Community Corner

Stop Setting Our Port-A-Potties On Fire, LES Park-Goers Beg

Burnt-out port-a-potties have left this Lower East Side park without a loo.

Burnt-out port-a-potties on Monday (left) and Sept. 18 (right).
Burnt-out port-a-potties on Monday (left) and Sept. 18 (right). (Courtesy of Friends of Corlears Hook Park)

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Burnt-out port-a-potties have left Corlears Hook Park-goers without a place to relieve themselves, according to a group that leads activities at the park.

Port-a-potties have been burnt out twice at the Lower East Side park while a bathroom that has been closed off to the public for more than 15 years undergoes renovations, said Michael Marino, president of the Friends of Corlears Hook Park.

Without a bathroom, "it severely limits what we can provide in the park as far as programming in the community," Marino said.

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For events that last longer than an hour or two, the port-a-potty is a necessity.

He saw a port-a-potty burnt out and overflowing with waste on Sept. 18, a photo provided to Patch shows.

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The Parks Department replaced the port-a-potty within a week, the department confirmed. But Monday morning, he discovered the blue loo crumbling after it appears to have burned out again.

The NYPD had no police reports on file for the apparent fires, and FDNY did not respond to addresses for Corlears Hook on either date photos were taken, the departments said, though it is unclear the exact dates of each fire.

Parks spokesperson Megan Moriarty said, "We are aware that two portapotties have been set on fire in Corlears Hook Park in recent weeks."

"We are working with NYPD to address this issue," Moriarty said.

The department plans to replace the second port-a-potty as well.

Permanent brick-and-mortar bathrooms are coming to Corlears Hook under a $2.7 million project that broke ground recently and is expected to be completed by March 2021. The building has inaccessible to the public for more than 15 years.

"I'm hoping that Parks can expedite the construction as quickly as possible so that we have useable bathrooms," Marino said.

This article has been updated with comment from the Parks Department.


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