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Crappers in Queens parks are the filthiest or not even available at all

LIC Post


Public bathrooms in Sunnyside, Woodside and Long Island City are among the worst in New York City, according to a report released Thursday by the Comptroller’s office.

The report, titled Dis-comfort Stations: The Conditions and Availability of NYC Parks Bathrooms, found that 25 percent of the bathrooms at City parks in Community District 2—which covers Sunnyside, Woodside and Long Island City– were in an “unacceptable” condition.

The report, which reviewed the state of bathrooms at City parks, defined a bathroom as unacceptable if it had deficiencies such as broken toilets or sinks; damaged walls or ceilings; or broken soap dispensers.

Community District 2 ranked as the ninth worst of New York’s 59 community districts. It also ranked last of the 14 community districts in Queens.

 Meanwhile, in Jackson Heights and North Corona, there are hardly any public bathrooms at City parks at all, according to the report.

Queens Community District 3, which covers Jackson Heights and North Corona, was found to have just 12 public bathrooms, equating to 7 bathrooms per 100,000 residents. The district was the eighth worst in the City on a per capita basis, according to the report.

St. Albans comfort station renovation delayed

From the Times Ledger:

On the eve of LL Cool J’s 14th annual basketball camp in St. Albans, elected officials from southeast Queens and Comptroller Scott Stringer blasted the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation at a news conference for failing to fix a comfort station for three years.

“It’s time to wake up and get your act together,” Stringer said. “The kids should be running through the sprinkler and they should be able to use the bathroom in the safest way possible.”

According to officials from LL Cool J’s free basketball camp, nearly 200 campers are expected to attend the camp every weekend in August.

The comfort station, which is located on Daniel O’Connell Playground at 113-01 196th St., received nearly $1.2 million from former Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) and was expected to break ground in August 2015, with the project’s estimated completion time August 2016, according to officials at the Aug. 3 news conference.

“I’m disappointed to be back here on the same issue,” said Comrie, now a state senator. “LL Cool J, who grew up in this community and played in this park – this is his 14th year providing a free program for an entire month for young people in the community — and we have to give them port-a-potties that are not maintained.”

The updated comfort station was supposed to be fully renovated and include ADA-compliant bathrooms, energy-efficient light fixtures, and a slate roof, according to the officials. Instead, there were problems with the vendor hired to do the upgrades in 2016, and in 2017 the contractor had been removed after more than $400,000 of the original contract was spent. According to NYC Park’s Capital Project Tracker, money was spent on designing a new comfort station, procuring materials and doing 38 percent of construction work.

Broadway-Flushing wary of construction plans

(This WAS a nice house!)

From the Queens Chronicle:

According to Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association President Janet McCreesh, the issue of Airbnb home sharers using houses in the neighborhood — much of which has a restrictive covenant limiting houses to single-family usage — is largely over.

“We have managed to get all of the homes, I think, on the Airbnb website,” she told the Chronicle. “We initiated lawsuits.”

But Broadway-Flushing is not without other home-related problems. McCreesh estimates that 10 percent of the Flushing subneighborhood’s houses are illegally used for single-room occupancies or hotels.

In Broadway-Flushing, two houses with unusual aspects of their interiors are being built — though no one publicly contends any illegality could be afoot. Ten bathrooms and eight bedrooms are planned at 33-05 157 St.; seven bathrooms and seven bedrooms are planned at 33-62 159 St. Both buildings’ plans have been approved by the Department of Buildings.

“That is not the layout of your typical Queens single-family home,” McCreesh said, referring to the properties. “The law needs to change for this type of situation. This is not a 10-acre estate. This is a plot of land in Queens.”

“The DOB does not limit how many bathrooms you can have in a house,” she continued. “There’s nothing in terms of protection for architectural design.”

Construction is happening now at both of the locations. According to McCreesh, both of the properties are under the jurisdiction of the restrictive Rickert-Finlay Covenant of 1906, which requires that homes only be used by single families and covers much of Broadway-Flushing.

And the homeowners association president does not necessarily believe that the locations on 159th Street and 157th Street will be used for any other purpose, although she is very concerned.

