NYC City Council bathroom report pisses off Parks Department

Parks: That survey should just be flushed

September 9, 2024 Mary Frost

The restrooms were clean at McLaughlin Park on Tillary Street Saturday, but the floors were badly cratered. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

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A City Council report issued Thursday claims that two-thirds of inspected restrooms in public parks have health or safety issues, but the city’s Parks Department says the survey is full of … baloney, pointing to flawed methodology.

The council survey — dubbed Nature’s Call — examined 102 public restrooms between July 9-11 within the city’s public parks. The survey found that 11% of inspected stalls lacked functioning locks; 10% lacked soap; 13% lacked toilet paper; 40% were littered (30% lacked garbage cans); and 23% had — gulp — “unsanitary conditions.”

In addition, the Council reported a shortage of baby changing tables in men’s restrooms, and noted that 9% of restrooms were closed on the day of inspection.

The Council included photos of some of the most hair-raising conditions, including the men’s urinals at Shore Road Park in Bay Ridge.

The women’s restroom at Pierrepont Playground. Despite some toilet paper on the ground, the restroom appeared to be freshly-mopped on Saturday. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

‘Misleading’ report raises a stink with Parks

This report caused agita at the Parks Department, which pointed out that the Council’s investigation used a small sample size, which skewed the final results.

While there are more than 700 public restrooms across the city, the Council study inspected just one male and one female restroom in each district — and these were the ones with the most complaints.

The Council did admit to this selective process in its report, which says, “The park restroom in each Council District with the highest rate of unacceptable conditions or closures was selected for inspection.”

This distinction was overlooked by some news outlets, however, which lost no opportunity to pile on.

“No s–t, Sherlock! Most NYC public bathrooms are dirty and lacking toilet paper — if they’re even open,” the New York Post headlined. The Post’s article quoted visitors to some of the city’s most notorious park restrooms, such as the junkie emporium known as Washington Square Park in Manhattan, to back up its contention that the city was facing a bathroom apocalypse.

Bathrooms at the Brooklyn War Memorial in Cadman Plaza Park are out of commission until the building’s electrical system is turned back on, which could be as soon as Friday. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

Parks: 90% are open and functional daily

Now the Parks Department — which prides itself on managing one of the most essential jobs in the city on a budget that is constantly getting slashed — wants to clear the air.

The agency has its own Parks Inspection Program which carries out “frequent, random, detailed inspections,” and more than 90% of restrooms were rated acceptable during inspections this year.

“NYC Parks operates more than 700 highly-trafficked restrooms, seven days a week, available for anyone to use for free,” Parks spokesperson Chris Clark told the Brooklyn Eagle. “Public restrooms are by nature challenging sites to keep pristine, but we’re proud that Parks’ own inspection reports reflect over 90% acceptable ratings for litter and amenities at restrooms citywide. The Council looked at less than 7% of our facilities and targeted locations that were already known by them to be problematic.”

A Parks maintenance team was power-washing the ground-level water feature area near the McLaughlin Park restrooms, possibly causing the flooded women’s room. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

Clark added, “This skewed report does a disservice to the hundreds of Parkies who work tirelessly every day to make sure they are cleaned, stocked, and well maintained.”

The Parks Department’s 2024 inspections found that 98% of city restrooms received an “acceptable” rating for litter, and a 91% acceptable rating for amenities, including soap, toilet paper, and hand dryers. In addition, 600 additional changing tables were installed in park restrooms this past year, bringing the total number to more than 1,200.

Mops can be seen at the bottom of the stairway to the women’s restroom at McLaughlin Park in Downtown Brooklyn, which was flooded when the Eagle inspected it on Saturday. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

The Eagle does a deep dive

The Brooklyn Eagle’s crack Toilet Inspection Team decided to peer into the abyss. (Which meant visiting a handful of park restrooms on Brooklyn’s west side.)

The survey, conducted on Saturday when parks were packed, found that most bathrooms inspected were in acceptable condition. These included Squibb Park, on Columbia Heights at the entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park; the high-traffic Pierrepont Playground; McLaughlin Park on the corner of Jay and Tillary streets in Downtown Brooklyn; and the public restrooms in Downtown Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza Park.

The team did not visit some of the worst restroom scenes pictured in the Council report — such as the infamous men’s urinals at Shore Road Park in Bay Ridge — because they were too far away and gross besides.

The restrooms the Eagle did inspect showed signs of recent mopping and a couple smelled of cleaning detergent. The team found a few segments of toilet paper on the floor of the restrooms at Pierrepont Playground and Squibb Park, but no sign of permanent litter.

The men’s restroom at Squibb Park was surprisingly clean and freshly-mopped when inspected by the Brooklyn Eagle on Saturday. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

One actual issue was found in the restrooms at McLaughlin Park, a fabulous facility which was hosting a crowded kickball tournament Saturday afternoon. Twin stone staircases lead down to ancient, basement-level restrooms with craters on the floor the size of gophers. The women’s room was clean, but during inspection was flooded with water. Our investigators discovered a Parks maintenance team was power-washing the ground-level water feature area near the restrooms, and the flooding seemed to be related to this.

The restrooms at Cadman Plaza Park in the Brooklyn War Memorial building were closed during the Eagle’s inspection tour, and portable potties were placed next to the entrance. A sign said the building has been closed since June 26 for electrical repairs.

Parks is restoring the “power phase” of the building, Doreen Gallo, president of the Cadman Park Conservancy told the Eagle. The agency is hoping the power will be turned back on by Sept. 13, “fingers crossed,” Gallo said.

They meant well

While the report stung within the Parks Department, the City Council has long had the interest of Parks at heart. In May, the Council fought to restore money to the agency’s maintenance budget that had been cut by Mayor Eric Adams. This included millions of dollars for second-shift workers to clean park “hot spots” at night and on weekends. A budget deal worked out in June restored some, but not all of this funding.

“We are grateful that the City Council’s dedication to parks fully restored second shifts and staved off an even-more severe cut and devastating agency-wide hiring freeze,” NY4P said. The organization noted that Parks was trying to operate on “a shoestring budget amounting to less than 0.6% of the total city budget.”

McLaughlin Park was hosting a crowded kickball tournament on its amazing playing field Saturday afternoon. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

As Brooklyn Borough President in 2018, Adams himself pushed the city to commit one percent of the city budget to Parks, the Brooklyn Eagle reported at that time.

NY4P thanked Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan, and Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst) for their advocacy. Krishnan was one of the movers and drivers behind the Council’s bathroom report.