The new basketball court in Polcari Playground outside the Nazzaro Center has become the repeated site of pumpkin smashes this week and one pumpkin stuck in the net. Margie Sarzana shares the news and this photo, saying, “Sad mess to wake up to. Brother Chuck came and helped me clean it up.”
Some people just have no moral compass. It’s shameful.
Kids will be kids. We have all done things like this.
The photo does not show the entire court that was covered with smashed pumpkins. I disagree with your comment. A little respect for those who worked so hard to have the Nazzaro’s Halloween party so successful.also there was no need to take the pumpkins out of the enclosed area and mess up the new court. Kids will be kids, but this was really a mess to clean up. You had to be there to see it. under any circumstances, is not ok. That’s the bottom line!
Classic!
After Carl and the Nazzaro Center went through so much work to make sure there is a wonderful place for everyone to enjoy a game of basketball.
I hope the buildings around the court had surveillance cameras focused on this spot and got a couple of good photos. At least then we could finger the culprits and get them to pay for damages and clean up.
It’s ashame that people do not respect other people’s property in this neighborhood. Virgil and the Nazzaro Center worked so hard to make the children happy with the Roc Teen Haunted Carnival for Halloween and then some MORON(S) decided to destroy the new basketball court and nets with the left over pumpkins. Instead of taking them home, these COWARD IDIOTS decided to be destructive with them…. Didn’t their parents teach them any manners…I GUESS NOT!…..FOOLS…
Margie – thank you for posting. And thank you for cleaning up.
This can probably be attributed to the local kids, not the yuppies or college kids. It really makes you wonder about the “original north enders” and their constant whine about yuppies and college kids destroying the neighborhood.
Nobody is accusing neighborhood kids, yuppies or college kids until pictures identify who are the villains. It could be anyone. No matter who it is..SHAME ON THEM FOR BEING DESTRUCTIVE….then you can point a finger…
Salem street guy: why are you always looking for an argument.??!! This was totally a discussion regarding the vandalism of the new basketball court..not a discussion about original north Enders vs new comers!!!
Salem St. Guy, as an original north ender I can assure I am appalled as you at this disrespectful act and if the culprits are local kids I would be the first one to turn them in.
My point is more that all of the sub-demographics of our neighborhood bring good with bad, which is a fact that is often ignored by some of the finger pointing commenters on this site.
Pumpkin smashing is an unfortunate part of Halloween. Let’s just hope the basketball courts were built well enough that a bunch of smashed pumpkins won’t damage the new work.
I’ll bet anyone $1 million that it was “north end kids”! I’m talking ages 13-15! I’ve seen a certain group of kids (this age group) and only 1 lives in the North End, the rest have moved out but “hang” in the North End until their mothers are done with work.
I’ve seen these 6 individuals being so distructive of property that I’ve even told them to stop trying to brake the branches off the trees in the playground, Ive told them to stop trying to brake windows in the CC Center and I’ve also told them to stop swearing when there are girls around! They have no respect for anyone or anything……
There are always going to be a handfull that do these distructive things and hopefully they grow out of it.
I suggested this on several occasions, we need hidden cameras in problem areas of the No.End,
the City can more than afford it. This is not the only problem in that play ground, the poor
clergy have been subjected to horrible behavior in that playground for years. Close the
playground down after a certain time & always make it possible for the residents who live in the
area able to escape in the event of a fire. It does not take Rocket Science to figure this out.
The City can more than afford it? Do you know about some secret slush fund that the rest of us don’t? Hidden cameras around the entire city (because I’m assuming you think the Back Bay/South End/Beacon Hill deserve the same support the North End gets), will be incredibly expensive, and extremely intrusive on those who aren’t breaking the law.
It is one thing to do silly pranks and I will be the first to admit I have done some pretty stupid ones in my life. It is a whole different issue with mean spirited vandalism. One pumpkin and every kind of shakes there head and thinks kids will be kids. This was over the top and with malice.