Astoria Park potties have been contaminating the East River since the '30s

From QNS.com:

Parents were dismayed earlier this month when they realized that the bathrooms in Astoria Park’s Charybdis Playground would be closed for a second summer due to plumbing problems.

City workers discovered last spring that sewage from the playground and Astoria pool bathrooms had been seeping into the East River since the 1930’s, according to Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski.

The discovery was made when construction of a new amphitheater began at the park’s neglected diving pool. Designers working on the project found that pipes from the playground and pool concession were not connected to city pipes, Lewandowski said at the monthly Astoria Parks Alliance meeting on Tuesday.

“The pool and playground were built in the 1930s at a time when people were unfortunately not as environmentally conscious as we are now,” a spokesperson for the Parks Department said.

The Parks Department brought in portable toilets to Charybdis Playground last summer and will do the same this summer. The new bathrooms are not expected to be completed until 2019. Bathrooms at the pool were fixed to ensure the pool could operate last summer, the spokesperson said.

At least Little Bay Park finally got their new potties.

Parents want playground potties repaired

From DNA Info:

The bathrooms at a playground in Astoria Park are still closed after being shuttered because of a plumbing issue this summer — and local parents are calling on the city to get them fixed before the warm weather returns.

More than 300 people signed an online petition as of Friday morning asking the Parks Department to reopen the restrooms at Charybdis Playground, a popular play space near the waterfront.

Though the playground’s bathrooms are always closed during the winter, parents are worried they will have to spend another summer without them if repairs aren't finished soon, according to the petition.

FMCP bathrooms in decrepit condition

"Two weeks ago i was at the park and after running 4 miles i decided to use the men's room located just outside the main entrance to the USTA Tennis Center (Willets Point ramp area). i have never been so fucking disgusted. The minute i walked into the bathroom my nose was hit with stench that i could only describe as homeless person smell mixed with urine,shit, and armpit funk. After going into one of the stalls to pee i nearly puked. i just kept on gagging and almost peed on myself because the stench was fucking bad. The lighting inside the bathroom was very poor which is perhaps why they keep the door wide open. The sink was old and the hand dryer machine was not even working.

Every summer thousands of people from Europe, Asia and the rest of the world flock to see the US Open. We all know that this single event generates so much cash for Queens & the city. Why isn't that money going towards fixing the walking paths around the park, landscaping, better signage, new benches and better lighting installed (i wont even mention the lake). Flushing Meadows Park needs it's own conservancy (if it doesn't already have one) that actively seeks out donors throughout the city to fund construction projects and BASIC MAINTENANCE of the park. Why doesn't this administration (and i will include our governor a.k.a 'King Of New York') do something about this. Tourism is one of the many things this is city is known for. People don't spend thousands to take their family on a vacation to let's say, Newark, Hoboken??. They all want to come to this city and in the summertime they want to come to Queens for the US Open.So much park land has been given to the USTA but what are we getting in return??" - Anonymous

Astoria playground potties need an overhaul

From DNA Info:

The restrooms at Charybdis Playground in Astoria Park are in need of a serious makeover, according to parents and a local parks group, who say the lavatories are too small for the crowded play space, and often dirty.

The bathrooms are currently closed for the season due to plumbing issues, and Port-A-Potties have been placed there in the interim, according to the Parks Department.

The Astoria Park Alliance recently held a "visioning session" asking parents and kids what they'd like to see changed at the popular play space. The bathrooms came out at the top of the list, the group said.

Big winner at Resorts World gets mugged

From the Daily News:

A cunning yet patient crook robbed an 88-year-old Queens man of his casino winnings after following him all the way from the betting house to his home — a journey that took 90 minutes and covered more than 10 miles.

Prosecutors say Gregory Hillman, 57, started trailing his mark right after he spotted the octogenarian counting $1,000 in prize money at the Resorts World Casino in South Ozone Park on Halloween night.

Video surveillance captured Hillman following the victim into and out of a casino bathroom, out of the betting parlor and onto a shuttle bus, authorities said.

Hillman trailed behind the victim as he boarded an E train at the Jamaica station and stepped off at the Roosevelt Ave./74th St. stop in Jackson Heights, authorities said. When the elderly man walked into a supermarket after leaving the subway station, Hillman was captured on surveillance video walking in and out right behind him.

