RED HOOK — A $2.4 million bathroom proposed for Louis Valentino Jr. Park is too pricey and “unnecessarily large,” according to Red Hook residents who are demanding more input into plans for the green space.
The 650-square-foot “comfort station” would include bathroom stalls for men and women as well as a ramp for wheelchair accessibility near Coffey and Ferris streets.
But some community members would like to see a “vastly reduced comfort station” that takes away a minimum amount of greenery from the park, resident Allison Reeves, a member of People for Red Hook Public Parks, said at a meeting with the Parks Department.
Residents recently demanded more transparency after another capital improvement project for Valentino Park came to light last month.
That plan involves paving the park’s paths as well as a grassy area to protect the sea wall from corrosive saltwater that seeps through the soil and damages the structure.
The paving work will begin this week and take about four weeks to complete, Councilman Carlos Menchaca announced on Facebook.
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With both plans, residents are anxious to preserve as much of the park’s grassland as possible. The park is a popular space where people often lay out blankets, have picnics and watch movies during an outdoor summer film series.
“It’s one thing to replace the path with asphalt,” said neighborhood activist and community leader John McGettrick. “Going beyond would really be a major concern.”
McGettrick, who called the planned comfort station “unnecessarily large,” added that the building should be situated in a different part of the park.
A spokeswoman for the Parks Department told DNAinfo New York last month the agency was considering comments from the community and reviewing the project.
The department did not respond to further requests for comment about the restroom proposal but park officials are expected to hear residents’ concerns on Oct. 9 at a community meeting held at P.S. 15, located at 71 Sullivan St., at 7 p.m.
The community's outcry stems from frustration over Coffey Park, another local public space that abruptly closed earlier this year for a $2.3 million renovation and won't reopen until next April.
The community will still have access to Valentino Park during construction, the Parks Department has said.
Resident Paige Tooker, who started a petition to oppose both the comfort station and paving projects, believes the new construction could ruin the space's natural beauty.
Her online petition has received only 102 signatures, but she has an additional 800 to 900 on paper, she said.
“It’s going to destroy the beauty of the park,” she said.
