Last week, thanks to a reader, we reported the long-standing damage to a swing seat at the smaller LICH playground. LICH’s publicist has lived up to her name by giving us a “Zippi” response, with good news:
Hi – it’s Zippi from the Downstate LICH. I was away on vacation last week, and only just now saw the post and chatter about the torn swing seat. It’s been replaced (see photos) and I also gave out our special email address for issues of this sort (downstateLICHinfo@downstate.edu – which I personally monitor). I posted a reply to the original story. Will people who saw that post in their inbox also see my note that the problem has been rectified? I want them to see that hyper-local media works: an issue was raised via the website, it was noted, corrective action was taken, and the public has the satisfaction of knowing they effected a positive change in the community.
Thank you, Ms. Dvash, for your response, seeing that the problem was rectified, and your kind words about CHB.
Thank you so much! I sent the original photo/complaint. I never would have known who to contact at the hospital. This is terrific news!! We went and enjoyed the new swing today. Thanks so much again!
For shame to LICH. They should not need to be told that the playground equipment is broken. It is literally right outside their windows, LICH has a contractual obligation with NYC Park Department (under the terms of the transfer of land dated as of July 16, 1993, Article IV).
This is not the first time LICH failed to identify broken equipment. Last time, it took almost two YEARS to get LICH to fix the poor conditions in the park. And, to be clear, I wasn’t passive aggressive. In fact, I was rather aggressive to get this park cleaned and fixed but LICH stalled and stalled to clean the park and order new equipment, at one point blaming a several month delay to get parts due to shipping delays, as if FedEx didn’t ship from Europe. Meanwhile, sharp objects, rusted metal and chipped paint, graffiti, broken water fountain, missing mat plugs that create tripping and choking hazards, and broken swings (yes, broken swings) was open and available for children to play on and get injured.
Pardon the long list of links, which documents the prior history (via photos and words, which sadly ended when Bob Guskind died) but LICH’s/Ms Zippi Dvash’s policy is to let the equipment break, not notice the broken equipment and then apologize. I would’ve hoped the new LICH owners would’ve taken a more proactive approach to maintaining the playground since Ms Dvash’s prior explanation was lack of funds. Ms Dvash’s other solution: let’s form a committee to meet and talk about it, but there was nothing to discuss since the equipment was clearly broken. The photos (see the links below) spoke volumes.
Next time, contact NYC Parks Department to alert them as to LICH’s continued failure to maintain the park. And, by the way, the LICH agreement is available via FOIL from NYC Parks.
http://www.bobguskind.com/2008/06/30/cruddy-cobble-hill-lich-playground-continued-part-i/
http://www.bobguskind.com/2008/06/30/cruddy-cobble-hill-lich-playground-continued-part-ii/
http://www.bobguskind.com/2008/07/02/cruddy-lich-cobble-hill-playground-update-a-meeting-coming/
http://www.bobguskind.com/2008/07/05/lich-responds-to-problems-at-its-nasty-playground/
http://www.bobguskind.com/2008/07/21/progress-at-the-long-island-college-hospital-playground/
http://www.bobguskind.com/2008/08/06/lich-making-repairs-to-its-cruddy-cobble-hill-playground/
http://www.bobguskind.com/2008/09/10/cruddy-lich-playground-still-busted-up-promised-repairs-unmade/
http://www.bobguskind.com/2008/10/20/lichs-cruddy-playground-still-high-on-the-gl-crap-o-meter/
By way of history, and as general background information about LICH park, this article may be helpful:
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/08/realestate/postings-on-the-brooklyn-waterfront-a-park-a-hospital-and-a-controversy.html?scp=5&sq=long+island+college+hospital+park&st=nyt.
There’s lots of posts and comments elsewhere that complain about the park, so it’s not just me.
‘Tis a shame you won’t post the information submitted yesterday about LICH’s history of not making repairs. When a child gets hurt, how will you feel by allowing LICH to consistently fail to maintain its park and make repairs? Look again at those photos submitted yesterday–they were not from a one time event but evidence of real delay and neglect.
LICH is required to inspect and maintain the park. How could it not have known about the broken swing, just like it knew or should have known of the prior problems (shown in the Gowanus Lounge posts). I appeal to you as a parent of a small child to put pressure on LICH to fulfill its obligations on an ongoing basis since LICH only responds reactively, and after great pressure, and not proactively. As NYC Parks and ask Senator Squadron’s office the effort it took to get the repairs done. If you maintained the park, would you let peeling paint exist at the eye level (and below) of a toddler? LICH was notified, but it did nothing.
