Thursday, April 11, 2013

Another Person Found Locked Inside A Park Bathroom - Second Time In Three Weeks


Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

For the second time in three weeks a park patron was found locked inside a park bathroom, NYC Park Advocates has learned, and this time the Fire Department had to come to the rescue.

In this latest incident an unidentified park patron was found locked inside the bathroom in the Hilton White Playground on East 161St and Cauldwell Avenue in the Bronx yesterday at 
3: 45pm.

FDNY responded and had to cut the lock to free the patron.

Witnesses described victim as a five-year-old boy who was in the playground with members of his family including his mother. 

A lack of supervision is to blame according to several parks employees.

"There is no supervision," said a long-time park employee. 

"The agency is so under-staffed. What you have are JTP's (job-training participants) responsible for locking up.  Can you imagine how scary it is being locked inside that tiny space.  It's dangerous. This happens a lot more than people know."

"This is what happens when most of your workforce are welfair workers with zero supervision," said another employee, "Not a good combination for the public. We don't have the staff."

On March 17th, an unidentified man was found locked in a rest room after having spent the night at Detective Keith Williams Park in Jamaica,  Queen.

Park workers discovered a 40-year-old man "shivering" inside the locked comfort station near 173rd Street and 106th Avenue. 

Startled park employees found the man trembling from early hypothermia when they opened the bathroom door.

According to sources he refused medical attention and left the park.
In that incident the Parks Department's press office said they were "looking further into this matter," but have provided no additional information since.  

Read More:

A Walk In The Park - March 17, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft

Firefighters Free Boy Trapped In Bathroom In Bronx Park 
NY1 News - April 11, 2013

Metro NY  - April 11, 2013 - Allison Bowen

gothamist - April11, 2013 - By  Lauren Evans 


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