City vows to fix McKinley bathrooms by late July

The city is finally coming to the rescue of those area residentswho flock to McKinley Park, promising to have the broken bathroomsback in working order by the end of next month.

On July 20, New York City Department of Parks & RecreationCommissioner Adrian Benepe sent a letter to Congressmember MichaelGrimm, who along with Community Board 10 and the Dyker HeightsCivic Association (DHCA) has been leading the charge to get thecomfort station – afflicted with a broken sewer line –reopened.

We share your concern about the residents’ dissatisfaction withthe comfort station’s long closing, read Benepe’s letter, whichpromised that work would begin this week. You will be pleased tohear that we have secured a contractor to repair the broken sewerline and expect the comfort station to open by the end ofJuly.

For Grimm, the overdue repairs are cause for celebration.

This is great news for the people of Dyker Heights and BayRidge who enjoy spending time with their friends and family at thisterrific park, he said.

DHCA President Fran Vella-Marrone has been working to get thismatter resolved since the comfort station was first shut down. Shepoints out that both young and old are affected by this problem,which is exasperated due to the lack of restroom-equippedbusinesses on the busy streets encircling the park.

It’s a highly used location by both seniors and children, so itreally is a necessity to have a bathroom working, Vella-Marronesaid.