They’re refusing to roll over.
A dogged group of Park Slope pup lovers is forming a Guardian Angels-style safety group in and around Prospect Park in the aftermath of an unhinged hobo’s unprovoked attack on a woman and her pooch, which died of its injuries.
The “Park Slope Panthers” aim to “take the neighborhood back” — and prevent it from going to the dogs.
“In light of people feeling unsafe to use Prospect Park due to recent attacks of both people and dogs, in one case resulting in the death of a dog; and in light of the epidemic of packages being stolen from stoops and lobbies, we want to form a neighborhood watch,” reads a MeetUp description for the newly formed group. “The goal is to be eyes and ears and to take our neighborhood back.”
The patrol’s preliminary meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10. So far more than a dozen people have said they will attend.
The group is the brainchild of Kristian Nammack, 59, a Park Slope resident and Quaker who first floated the idea on Aug 20, two weeks after Jessica Chrustic and her 2-and-a-half-year-old golden retriever mix, Moose were attacked.
Chrustic said the attacker is a vagrant who lives next to a dumpster in the parking lot by the park’s picnic house and that police have repeatedly refused to remove him. Photos she shared with The Post show the alleged assailant in a black hoodie, carrying a large stick. She said she has shared the images with police “at least a half dozen times.”
Nammack cited the Guardian Angels — the beret-wearing civilian patrol group formed in 1979 by Curtis Sliwa amid Gotham’s crime epidemic — as a potential model for the new group.
“We may also get to wear cool berets. I’m being serious. And we go through some self-defense training, work in pairs, etc,” Nammack wrote on the Nextdoor app. There’s a logo and T-shirts in the works, he added.
It’s unclear whether dogs — in Moose’s honor– will be part of the patrol, but Nammack said all ideas would be on the table — including a name change.
“I was speaking with a few neighbors and we talked about starting a neighborhood watch. We are currently researching what that means, what is effective, how to involve the local infrastructure — law enforcement, local politicians, PTA groups, Citibike, Uber Eats, etc,” he said.
Nammack said he had made contact with National Neighborhood Watch, a division of the National Sheriffs’ Association for guidance on best practices. “I do not intend this to be a rogue group and definitely not vigilante,” he insisted.
Sliwa, a famous animal lover, said he was ready to throw the group a bone, or whatever help they need.
“I applaud them. In fact more people around the city have got to be doing things similar to this,” he said. “They need to be saluted. They’re not just sitting back waiting for the police or government to deal with it. They are being proactive and working within the law.”
Parkgoers said they feel like underdogs in the green space, which has become infested by junkies and hobos.
“Prospect Park has been a magnet for homeless people for some time but it has never been like it is now,” said Christine Doyle, 55, an attorney and longtime Park Slope resident. “These homeless people are often very aggressive, They are mainly men, loners and more than once have attacked people with dogs on the western side of the park.” Doyle was thrilled about the Park Slope Panthers idea.
“A few years ago a puppy was kicked by a homeless man,” she said. “That was the first time I went to the police. They never got the guy and they didn’t care.”
Nancy Kourland said she had been coming to the dog park in Prospect Park for years and called in a sighting of the homeless man who committed the dog attack to police. She claimed an officer at the 78th Precinct hung up on her.
“I’m scared; we’re all scared. [The man] is dangerous, and he particularly goes after women. I don’t think that the police from the 78th Precinct are doing anything about it,” she said. “There is no police presence and that’s the problem. The police are not doing their jobs.”
Vitoria Setta, who lives a block away from the park with her boyfriend said things had gotten so bad she was planning to join the flood of New Yorkers who have packed up for Florida.
“Maybe it takes [park-goers] taking it upon ourselves,” she said of the Park Slope Panthers. “it’s like Gotham City around here.”
But some in ultra-liberal Park Slope barked that the new group seems a bit too ruff for their liking.
“No vigilantism,” said one poster. “Why not organize a protest outside of the precinct?” Others carped about more “non-punitive” approaches and “restorative justice.”
Crime in the 78th Precinct is up 38% across the board this year through Aug. 21 compared to the same time last year, according to NYPD data.
There have been no arrests in Moose’s case, cops said.
“Since the incident the NYPD has continuously taken investigative measures to bring the individual responsible to justice. The NYPD has conducted canvasses of the park with witnesses and increased patrols in the area,” an NYPD spokesman said.
Dean Balsamini contributed to this report
