A Brooklyn park popular with hipsters and stroller moms is being overrun by rats, mounds of garbage and even syringes left near where dogs and tots run around, furious residents told The Post.
McCarren Park on the border of the trendy Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods has been plagued by the scourges since the start of the summer, and conditions are only getting worse, said fuming locals — who are demanding the city intervene asap.
“It’s really upsetting because we moved here and we thought we would be able to use this park,” said a 27-year-old Greenpoint woman named Eloise.
“Maybe [at the] end of June, we started noticing a lot more garbage especially on the weekends: Then we started noticing a lot more rats,” she said.
Then her 2-year-old dachshund Me-Me ended up chewing on a syringe.
“When he picked up a hypodermic needle, we were done,” said Eloise’s partner, Mike, 33. “He was chewing on it. I pulled it out of his mouth and I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ That was the last time we brought him in the park.”
Complaints to 311 about the park’s unsavory conditions have nearly doubled compared to the same time last year.
Nearly half of the complaints this year stem from club music at the McCarren Parkhouse on-site venue, while others involve everything from homeless encampments to illegal fireworks, maintenance issues, public drinking and garbage piles.
A recent Post visit to the park found mountains of trash bags on the far side of its pool, including cardboard, plastic refuse, tree cuttings and bamboo – paired with a rancid smell.
The trash and eau d’garbage is a recipe for a rat feast, residents said — more than two years after Mayor Eric Adams appointed the city’s first “Rat Czar” in his war against the rodents he hates so much.
“An hour ago, I saw a rat, in broad daylight, right there under the stroller,” said a 33-year-old mom named Hanna. “It’s not the most pleasant experience to see when you’ve got a 4-month-old in your arms.
“I’ve definitely noticed it this summer — big black garbage bags overflowing with garbage, sometimes just open and spilling out onto the walkway. Definitely more prevalent.”
Williamsburg resident Arielle Smith, 36, said, “This summer, we’ve seen 10 to 15 rats here in the park, and my dog has killed four of them.
“The number of them has picked up because the garbage is on the rise,” she said. “The trash cans are overflowing on the other side of the pool. There’s a penned-in area, and I’ve started seeing needles there,” too.
Locals have taken to social media to complain about the chaotic scene, with some users blaming a mix of parties, barbecues and “lots of oblivious, entitled folk” for the trash increase.
“It’s about people who don’t live in the neighborhood coming to party in a trendy park and then going back home after they’re done,” a Reddit user wrote. “Transmitter [Park] in Greenpoint became like this once the neighborhood blew up.
“The level of trash led to the place being overrun with rats to a point where I didn’t even want to sit down.”
Another person wrote, “It’s like that by the north Williamsburg pier.
“Every morning I go out to walk my dog and find water bottles full of urine, discarded pizza slices and beer bottles literally inches from an empty trash can.”
Someone added of McCarren, “One group completely abandoned everything including balloons attached to trees.”
City Councilman Lincoln Restler told The Post he blames “harmful” budget cuts for the mounting refuse and resulting rat issues, saying the Adams administration has “failed” residents by cutting more than 1,600 — or 40% — of the city Parks Department’s seasonal staff — “the very workers who used to keep McCarren Park clean and safe.”
His office said it has resorted to allocating $60,000 to fully fund garbage containment in the park and prevent rats from accessing scraps, as well as organizing multiple park cleanups with hundreds of volunteers, reps said.
A Parks rep told The Post in a statement Tuesday, “Summers typically see increased usage of our parks, and we encourage visitors to respect our public spaces and properly dispose of any trash.
“NYC Parks staff work daily to keep our parks and greenspaces free of trash and debris, from emptying trash cans to picking up litter from our shared spaces. Parks empties the trash cans at McCarren Park at least once daily throughout the park and more frequently at hotspots in the park, and we continuously monitor for litter outside of trash cans.
“McCarren Park is one of the locations receiving additional maintenance service via Second Shift, which deploys additional staff to 200 hot spots in 121 parks throughout the city in the evenings and weekends to address cleanliness issues like trash, litter, and graffiti.
“To address illegal dumping outside of receptacles, Parks recently introduced a new rule that will increase the penalties for illegal dumping on park property. The new penalties for illegal dumping have increased from $1,000 to $5,000 for the first offense and add a $10,000 fine for each subsequent violation within a 12-month period.
But Restler’s office said it still plans to launch a Friends of McCarren Park group and is working to set a meeting with established local organizations to take on “park beautification efforts.”
“We’re forming a Friends of McCarren Park group to sustain our community’s commitment to keeping our park clean,” the pol said.
“McCarren Park is a treasured public space.”
Read the full article here
