Gowanus Lounge: Serving Brooklyn

“Filth” at the LICH Playground in Cobble Hill

June 26th, 2008 · 8 Comments

LICH Playground
[Photo courtesy of LICH Watch]

The last time we turned our attention to the Long Island College Hospital Playground in Cobble Hill, it was about the issue of, uh, rats running wild. Now, it’s about the general topic of “filth.” We present the following observation about the playground–which was built by the troubled hospital during the Guiliani Administration in exchange for getting parkland for its parking garage–from the BoCoCa Parents email list:

I don’t know if others are bothered by the condition of LICH playground, but I am. I have called LICH Building Services many times to try to get them to do some basic cleaning of the playground on Henry and Pacific. I am getting the run around with this department. I’ve called both the State and City Dept of Health and 311. Again, I’m getting the run around. I’ve also left messages with the patient representative at the hospital.

Yesterday, after about 5-10 minutes of rain, there was a huge, filthy puddle that blocked off the pathway btwn the front and back of the playground. My daughter and her friend decided to run back and forth through this sewage puddle. Who can really blame them? The playground is completely filthy, and it doesn’t look like anyone maintains the grounds, ever! I consider this to be a public health issue but no one seems to want to take responsibility.

Does anyone have suggestions on who to call? Anyone know the inner structure of LICH? Who does Buidling Services report to? I feel very frustrated but don’t want to give up. The playground is a great
playground.

Perhaps the monster rat problem has been solved, thought?

Tags: Cobble Hill

8 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Red Hook // Jun 26, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    I am going to take a guess that once upon a time, LICH agreed to build the playground for the community to get the zoning they wanted?

    Anyone know?

    If that’s the case, LICH’s compliance with maintaining the playground is supervised by a city agency that probably never checks and never does anything even if they find LICH isn’t following their agreement.

    Complaining in public – and getting coverage – is the best way to embarrass LICH into taking care of a place where children play. A hospital of all places should not be providing a dirty playground.

    And FYI, LICH is actually suing their own corporate owner for not maintaining their hospital properly.

  • 2 guest // Jun 26, 2008 at 2:20 pm

    If you think the playground is bad, don’t even attempt to get medical care there. Trust me on this one.

  • 3 Anonymous // Jun 26, 2008 at 4:44 pm

    yes, they can’t even care for patients let alone a playground. Why all the whining, missy? why don’t you and your nanny volunteer to clean up or just do it yourself!

  • 4 GowanuResident // Jun 26, 2008 at 5:17 pm

    I think that perhaps this person is over reacting a bit? It is a playground in a city. Believe it or not, humans can live through quite a bit of filth. I maybe wrong but wasn’t bathing considered unhealthy for a long time??? I would say that if the situation is that bad perhaps a group of concerned citizens could organize to clean the playground themselves…. Sometimes the best way to handle a situation is to do it yourself.

  • 5 anon // Jun 26, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    I believe the park was a compromise so they could level the one they built the parking garage over on hicks and atlantic

  • 6 guest // Jun 26, 2008 at 8:49 pm

    To answer #1 – yes, LICH built the playgrounds (there are 2) in order to get clearance to build a tall parking structure. They have never really “maintained” the playgrounds, especially the one for older children.

    That said, I think the parent who wrote this was overreacting. i walk by there on a regular basis, and it’s a lot cleaner than the grounds maintained by the Parks Dept., which often swell with trash.

  • 7 neighbor // Jun 26, 2008 at 10:44 pm

    The agency which owned the land where they built the parking garage, on Hicks at Atlantic, is the Port Authority of NY & NJ.
    In an odd twist of fate, the current head of the Hospital coroporation that now owns LICH is Stanley Brezenoff, who, at the time of the parking lot deal, was the Executive Director of the Port Authority.
    So, is someone really cared, there’s a lot of leverage there. A small group of neighbors could probably get attention on the issue.
    Also, try Jerry Nadler’s office. He has staff with ties to LICH.

  • 8 common sense // Jun 27, 2008 at 8:18 am

    In my experience, you can’t really get a sense of a playground until you spend some time there. Before they fixed the drainage problem at the third street it looked fine until you walked on some parts of the rubberized padding on the ground and fetid, foul-smelling black water oozed up through the seams to engulf your foot.