Now four teens, two under the age of 15, have been arrested for the Mother’s Day blaze that hit Cobble Hill’s PS 29 playground, burning the playhouse used by preschoolers and kindergartners.
The kids were apparently trying to shoot a YouTube video, inspired by the “Jackass” prank series, reports The Daily News.
At least one of the kids attends St. Ann’s, an exclusive private school in Brooklyn Heights.
The kids’ parents set up a $50,000 fund to replace the equipment. PS29 Principal Melanie Woods told parents Wednesday that new equipment should be installed at the beginning of the summer, “unfortunately, not in time for the children to use it, for the rest of this year,” Woods said.
PS 29’s kids were without a play yard for much of this year, as a new school yard was under construction for the school. Police from the 76th Precinct helped the school by shutting off side roads so kids could play in the street for recess while the yard was getting built (the kids loved it). The yard will be completed this summer.
The new playground equipment had been set up for just a couple months before it was torched by the teens, who now are in big trouble.
I talked to some parents who know these kids. Such a tough situation. We all do things when we are teenagers that are stupid. It’s too bad that these kids, who by many accounts are good kids, had to pick fire–the charge is arson, and that’s serious business. They were arrested by police, handcuffed. It could affect their college situation. Not good.
From Tuesday: Ben Chapman at The Daily News reports Tuesday that a 16-year-old from St. Ann’s, the prestigious Brooklyn Heights private school, has been arrested in connection with the fire that scorched and partially melted the new playground equipment at PS 29 in Cobble Hill.
According to Ben’s story, there are nine teens suspected of participating in the Mother’s Day fire.
The boy, Max Layton, is a resident of Cobble Hill, and son of Charles Layton, president of Alliance Films, which distributed The King’s Speech, among many other films.
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