Stories of the alleged rape traveled through the news media like wildfire – filling front page headlines, unsettling some parkgoers and rattling a few nerves.

Queens Borough President Claire Shulman called for the establishment of a new, separate police precinct in Flushing Meadows – a precinct that would provide exclusive NYPD policing of the park.

"Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, which is much bigger than Central Park (840 acres), does not have its own precinct, while Central Park does," said Shulman. The Borough President renewed her long-standing request and also called for increased police patrols in the borough’s flagship park.

Flushing Meadows is policed by Park Enforcement officers and Urban Rangers, but primarily by the 110th Precinct with police assigned to Sector Cars and beat cops who patrol on foot and on bicycle.

Each year, officials at the 110th Precinct oversee a summer "Park Detail" – officers specifically chosen for their experience and knowledge of the park, police said.

Cops assigned to the Park Detail work various tours, providing coverage from 10 a.m. to 2:35 a.m., seven days a week, authorities said. These cops know where to look and when to watch conditions, they said.

For example, park officers were responsible last year, for several arrests and the seizure of over one-half million dollars worth of fireworks.

Two officers assigned to the park detail last year stopped a youth with fireworks prior to July 4, and upon questioning him obtained the location where the fireworks were stored. The officers recovered over one-half million dollars of fireworks inside a house located one block away from the park.

The Park cops made 55 arrests in Flushing Meadows between June and September of 1997, for "everything – including Quality of Life incidents," officials said.

In another case, police assigned to the park spotted something "different" – something "out of whack," authorities said.

The cops spotted a man who appeared to be following females around the park, authorities said. The cops watched – until they caught the man exposing himself to a female. When they arrested the suspect and "ran" his "pedigree" for prior arrests, they found that he was wanted by another Squad on a sex charge.

Police said the Park cops were able to seize the fireworks and nab the sex offender because they were familiar with the park – and with normal activities in Flushing Meadows.

"These cops were able to feel that something was wrong," the authorities said.

There are 400 parks in Queens County – a total acreage of 7,080.

Parks in Queens are real parks, officials said – not just patches of green peppered with a few benches. There are 55 parks in Queens that measure over 10 acres. Queens parks boast the largest number of tennis courts in the city, an antique carousel and two of the city’s highest revenue generating stadiums.

The sprawling Forest Park measures 538 acres, housing seven playgrounds, tennis courts, a nature trail, and the Seuffert Bandshell. The park is policed by Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) officers and by the 102nd and 104th Precincts.

Park officials said they coordinate enforcement with NYPD patrols to ensure maximum safety in Forest Park on a regular basis.

Flushing Meadows hosts at least 20 Special Events each year between April and October, including the city’s "You Gotta Have Park," the Queens Festival (two days), the massive Colombian Festival, the Korean Harvest and the US Open Tennis Tournament – events that bring a total of over 1,306,300 people to the park.

Officials from Patrol Borough Queens North establish separate police "Details" for these events. Cops from precincts citywide travel to Flushing Meadows to ensure the safety of parkgoers.