Officials: 5,000 swarm Heckscher State Park

Heckscher State Park in East Islip was closed for five hours Sunday after a swarm of about 5,000 cars entered the area en masse, parks officials said.

The park, which was near capacity at the time, was closed just after noon, said George Gorman, deputy regional director for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

"They all came in at once and were riding around," Gorman said. "They were spinning out. I guess the best terminology is 'burning rubber.' "

State Parks and Suffolk County police responded and stopped people from entering the park until 5 p.m. People inside the park were allowed to stay.

"They were endangering other motorists and pedestrians," said Gorman, who said the cars were drag racing. "They overwhelmed the park in a very quick period of time."

Cars from the caravan filled two parking fields at the park, which has 20 miles of trails, picnic areas, playing fields, a playground, boat launch ramps and bathing areas.

No permit for such a gathering had been issued, Gorman said.

It is unclear if anyone was arrested or if traffic summons were issued. The facility was not damaged.

State Parks Police said Sunday night they had no information to release and Suffolk Police referred calls back to the parks police.