Can you imagine if there were a plastic port-a-john somewhere in the 7th Street Park for the past 3 or 4 years, available for anyone to use? How about one next to a bench at the entrance to Promenade Park? How about in the middle of one of the lawns at our Riverfront Park? How about one port-a-john in each of our pocket parks, standing as close to the sidewalk as possible?
Of course, there are other far less conspicuous options for the green plastic port-a-john found at our largest and wildest public park -- like not directly at the fucking entrance where everyone entering and exiting the park is forced to see it or walk near it.
How does a city reach such a poor state of affairs where, seemingly, no one is paying attention to a very popular public park? (Include the 7th Street Park and all of the pocket parks if you like!)
In Hudson City Hall's infinite wisdom, they have decided that maintenance of the entirety of Oakdale Park is better off in the hands of the Hudson Youth Department. That's right -- DPW does little to nothing at our largest park besides clearing the parking lot of snow and picking up garbage bags once a week that a Youth Department employee has collected from the trash containers scattered around the park. That employee drives a pickup truck from the Youth Center on 3rd street to the park to do his maintenance work, including mowing the grass when necessary. This takes place all year, not just when the Youth Department's summer camp is in session during two months of the summer.
Why should anyone have to ask the director of the Youth Department why there has been a port-a-john at the entrance to Oakdale Park for the past 3 or 4 years, who it is there for and how much longer it will remain there? The answer, inexplicably, is: Because there is no one else who can answer that question.
On a few occasions while in the park, I have watched cars pull into the park, the drivers stop the car at the port-a-john, get out and use the john. And then get back in the car, turn the car around and exit the park.
Ultimately, I think, we have Mayor Kamal Johnson to thank for this situation.
2 or 3 years ago during a meeting at City Hall regarding passing of the budget, a member of the public (and of the Conservation Advisory Council) was recognized to speak. She stood and voiced her displeasure about how there was no money in the budget to create a parks department, an idea that had been tossed around the previous year or two. Mayor Johnson responded that he had tried but not been able to find the funds to create a parks department that year and that he was going to do his best to find the funds to create one the following year. As far as I can tell, Johnson has never mentioned anything about creating a parks department since then. Oh, how sincere he sounded about wanting to create a parks department a few years ago! A parks department that might be managed by someone who would understand that locating a port-a-john at the entrance to any public park is not acceptable. Not even for one day, let alone 3 years or more.
Is our dear mayor completely full of BS, or just partially?
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