By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS of the Pride Estates West community and representatives of the Bahamas National Trust said they are working to restore the area’s $15,000 boardwalk after vandals left the “peaceful retreat” covered with obscenities and suspected gang tag lines.

Eric Carey, executive director of the BNT, labelled the incident as “sad and unfortunate”.

His comments came during a press conference yesterday at the northern side of the Harrold and Wilson Pond National Park.

Mr Carey, visibly in shock, said it would cost BNT officials “in the area of $1,000” to repair the nine-year-old boardwalk, which is “scarce funding” for the cash-strapped organisation.

“This sends a really terrible message about the appreciation or the lack of appreciation people have for areas like this,” he said.

“It sends a terrible message about the lack of respect for other people’s property.”

After arriving on the scene yesterday, The Tribune came across a number of obscenities, the biggest of which read “ your park” sprayed on to the boardwalk’s footpath.

Benches in the area had the words “mad *” and “mug” sprayed across the surface.

Ann McCoy Minns, past president of the area’s crime watch group, said the matter has illustrated to residents in the community that they now need to be “their brother’s keeper.”

“Like criminals do, they strategically plan; we now need to strategically plan in our community to see what we can do,” she said. “They are letting us know that they are here. They left a name of (what) I am thinking is a gang – or something of that nature. If they are here on our boardwalk, I am positively sure in short order they will be in our homes.”

Member of Parliament for the area Dr Kendal Major added that community leaders have to now “go back to the drawing board” to figure out how to better protect the community from these events.

Dr Major said he has had many conversations in the past on how to better secure the boardwalk. He said yesterday he now expects to expand those talks.

“We wanted this area to have the optimal environment for certain species of birds to flourish. It’s nature,” he said. “It is a great quality of life that has been totally defaced by perpetrators and we hope they are brought to justice.”

Uncertain of the exact punishment for such an act, Dr Major said he hoped the penalties handed down to those responsible for the damage are “harsh” and “sends a message.”

He said: “We have to have respect for other people’s property, in particular the government’s property. How do we enjoy the freedom without the laws in place? That is why I think the law should come down very harshly on individuals like this.”

Dr Major admitted that the matter left many of the area residents “embarrassed,” but he was certain that the community would rise again.

The boardwalk was initially constructed in part, as the result of a $10,000 donation by the Rotary Club.

It is one of three boardwalks in the area maintained by the BNT.