do not have to waste their time appearing in court. The precinct commander, instead of jingoistically defending his officers, should have looked into it before speaking. The most powerful person in law enforcement is not a judge of SCOTUS deciding constitutional issues of when a search and seizure goes too far, nor is it the District Attorney who decides the policies and priorities of prosecuting cases. Rather, it is the cop on the beat who has the discretion on whether to make an arrest, issue a warning, or otherwise push a case forward.
Hopefully there are enough safety valves and circuit breakers in the system to have this matter disposed of before it inconveniences anybody. There should be feedback to the Parks Dept. to either relocate the chess tables or add a rule that chess is excepted from the general rule (but I am less hopeful on this path). I know times have changed, and child safety is a real concern nowdays, but come on! If anyone is actually harassing the kids or their parents or making a nuisance of himself, I’m sure that someone with a cell phone will call the police, and they will be there within miniutes.
Did anyone else but me think it is a little ironic that the regulation requires “adults unaccompanied by minors,” and that the police would probably accuse any child not accompanied by an adult of “neglect” and arrest the parent?
I guess neither adults or kids can go to a park or playground alone anymore.
Were the Police accompanied by a minor? Also, if the tables are such a danger I would think that the Police would want to issue summons to those at the Parks Department who are responsible for placing such dangerous items near to the children.
My step-son’s school nurse believed that he was in 10th grade when she sent the forms for his 10th grade physical. My wife and I took her son to a doctor for his physical. They required a chest x-ray because of a false positive for TB. We know it was false because he was negative for his entrance exam the year before and he had no exposure during the year.
We got more forms for a 10th grade physical. If his physical was in September of 2009 instead on October of 2009 he would have been OK. The school nurse was focused on a rule. Her action was legally correct, but ridiculous once physiology was taken account. Two weeks one-way or the other would make no difference absent some event like being hit by a truck.
Look at CPSIA. Lead is a poison, but how could the lead in the valve in a bicycle tire affect anybody? I have seen tile ripped off floors because it had a tiny component of asbestos. Wicked people use the idiotic belief in rules to over regulate and make life miserable.
In fairness to the school nurse, she did accept the slightly early physical.
6 Comments
Ticket quotas must not have been met this month.
A warning to the old chess players would have sufficed, instead of sending jack-booted armed goons in to distribute expensive tickets.
Attractive nuisance?
Chess/checker players in NYC parks, playing on the tables provided for that purpose, are ubiquitous. I’m sure that the NYC police have crime to take care of rather than harassing chess players. Then, the judge can devote his time to lawbreakers that actually did something wrong. The Police Commissioner himself should apologize and arrange to have the tickets dismissed so that these chess players do not have to waste their time appearing in court. The precinct commander, instead of jingoistically defending his officers, should have looked into it before speaking.
The most powerful person in law enforcement is not a judge of SCOTUS deciding constitutional issues of when a search and seizure goes too far, nor is it the District Attorney who decides the policies and priorities of prosecuting cases. Rather, it is the cop on the beat who has the discretion on whether to make an arrest, issue a warning, or otherwise push a case forward.
Hopefully there are enough safety valves and circuit breakers in the system to have this matter disposed of before it inconveniences anybody. There should be feedback to the Parks Dept. to either relocate the chess tables or add a rule that chess is excepted from the general rule (but I am less hopeful on this path). I know times have changed, and child safety is a real concern nowdays, but come on!
If anyone is actually harassing the kids or their parents or making a nuisance of himself, I’m sure that someone with a cell phone will call the police, and they will be there within miniutes.
Did anyone else but me think it is a little ironic that the regulation requires “adults unaccompanied by minors,” and that the police would probably accuse any child not accompanied by an adult of “neglect” and arrest the parent?
I guess neither adults or kids can go to a park or playground alone anymore.
Were the Police accompanied by a minor? Also, if the tables are such a danger I would think that the Police would want to issue summons to those at the Parks Department who are responsible for placing such dangerous items near to the children.
My step-son’s school nurse believed that he was in 10th grade when she sent the forms for his 10th grade physical. My wife and I took her son to a doctor for his physical. They required a chest x-ray because of a false positive for TB. We know it was false because he was negative for his entrance exam the year before and he had no exposure during the year.
We got more forms for a 10th grade physical. If his physical was in September of 2009 instead on October of 2009 he would have been OK. The school nurse was focused on a rule. Her action was legally correct, but ridiculous once physiology was taken account. Two weeks one-way or the other would make no difference absent some event like being hit by a truck.
Look at CPSIA. Lead is a poison, but how could the lead in the valve in a bicycle tire affect anybody? I have seen tile ripped off floors because it had a tiny component of asbestos. Wicked people use the idiotic belief in rules to over regulate and make life miserable.
In fairness to the school nurse, she did accept the slightly early physical.