McCarren Park Has a Poop Problem

What with the recent art gallery “poop mystery” and now the latest problem in McCarren Park, things seem to have taken something of a scatalogical turn in these late-summer days in New York City. The Brooklyn Paper reports that nannies and parents taking their kids to McCarren Park to play are tired of drunks using the playground “as their own personal toilet.” Seems a fair thing to be tired of, especially given the existence of restrooms — however imperfect they may be — in the park.

Although park users have complained in person to officials, they’re also using the Internet to showcase the problem. The Friends and Families of McCarren Park Facebook page, with 192 members, “was created with the sole purpose of bringing people in the community together in support of a clean, safe park; a park free of public urination and rotting garbage. If you love McCarren Park and only want to see it get better, please join!”

They are fighting back with poop photos posted to the page and to the ever-valuable NewYorkShitty, and also by organizing cleanup events, as well as calling 311 regularly to complain.

“This lovely pile has been sitting on the playground next to the equipment for at least two days,” said Greenpoint parent Robin Hagert, who posted several photographs of passed-out individuals and human feces on the social networking site. “No one has cleaned it up. So sad!”

There’s a clean-up event planned by Open Space Alliance for Sunday, September 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

While it’s debatable whether the people leaving unpleasant things behind in the playground are homeless or not (community leaders say many have places to go but are too drunk to get there), it does seem evident that, despite the words of Greenpoint minister Ann Kansfield — “Everybody poops — poop happens” — something should be done to make the poop happen elsewhere. One thing markedly worse than a park filled with so-called hipsters is a park filled with human feces.

Can’t we all just get along, and not poop in the park?

Greenpoint drunks ruining McCarren Park playground with filth [BP]