Hillman remained behind the victim when he boarded a Q47 bus and rode it to East Elmhurst. It was only after the man got off the bus and neared his residence that Hillman finally pounced.

Little Bay crapper on hold again

From the Queens Courier:

The completion of Little Bay Park’s comfort station is being postponed yet again, officials said.

The Parks Department said the most recent delay was due to a harsh winter and an unusually high amount of soil that had to be removed from the construction site.

The new deadline for completion is set for next spring and, once finished, it will end a project that has sputtered along for a decade.

Flushing Town Hall needs new crappers

From the Daily News:

Flushing Town Hall officials need a whopping $125,000 to gut and replace six toilets they say routinely clog up and overflow when the 152-year-old arts center draws crowds.

“We have schools coming for education programs and there are sometimes hundreds of kids in the building,” said Ellen Kodadek, executive director of Flushing Town Hall. “Over the last two years we have experienced a lot of clogs and overflowing. These repairs are incredibly costly.”

Town Hall also needs a better sound and light system, Kodadek said. But the new toilets are tops on its list.

“Infrastructure upgrades are core to our public service,” said Kodadek, who told The News that the $125,000 estimate includes gutting all six bathrooms by the theater and gallery and replacing the ancient connective plumbing.

It’s unclear how old the plumbing is. The building fell into disrepair before undergoing a renovation in the 1980s.

$2M crapper looking worse for wear

Here's the $2M toilet at Elmhurst Park.

The story goes that someone graffitied the windows and parkies were told to clean it.

But unfortunately, the cleanser they used damaged them.

Lord knows how much it will cost to replace the custom windows. Being this is Elmhurst, they'll probably just leave them that way.

Trump golf course trumps bathrooms

From the Daily News:

The same city that has spent nearly $100 million on a glitzy Trump golf course on the east side of the waterfront greenspace next to the Whitestone Bridge has again delayed the construction of long awaited - and already funded - bathrooms in the ne'er-do-well western portion of the park.

The Parks Department's $2.5 million project to add public bathrooms will now not even begin until fall 2014 - at the earliest. The multi-year delay has park goers in the western portion of the 414-acre park in desperate need of relief.

"Men are peeing constantly in public, and women will squat and take a poop right in front of you," said Dorothea Poggi, president of Friends of Ferry Point Park.

Duo braves subway station bathrooms to take photos

Hello cousin Comrie:

Over the weekend P/J team embarked on review. Here is our update. The ladies' toilet at the "E" Jamaica is still too dirty and dingy to be acceptable.

In a letter dated 5/23/13 you stated that you visited the toilet. Further, you sent a letter to Joseph Raskin/Director of community& government relations. He was supposed to better the conditions. However, there is very little change.

The scent was a bit more tolerable because the outter floor was semi-cleaned. There was a strong smell of bleach.

However, on the inside, the unidentified black object is still intact. Wires are still hanging from the ceiling and there were no toilet paper, hand sanitizer, nor paper towel.

Can you follow-up on this matter?





Photos were taken on 9/21/13: The men's toilet at the "E" station, Jamaica Center had such an awful odor that my team member held his nose and scampered out.

The floor is a national disgrace. Is this the best you can do for your constituents/ voters/ cousins before you close your final curtain? Have you followed-up with Mr.Raskin/ director of community & government relation?

What a travesty.

Pamela Hazel

Rockaway bathrooms already falling apart

From DNA Info:

The multimillion dollar bathrooms and lifeguard stations placed along city beaches as part of a post-Hurricane Sandy fix have already begun rusting and leaking, DNAinfo New York has learned.

The city spent $105 million to place the 35 modular units, which were designed by Garrison Architects and built by Triton Construction, along beaches on Rockaway Beach, Staten Island and Brooklyn in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Of the 35 stations, 21 are lifeguard shacks, 10 are public bathrooms and four are used for maintenance and operations, according to the Parks Department.

But while the shacks were intended to be strong enough to withstand the next superstorm, those who have used them say they are already falling apart — including at least one structure that has duct tape securing its railings for the handicapped-accessible ramp.

