Most of you know of the problems in New York City, regarding Prospect Park. This is the latest from The Task Force for Metal Detecting Rights (formerly the NY/NJ Task Force).

5/30/2009 Update -- Prospect Park is now open to detecting 2 days a week -- Tuesday and Saturday ONLY See the email below from the FMDAC

Please send this to all your club members and ask them to send e-mails

out as soon as posible,

Thanks

John Howard

President

FMDAC/NE

Hi John & Mark,

The call and email campaign is working! Please post this latest update on FMDAC.

Thank you,

Carter

A CALL TO ARMS UPDATE 5/29/09

If you own a metal detector or know anyone who does, your voice needs

to be heard.

Fellow Detectorists,

As a group, thanks to your involvement, we arebeing heard! NYC Parks Deputy Commissioner

(Kevin Jeffrey) sent an email the  toMetal Detecting Task Force this week where he now has a new "acceptance" of metal detecting. Back in

March he wrote to us saying there will be no metal detecting in Prospect Park but in an email received earlier this week, he said

"achieving a solution that allows the return of metal detecting in Prospect Park was and is our goal"

This change of heart is in direct response to all of us uniting and saying we will not accept discrimination against our hobby.

Prospect Park is once again open for metal detecting BUT Commissioner

Jeffrey unilaterally assigned Saturday and Tuesday as the two days a week we are allowed to metal detect in Prospect Park.

Remember NYC Parks premise for banning us from Prospect Park in the first place… They claim "holes" were found but no evidence was ever

produced, no permits were ever revoked and no citations were ever issued. In other words we were banned as a group simply because our

appointed officials felt we may pose potential damage to the lawns. Now that NYC Parks has reversed their position and Deputy Commissioner

Jeffrey has officially approved metal detecting in Prospect Park, there is no reason why we should not have full access to metal detect in

approved areas on any day of the week as we did for the past 30 years prior to June, 2008.

Even though NYC Parks is moving in the right direction, we are still being discriminated against as a group. Activities and groups that

pose a much greater threat to lawns (e.g. dogs and their owners) are still allowed full access to NYC Parks but we are the ones being put on a leash.

The Prospect Park Alliance (PPA) is a privately funded group that accepts donations for Prospect Park. They admittedly put pressure on NYC Parks

to ban us from metal detecting in Prospect Park. Their spokes person, Eugene Patron, when asked about the metal detecting ban, was quoted

saying in the on line paper YourNabe.com: "There was a time when there was a small group of people here were metal detecting. But then the

lawn started to get big holes in the ground, so we asked the Parks Department to remove it from the list of approved places."

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Call / email each of the people listed below and let them know the following:

You are not happy with being discriminated against as a group.

You want to enjoy your hobby the same as any other group and that metal detecting is a lawful hobby that should not be restricted.

Demand that NYC Department of Parks and Recreation repeal rule #1-04b5 prohibiting the use of metal detectors.

Together we can ensure our right to enjoy our hobby on public use land.

Thank you,

The Metal Detecting Task Force

Call (212) 360 1381 or (212) 360-8111 to voice

your concerns to

NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

You can also email him directly at

Adrian.Benepe@parks.nyc.gov

mailto:Adrian.Benepe@parks.nyc.gov

Adria.Benepe@parks.nyc.govn

Call (212) 639 9675 to file a complaint with

Mayor Bloomberg’s office against the NYC Parks

Department. Calling this number will ensure you

receive a response because it is a designated

non-emergency complaint line. Your voice will

be heard! You can also email the Mayor’s office

directly at 

mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov

Call (718) 965-8954 to voice your concern to the

Prospect Park Alliance spokesperson Eugene

Patron or email him directly at

epatron@prospectpark.org

mailto:epatron@prospectpark.org

epatron@prospectpark.org

Call (718) 965-8951 to voice your concern directly to

Tupper Thomas, the Prospect Park Administrator and President of the privately funded Prospect Park Administration.

You can also email her directly at

tupper.thomas@parks.nyc.gov

mailto:tupper.thomas@parks.nyc.gov

tupper.thomas@parks.nyc.gov