Parents and kids gathered at Bufano Park Sunday to discuss park safety in Pelham Bay.

Organizer Sonia Colon, a mother of three, says she has heard troubling stories from neighbors about the park. She says one kid had to run away from a stranger who tried to follow him and put his hand on him last month.

"We need to become that village that pillars together and stands together so that we can allow everyone else to know that we're here to take the park back and make it the intended safe place of play, rather than a place of prey, which unfortunately is what has happened,” Colon says.

Other parents say they have complained about finding drugs around the park.

They say this is the first of many events to bring neighbors together and make sure kids in the area are protected.