Bathroom project cuts off bike access

"I went to check out the post Sandy damage I was told about at the bike path by Fort Totten. And I was surprised by a HUGE fenced off section, including the parking lot and the whole width of the bike path. I tried walking to other side of the lot by walking along the outside edge of the fence along the waters edge but, I think as you can see in photo, there's a point it goes right to the cliff's edge and I couldn't go any further. I had to turn around, cross the entrance ramp roadway onto grass on other side then to the other section past 212 street.

Can't they leave the path, or at least part of it so people can get from the one section to the other section on the marina section area. Its totally useless now. I'm guessing its going to take most of, if not all of, the summer to complete this construction of bathrooms." - Frustrated in Bayside

Arverne residents don't want beach toilets

From the Daily News:

Years before surfers and foodies rediscovered Rockaway and made it a hip place to visit, a group of homeowners took a chance.

They purchased homes at Arverne by the Sea, a suburban-styled subdivision built on an urban renewal tract.

But now residents of that growing community say they feel betrayed by the city, which plans to place public comfort stations near the beach for the first time in the area.

Residents complain the modernistic, modular structures would block their oceanfront views and lure day-trippers to an area with scant street parking.

While beaches in Rockaway are owned and operated by the city, public access has always been an issue.

Beaches in some neighborhoods, including the more upscale sections of Belle Harbor and Neponsit, are not easily reached by non-residents. There are no real amenities for visitors and street parking is heavily restricted. The closest subway stop is miles away. Most visitors rely on Jacob Riis Park, which is run by the National Park Service.

In Arverne, however, the subway is just up the street.

So basically, they want a private beach. You live between the water and a subway. People are gonna come. Personally, I would rather have tons of beachgoers and a bit of a blight on the horizon than the ghetto that's there now. But I didn't buy a house there.

Beach islands coming to Rockaway

From the Daily News:

The beaches in storm-battered Rockaway will be dotted with a series of new and revamped bathrooms, lifeguard facilities and concession areas this summer, city officials said Thursday.

The new landscape includes modernistic comfort stations, raised high off the sand to ward off future damage from raging storm waters.

Decades-old concession buildings that weathered Superstorm Sandy will be freshened up with shaded outdoor seating areas.

And food vendors are planning to create pop-up sites in shore-front areas, including the iconic concrete bus shelters on Shore Front Parkway, to feed hungry beachgoers until the buildings are up and running.

But three miles of boardwalk, destroyed by the storm, remain missing until longer-term plans are hashed out.

Meanwhile, boardwalk “islands” will be built around the bathrooms and concession areas.

Astoria Pool "Theater" to be crapper-less

From the Daily News:

An ambitious project to transform a defunct Astoria Park diving pool into an amphitheater could begin in 18 months, with a pricetag more than four times originally envisioned.

The long-neglected pool will be paved with concrete to create a 37,000-square-foot performance space that will hold 500 people, Parks Department officials said Wednesday at a community board meeting.

When the project was initially unveiled in December 2011, its pricetag was estimated at $1 million, with hopes that shovels would be in the ground by 2012.

Despite the quadrupled pricetag, there won’t be enough money to create permanent bathrooms there initially — a fact that concerned some stakeholders.

Parks Department officials said they would instead provide portable bathrooms in the interim due to a tight budget.

$2M crapper is finally open!

From the Daily News:

The long-awaited comfort station at Elmhurst Park, with its edgy design and spacious bathrooms, has finally opened its doors. And local civic leaders say its better suited for a museum than a busy Queens park. 

"This breaks all the rules of form follows function,” said Robert Holden of the Juniper Park Civic Association as he stood outside the building on Tuesday. “There’s an obscene amount of wasted space here. Shouldn’t this money go to pay for more cops or for more parks maintenance?" 

Inside the cavernous men’s side, just two urinals and two sinks take up the outer area. There is a single toilet in a handicapped-accessible stall. Lime green and white tiles line the walls in a funky, geometric pattern. 

The women’s room features three stalls including one that is handicapped-accessible and two sinks. Its walls have a similar pattern in orange and white tiles. Each room has a diaper changing table built into the wall. 

Back when it was initially approved in 2010, the price tag for the comfort station was $1.9 million. It has since ballooned to about $2.3 million.