Woodside residents say a local park has been taken over by a group of homeless people. NY1's Clodagh McGowan filed the following report.

This park in the heart of Woodside was dedicated to Americans who died in combat, from World War One through the war in Vietnam.

To some residents, that makes what’s happening in the park now all the more upsetting.

When NY1 visited Friday, we saw people openly drinking alcohol, urinating and in one case off-camera smoking what appeared to be a crack pipe.

"It's a family friendly neighborhood. And we're not supposed to be seeing that," said Jose Collado, a local business owner.

Collado owns Champion Supermarket on Roosevelt Avenue across the street from Woodside Plaza.  He says he has caught people from the park stealing from his store and fears conditions in the park are driving his customers away.

"Yeah it is a hassle because they don't want to deal with them," said Collado.

The NYPD tells NY1 the 108th Precinct is aware of the condition and has assigned officers to patrol the area on foot. In fact, after we began reporting this story Friday, cops and ambulances arrived to remove several people to nearby hospitals.

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer says the situation has become a real challenge.

"Our goal is to help them, get them off the streets, get them into treatment and into shelter and then allow for everyone in the community to enjoy the park the way it was intended to be used," said Van Bramer, who represents the area.

Council member Van Bramer says through a homeless outreach group he's learned that some of the people who meet in the park sleep underneath the Long Island Rail Road tracks at night. He calls it a big safety concern.

"We're afraid for their well-being as well. We don't want one of them to die," said Van Bramer.

The Department of Homeless Services insists it’s on the case, telling NY1 that street homeless outreach teams canvass Woodside Plaza three times a day, seven days a week to “engage and bring homeless New Yorkers indoors."

By the time we left the park had been emptied but residents say they worry the people who drink and use drugs here will soon come back.