Ton anon, you seems to be an angry person. Just relax a bit.
If you look at parks in general, you will always notice issues, and those ones being not solved for a fairly long period of time. Let’s blame budgeting issues, bureaucracy, etc… Not LICH in particular.
In fairness to them, they renovated completly this playground in 2010 I think. Could it have been better? Yes, we are not on wonderland.
So let’s be reasonable here. Kids were playing outside before sophisticated maintained playgrounds and they were happy and mostly safe (life cannot be 100% safe)
A good article article for you to chill a bit:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/21/living/parenting-micromanaging-mom/index.html?hpt=li_c1
John/Homer,
You amuse me. This isn’t even close to angry, but it serves as a further warning to LICH.
Years ago, there was a well regarded blog by Bob Guskind called Gowanus Lounge. Bob died, but his blog lives on at bobguskin dot com. Go to that blog and type in LICH Park to see the actual photos of the significant safety issues (my original post had the many links to the photos). Note the dates: 2008. When did LICH fix the park: 2010. TWO years to fix significant safety conditions, and this was only after NYC Park and Senator Squadron’s office repeatedly got involved, and after Kompan (the manufacturer of the playground equipment) advised of the need to replace the equipment.
This isn’t a regular park—it was a special transfer of land to LICH from NYC & NYS in exchange for actual park land that LICH sought to build the parking garage on Hicks Street (the original post, which you won’t allow to be published) had the NY Times link that explained the history. So LICH makes money for its parking garage and has a written obligation to maintain the park (pursuant to a contract from 1993 that is still in effect) in safe conditions. It was not safe. You can say that noone can be safe and people get hurt all the time, until it is your kid that gets hurt. Then you’ll blame everyone. It takes not a rocket scientist to say that entry to Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park was dangerous and it should be fixed, and it takes not a rocket scientist to say that LICH fails to maintain the park.
The law says that when a defendant it is on notice, it must take action to fix the problem or else suffer the consequences. LICH is and has been on notice. There were lots of posts on the Bococa listserve about LICH’s failures, so it wasn’t just me or people like me. So for shame to LICH, who should not need to be told that the playground equipment is broken. It is literally right outside their windows, LICH has a contractual obligation with NYC Park Department (under the terms of the transfer of land dated as of July 16, 1993, Article IV). Regrettably, this is not the first time LICH failed to identify broken equipment. Last time, it took almost two YEARS to get LICH to fix the poor conditions in the park and to get this park cleaned and fixed. LICH stalled and stalled to clean the park and order new equipment, at one point blaming a several month delay to get parts due to shipping delays, as if FedEx didn’t ship from Europe (where Kompan, the playground equipment manufacturer is located). Meanwhile, sharp objects, rusted metal and chipped paint, graffiti, broken water fountain, missing mat plugs that create tripping and choking hazards, and broken swings (yes, broken swings) was open and available for children to play on and get injured.
LICH’s/Ms Zippi Dvash’s policy is to let the equipment break, not notice the broken equipment and then apologize. I appreciate Ms. Dvash’s effusive praise for this blog, but I would’ve hoped the new LICH owners would’ve taken a more proactive approach to maintaining the playground since Ms Dvash’s prior explanation was lack of funds. Ms Dvash’s other solution: let’s form a committee to meet and talk about it, but there was nothing to discuss since the equipment was clearly broken. The photos (see the links on the BobGuskind dot com website) spoke volumes.
There’s lots of posts and comments elsewhere that complain about the park, so it’s not just me.
Anon, you have way too much time on your hand. Too much drama for so little… No accidents happened in that park, so yes you could always speculate whith “what if”.
It looks like you are upset with “LICH” for a small playground they have to maintain, wow compared to their overall operations, you are right this is very important, not.
I do agree with you on one point, they could have done a better job. But it does not take a “rocket scientist” to find milion of examples of unfinished business in the city. Some parents just need to relax, they are so obsessed with safety, that their children will be stressed out from their continious safety/perfection quests.
I used to like “Gowanus Lounge”, now the blog is just horrible with their new editors…
And no “anon” you don’t amuse me, you scare me.