Who ever did this realize that others use and appreciate this court.
life long resident ,in my North End we would have found out who did this the next day & for fear of being called a “vigilante” I wont tell you what would have happened to them other than their vandalisim days would be over! & they would have cleaned up the playground.
Bosguy, I said to put hidden cameras in “Problem Areas”, not everywhere in the entire City.
Wherever the constant problems are you place a hidden camera, and the city can afford it.
I don’t expect a camera on every street in every part of the city, but these constant problem areas
require cameras if you want to cure the problem, like I said this is not Rocket Science. You are
entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine, and people only get away with, what you allow
them to get away with. This particular playground at night has been a problem for too many years,
and why should our clergy have to be subjected to this ongoing problem.
Why don’t you ask our clergy how many sleepless nights they have endured, due to the fact that
this playground is accessible to anyone & everyone at all different hours of the night & early
morning.
Your definition of a problem area is probably very different from that of the city and the police. I am sorry but I would much rather the city devote the cameras to where actual crimes like stabbings, shootings and violence is occurring not smashing pumkins? You act as if you were never a kid before, these aren’t crimes they are nuisances and to overreact by demanding cameras is a little over the top.
and have there been constant problems on the Nazarro basketball court?
Why don’t you ask everyone on Prince St. & No. Bennett St. who happen to face the playground
that question, and put the pieces of the Pumpkin together & ask the Pumpkin.
Salem St. Kid, Like I said, this is my opinion, of course crime takes first priority over pumpkin
smashing, I don’t care if you or anyone else agrees with me, I feel everyone
who lives in this neighborhood or any neighborhood and in any part of our
country is entitled to QUALITY OF LIFE. Like I said, the playground is a
problem, and going back years ago, there was a shooting in this playground
and that kid died. I think it should be shut down at a certain time, hidden
cameras should be installed for the protection of our clergy & the condo
residents. The No. End probably takes in more revenue than any part of the
city and I think we deserve and are entitled to all the protection we can get.
The Playground has been a problem for far too many years, and there are
probably a lot more incidents that you and I don’t know about. Would like
another murder to take place before a hidden camera is installed?
If it’s a constant nuisance for the church clergy and the condos that border the park, maybe THOSE two groups should put cameras monitoring the park. I know the condo owners pay a condo assn fee, so they can use some of that for paying for cameras. And don’t get me started on the bloated multi-national corporation known as the Catholic Church…they clearly have the money to afford a camera on their building as well. If they had cameras there, they could easily just turn the tape over to the police to find out who did this.
Unless you want to live in a police state where all public spaces are under constant police surveillance, in which case you’re on your own.
Bl, Give me a break with the police state defense this is the world we live in today..Do you think that the Marathon bombing case would have been solved so quick without surveillance cameras mounted atop the Lord & Taylor store & the bar& rest.?A combination of cameras in known trouble areas & the presence of one beat cop would stop the majority of this sort of petty & serious crimes & public drinking in the NE.let these condo owners & some of the businesses in the neighborhood pay some of the cost including the Catholic church.
Michael, note that the surveillance cameras at Lord & Taylor’s and the bars and restaurants that helped ID the terrorists were privately owned cameras, which is what I am advocating. They did not put those there to provide constant police surveillance, but to have video footage of public spaces abutting their private businesses to help put an end to crime/nuisance behavior (see any similarities to what I wrote above?). The kind of surveillance I DON’T want is what they have in London, where the entire city is under constant Police CCTV watch. If you own a business, such as a condo complex, and want to prevent crime in the vicinity, you put cameras on your building monitoring the surrounding spaces. I think we’re on the same page here, actually, based on your “let the condo owners, etc, pay some of the cost”.
