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By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
The bathroom trailers in Marine Park are shuttered, yet again, and park patrons are shuddering at the thought that nature lovers heeding the call will once more resort to the nearest alternative — the bocce courts.
The trailer-borne bathrooms located inside Marine Park along Fillmore Avenue were ravaged by pesky critters Tuesday night, leaving the park’s northern area barren of any kind of lavatory for the next few days, although some park goers say the bocce courts provide the same accommodations as the ad-hoc loo.
“Tell them to use the bocce courts,” said Marine Park resident John Manzola. “We have the same facilities as the Parks Department’s bathrooms; no running water and no toilet paper.”
Following Hurricane Sandy, the temporary toilets, along with the northern portion of Marine Park located above Avenue U, were closed briefly due to safety hazards created by the storm, and some park patrons resorted to using the nearby bocce courts to do their business.
This time, however, the damage is thought to be the work of some kind of beast, which tore off critical insulation inside the bathroom trailer, causing the facility’s pipes to freeze, according to Councilman Lew Fidler’s spokesman Bradly Reid.
“Damage to the temporary comfort station in Marine Park was not the work of humans, as originally believed, but of animals,” said Reid. “Further inspection today revealed that insulation was torn off and the heating element, used to prevent the pipes from freezing, was damaged. Without proper heat, the pipes to the station froze.”
Fidler’s office fired off a press release Wednesday night saying he’s urging the Parks Department to repair the restrooms as quickly as possible, and meanwhile is asking park goers to use the facilities located inside the Marine Park Environmental Center on Avenue U.
But those bathrooms are a long way from Filmore Avenue — around 2,500 feet as the crow flies — especially when it comes to an emergency.
The trailer bathrooms were installed in lieu of Brooklyn’s biggest boondoggle, the Carmine Carro Field House, which has suffered numerous delays since construction began in 2008.
Fortunately, the field house is supposed to celebrate its official opening in February, finally allowing park goers access to permanent and more comfortable facilities — that is, if its not delayed again.
Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.