Some Bronx parks aren’t accessible enough for people with disabilities, and addressable issues that the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation identified more than a decade ago remain, a state comptroller audit found.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office found that “too many” NYC Parks’ facilities have barriers to people with disabilities, and many don’t meet the 1990 Americans with Disability Act (ADA) standards, according to an audit report released on March 22. As part of the report, the comptroller’s office identified accessibility issues at Haffen Park, Bufano Park, Flynn Playground and Olinville Playground that were never addressed.
“Federal law demands equal access to public spaces, but we found hundreds of barriers to people with disabilities in our city parks, playgrounds and beaches,” DiNapoli said. “The city has made progress over the years, particularly making new projects accessible, but many of the problems we found have existed for years and should have been addressed long ago.”
The recent probe serves as a follow-up to a December 2005 audit that found the parks department had not identified or addressed accessibility obstacles through a “transition plan,” as required by the ADA. In response to the 2005 audit, NYC Parks surveyed its facilities and identified accessibility barriers at more than 2,000 out of 2,745 locations from 2006-2009.
As part of its survey, the city agency ranked the issues from readily achievable to fix, or priority 1, — such as adding signs, armrests or parking spaces — to not achievable, or priority 5, for locations where a solution wasn’t possible, such as historic sites or parks on top of hills. Most of the issues Parks identified were marked as priority 1, according to the comptroller’s office. This was supposed to form the basis of the plan, which was never actually finalized, according to DiNapoli’s office.
For this year’s report, auditors visited 115 facilities at 22 properties citywide and found that out of 297 of the same issues Parks categorized 13 years ago as priority 1 or priority 2 (achievable), 64% were never corrected. They also found 309 more accessibility issues that weren’t in Parks’ original tally, though many were similar to what the department identified as priority 1 fixes, such as a lack of signage, problematic access routes, sinks, ramps, playground entrances and bathroom stall doors.
Among eight locations citywide with the most priority 1 or 2 unaddressed barriers, three were in the Bronx, according to the audit report. The Bufano Park restroom had 17 uncorrected barriers while the Flynn Playground and Haffen Park restrooms each had 16.
In the Haffen Park restrooms, for example, the bathroom door is narrower than ADA guidelines, and there are no grab bars or accessibility signage, Matthew Sweeney, assistant communications director for the NYC Comptroller, told the Bronx Times.
The comptroller’s office has not been notified of the Bronx restroom problems being fixed since the audit, Sweeney said. NYC Parks did not provide information to the Bronx Times about these barriers.
The report also found that all three entrances to Haffen Park, as well as the access route to the playground, had pot holes and slopes that are steeper than ADA standards. Olinville Playground also has slope issues, and entrance ramps from the sidewalk to the playground didn’t have necessary handrails, according to the report.
The department has plans for a $31.93 million renovation for Haffen Park next year, which will address the uncorrected barriers and bring new ramped parked entrances and accessibility paths, according to an NYC Parks spokesperson. The playground, pool and sports courts will also be reconstructed, and all play and fitness areas will have accessibility features.
The comptroller’s office found that accessibility information on the Parks’ website was contradicted by the auditors’ observations at 22 properties across the city. One example is Flynn Playground, in which the water fountain accessibility was listed on the NYC Parks website as “unknown,” but it was actually inaccessible, with a smaller knee clearance than required. The fountain is now listed as accessible, but the Parks department did not address an inquiry from the Bronx Times asking if the fountain had been renovated.
NYC Parks representatives responded to the audit by saying they prioritize making sure newly funded capital designs meet ADA regulations. But this approach can neglect barriers that aren’t part of capital projects, in the auditors’ eyes.
An NYC Parks spokesperson told the Bronx Times that the department “disagrees with the state’s interpretation of ADA regulations” and that the law requires the agency to follow accessibility requirements when pursuing capital projects.
The city agency also didn’t agree with the audit’s approach of looking at priority levels from the agency’s old survey, saying what was considered readily achievable in 2006 may not be now, because of differences in mayoral administration, funding priorities and staff, according to DiNapoli’s office.
“Parks is committed to building and developing accessible facilities so that users of all abilities can enjoy the outdoors, get exercise, and take in the beauty of New York City’s parks,” said NYC Parks spokesperson Meghan Lalor. “We are proud that since 2015, we have completed over $700 million in capital projects to make our spaces more accessible, including 136 accessible playground reconstructions.”
But the audit also found that while NYC Parks created an ADA coordinator position after the 2004 audit, the coordinator does not sign off on new construction or renovation at the design or completion phases, and Parks officials did not properly watch over concession contractors to make sure they were meeting ADA guidelines.
Reach Aliya Schneider at aschneider@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4597. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
