The gates at Great Neck North High School may be closed, but that hasn’t stopped people from entering the fields to play soccer and run around in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
David Zielenziger, a resident of the Village of Great Neck, took a picture of people using the North High fields over the weekend. Zielenziger said he advised Board of Education President Barbara Berkowitz, and school security of the matter when he returned home.
“I can’t understand why anyone would climb the fence to play ball during a public health emergency like this,” Zielenziger said in a statement. “Who do they think they are, Superman? What kind of parent would lead his own children or his neighbors’ to do something like this?”
Great Neck Public Schools District Superintendent Teresa Prendergast was also notified and released a statement advising residents within the school district to comply with the government mandates.
The Town of North Hempstead announced March 23 that all public parks would be closed off to the public to ensure residents remain safe.
Prendergast said the playgrounds and fields throughout the district have been put off limits to prevent people from potentially spreading the virus.
“We continue to ask for the public’s co-operation with social-distancing measures,” Prendergast said. “We’ve closed our school playgrounds and fields based on guidance from the Town of North Hempstead, and our security personnel will continue to monitor these areas during routine patrols for the safety of our community.”
Village of Great Neck Mayor Pedram Bral shared the same sentiments, advising village residents to heed the orders of social distancing and to follow the rules and regulations in place.
“Everything is set in place to maintain the safety and health for all of our residents, not just one age group or demographic of people,” Bral said. “Law enforcement has been made aware of this issue and have been instructed to enforce these new laws as necessary. These laws are in place to benefit all of us.”
Zielenziger said he has also observed kids throwing backpacks over the fence before climbing into the tennis courts, which are locked up, at North Middle School.
“This behavior is stupid and dangerous, not to mention invading closed school district property,” Zielenziger said. “It’s closed for a good reason.”
Village of Great Neck resident Rebecca Rosenblatt Gilliar described the disregard for the law as “senseless and insensate. Without thought and without caring. They would eat poison mushrooms and share them.”
Fellow village resident Jean Pierce said she has seen other bad behavior throughout the village, such as improper disposal of rubber gloves, speeding and people running or biking in the middle of public roads.
“There have been gloves discarded throughout Steppingstone Park, and people have been speeding down roadways constantly,” Pierce said. “I’m not sure what it is about this whole thing, but it seems like people think the typical laws and rules don’t apply to them.”