BL, I think were both on the same page but I believe a combination of the city , condo owners & certain business should be responsible for installing cameras . As for some posters who don’t understand why some north enders are bent out of shape about the Pumpkin debacle is because this incident ,the theft of the MD fire boot & the heart down by the waterfront & some of the goings on this past summer never happened before and they hive pride in their neighborhood.If you were born & raised her you might feel differently because we were taught very early in life that ” you don’t —- where you eat”
Smashing a pumpkin happens in every city and town across the US this time of year. Not a big issue, in my opinion. It’s almost a right of passage for teens. As long as it doesn’t seriously damage property and can be easily cleaned up, there are bigger worries in the North End.
A rite of passage???? Wow. A brand new court and you think this is ok?
Not OK but…it’s way down my list of issues wrong w/ the neighborhood. In a war of a basketball court vs. a pumpkin, the basketball court will win 100% of the time so…it’s not like it can do any real damage other making someone pick it up.
As stated, it happens in every city and town in the US.
So what???? We can still be very upset about it. Should never have happened. Disrespectful to Nazzarro people,as well as those who take pride in the new court. Good grief!
If you don’t think it’s a big deal, then you should volunteer to be the first person out there to clean it up. Because it’s just not a big deal, right? I think that if it had been your personal property that was vandalized and that you needed to clean it up, it would start to feel pretty important. The basketball court belongs to us all and vandalizing it is an affront to us all. And no, I never did anything like this as a kid because my elders sent a very clear message that it’s not “no big deal”.
Amen!!! Couldn’t have said it better.@
I did have a pumpkin smashed in front of my house. I cleaned it up. Again, where did I say that it’s OK to smash pumpkins?
My point is…it’s WAY down the list of issues affecting the North End. One smashed pumpkin does not mean Sodom and Gomorrah is around the corner.
Do I think it’s right? No.
BL The playground happens to be City of Boston Property and does not belong to the Clergy
or the Condo Assoc. I don’t want to get you started on the Catholic Church because
they are not the issue here. I am a Christian, and I am fully aware of the Catholic
Churches downfalls, but local business owners have supported the Catholic Churches in
the No. End when they had no heat in the church, etc., which was a nice gesture on their
part, but why should the Clergy or Condo assoc. have to put a camera on City of Boston
Property? Is the Catholic Church (The Vatican) or whatever you want to refer to them as,
in a much better financial position than the City of Boston? Absolutely. Did Local
Businesses contribute to the No. End Churches? Yes. Did the Vatican step in and pay
for the heating system? Absolutely Not. Was it their responsibility? ABSOLUTELY.
Who knows why the Vatican didn’t help our churches, but putting things in perspective,
this is a City of Boston issue, and no disrespect to you or others that believe in
what you believe, the City should step up to the plate.
So a bunch of kids destruct and deface property that was recently done over nicely for the neighborhood and there are people actually defending this???!? Saying it’s ok? Really.
To anyone who was ignorant enough to ‘thumbs down’ those took issue with what happened, shame on you. Maybe if they threw one through your window you might be singing a different tune. Pathetic excuse for a neighbor.
I dont think smashing pumkins on a basketball court rises to the level of destruct……
Salem St Kid , it is a slap in the face to the people @ the Nazzaro center many of whom volunteer their time & hard work to put on safe events for the children & their familes in the neighborhood.
i don’t find this to be a topic to be argued about. its not that serious
i would rather have a topic about the underage drinking leading to violence
Concerned North End Contributor-
I think the underage drinking is a far worse situation in this neighborhood than destruction of property. I also think they both should be addressed as I am sure they are related and we will find many of the same kids doing both.
Poor new basketball court? What about the ethical treatment of Jack-o’-Lanterns
Im very dissapointed with BPD. They really should have had a police detail in the playground during halloween weekend to help prevent pumpkin smashing! LOL JK.
Seriously it is a smashed pumpkin that probably took less than 5 minutes to clean. Even if there was a camera in the park what do you think the penalty would be for smashing a pumpkin.