16 JULY 4, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
West Queens had worst park bathrooms
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
When City Council members
joined officials from the
city Parks Department in
Queensbridge Park Thursday, where
they touted this year’s budget windfall
that includes the largest expense
investment in city parks in nearly
three decades, they heard complaints
about the park’s bathrooms.
“For too long Parks have been
seriously underfunded and the New
Yorkers who depend on them have
had to suffer the consequences,”
Speaker Corey Johnson said.
“Queensbridge Park users have told
us that…sometimes the bathrooms
aren’t stocked in the way that they
need to be stocked. Or sometimes
they’re completely closed.”
At about the same time, Comptroller
Scott Stringer released a report that
showed the problems at NYC Parks
bathrooms are far worse than how
they are stocked, or whether they are
even open to the public, but some are
in such foul condition they represent
a public safety risk.
Stringer’s investigation found that
of the city’s 1,428 park bathrooms,
100 were deemed to be unacceptable
due to a failure to maintain basic
Photo via Getty Images
cleanliness.
“Our parks are essential public
spaces, offering children, seniors,
and all New Yorkers a safe and
secure place to relax and enjoy the
outdoors,” Stringer said. “But the
city’s investment and maintenance
of our bathroom parks is woefully
inadequate. Our bathrooms should be
comfortable, but our report reveals
many of them just stink.”
The investigation revealed
“unacceptable” conditions at more
than 100 park bathrooms and 53 of
them had hazardous conditions due
to exposed wiring and insufficient
lighting.
In Queens, the highest
concentration of foul bathrooms
were found at parks in Woodside
and Sunnyside where 25% were rated
unacceptable.
Jackson Heights and North Corona
were found to have the least number
of bathrooms in parks and those
neighborhoods and Howard Beach
and Ozone Park have fewer than 8
NYC Parks bathrooms per 100,000
residents.
“Every neighborhood, including
low to moderate income areas,
deserves quality public spaces. NYC
Parks must expand the number of
these bathrooms in neighborhoods in
need and provide resources to bring
existing facilities to an acceptable
standard. Here’s the bottom line,
we all have to go. It’s the city’s
responsibility to make sure there
is a safe, clean place to do so in our
parks.”
Stringer’s study also found that
more than 1,000 Parks bathrooms do
not have changing stations.
NYC Parks dismissed Stringer’s
audit claiming they don’t even have
1,000 bathrooms in city parks. The
agency has only 690 bathrooms and
Jackson Heights and North Corona
have few park bathrooms because
they have the 2nd lowest amount of
park space in the entire city.
“This administration has invested in
the construction and reconstruction
of more than 15% of our park comfort
stations, 27 have been completed,
and 76 are active capital projects,” a
Parks spokeswoman said. Since 2015,
we have worked to standardize their
design and each facility includes
changing tables, in the men’s and
women’s restrooms. Through our
robust PIP inspection program, and
park management and staff oversight,
we closely monitor the conditions of
each of our 690 comfort stations. Our
reporting shows that they are open
on average 94% of the time during the
season.”
‘Historic’ funding for city parks: Speaker
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The city’s new 2020 fi scal year
budget includes the most money
for public parks in nearly 30
years, City Council Speaker Corey
Johnson and Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver announced on
Thursday at Queensbridge Park in
Long Island City.
“That means everything from
patrol officers to pruning. From
Staten Island to the Bronx every
borough will benefit, in every
season,” said Johnson.
While this does mean more money
for summer fun — the city pools are
going to be open an extra week this
summer — it represents an even
greater payday for two driving
forces in New York City politics:
environmentalists and organized
labor.
Of the $44 million investment in
the 2020 budget for city parks, $19.1
million will go to park maintenance
workers, $4 million for Forestry
Management and $8.2 million
to support all 550 GreenThumb
community gardens citywide.
All of the lawmakers who spoke
paid homage to Lynn Kelly, the
“inimitable, relentless” executive
director for New Yorkers for Parks,
who spearheaded the effort to
secure the historic level funding.
New Yorkers for Parks formed a
coalition with DC37, the union that
represents park workers and the
New York League of Conservation
in order push the city council.
“That is how you get things done.
You put pressure on elected officials
and work for what’s right. And you
make sure justice is served,” said
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer,
addressing Kelly.
The funding for parks workers
includes the salaries for 200 parks
employees and 100 gardeners, of
which $9.6 million will go to baseline
150 parks workers.
“Baselined is city-speak for made
permanent. That means that every
year we had to advocate for those
jobs because every year they didn’t
know if their jobs were going to
get renewed. Now they know they
can pay their rent on time and buy
groceries,” said Kelly.
The environmental branch of the
coalition celebrated the investment
in parks for their own reasons. Julie
Tighe, president of the League of
Conservation Voters, said that the
parkland, and trees in particular,
serve to help clean the city air and
absorb storm water runoff into the
bay.
“Nature is an important place to
fight climate change,” said Tighe.
She noted the $4 million for
forestry management is especially
important because many of the city’s
forest preserves are also are seeing
more invasive species as the climate
changes.
The funding will also include
$1 million for tree stump removal,
$1.7 million to extend the city’s pool
and beach season, $4 million for
additional 50 Urban Park Rangers
and $6 million for additional 80
Parks Enforcement Patrol officers.
“We will work hard to ensure
that the benefits are equitably
applied across the parks system
to those areas most in need,” said
Commissioner Silver.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson held an announcement that the 2020
budget will include the largest investment in city parks in nearly three
decades. Max Parrott/QNS
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link