Audit Finds Four of Five Boroughs Late in Fixing Damaged
Or Dangerous Equipment and Surfaces in Parks
City
Comptroller John C. Liu today announced that a series of audits of the
Parks Department found the agency has been slow to make both routine and
emergency repairs to
playgrounds.
“It’s
bad enough that the City is slow in keeping up with routine maintenance
and repairs to playgrounds, but it is unconscionable for the City to
drag its feet on fixing hazards that can
injure children,” Comptroller Liu said. “No child should get hurt on a
playground or play equipment that the City knows is damaged. The Parks
Department needs to better prioritize repairs to our children’s play
areas.”
The
Parks Department oversees more than 1,000 playgrounds. The agency’s
district offices in each borough issue repair orders based on the
observations of their staff and complaints from
the public. Many of these orders are for routine repairs and
maintenance, but a small number are issued for repairs of hazardous
conditions, such as dead tree limbs hanging over play areas, surface
problems that can cause tripping, or exposed metal on play
equipment.
The
audits found that many routine — and even some hazardous — repairs go
untouched for months, often taking more than a year to be resolved. In
addition, the audit found that the Parks
Department has treated many conditions that could easily have been
considered hazardous and classified as needing “Immediate Attention” by
its Park Inspection Standards — thereby requiring attention within 30
days — as routine. Although emergency conditions
are to be resolved in 30 days, the agency lacks any guidelines for
timely response to routine repairs and maintenance. Among the five
boroughs, only Staten Island playgrounds were consistently maintained
and repaired in a timely manner.
The
audits examined the Parks Department’s handling of work orders related
to playgrounds, including Immediate Attention conditions reported
by its Parks Inspection Program (PIP) inspectors, from April 1, 2011,
through March 2012. Comptroller Liu’s audits called on the Parks
Department to better prioritize the repairs in order to focus on
repairing hazardous conditions expeditiously.
Manhattan
The
Parks Department issued 3,957 work orders for Manhattan playgrounds
from April 1, 2011, through March 31, 2012. Most were routine work
ranging from turning on water fountains and spray
showers to repairs of play equipment. Of the 3,152 repairs (80
percent), the Parks Department reportedly completed (as of June 18,
2012), it took more than one month to complete 32 percent (996) of these
repairs.
Additionally, there were 392 Immediate Attention conditions, such as trip hazards, that were
identified by PIP inspectors and were supposed to be resolved in 30 days, although 36 of them were not.
Comptroller
Liu’s audit also found that dozens of playground conditions could
easily have been classified as requiring Immediate Attention if the
conditions had been found by the PIP inspectors,
but were not because they were reported by Parks supervisors and were
not repaired for many months. (See table below)
Manhattan Potential Immediate Attention Hazards with Longest Wait Times for Repair
Hazard
|
Playground
|
Date Reported
|
Date Repaired
|
Days Elapsed
|
Fall hazard on very top step at 110th Street & Manhattan Avenue
|
Morningside Park
|
5/20/2011
|
3/8/2012
|
293
|
Trip hazard at tree pit from broken tree post
|
Clement Clarke Moore Park
|
5/4/2011
|
2/24/2012
|
296
|
Trip hazard on ground around water cover
|
Hell’s Kitchen Park
|
5/4/2011
|
2/24/2012
|
296
|
Worn out s-hook at bottom of climbing chains
|
McCaffrey Playground
|
4/20/2011
|
2/16/2012
|
302
|
Up lifted concrete trip hazard on sidewalk outside playground
|
Gutenberg Playground
|
4/16/2011
|
2/16/2012
|
306
|
Dead limbs hanging over play equipment
|
Matthews -Palmer Playground
|
6/5/2011
|
5/24/2012
|
354
|
Large limb broken and hanging down over 23rd Street sidewalk
|
Asser Levy Playground
|
5/31/2011
|
6/4/2012
|
370
|
Brooklyn
The
Parks Department issued 4,731 work orders for Brooklyn playground
repairs and maintenance from April 1, 2011, through March 31, 2012. The
Parks Department completed just 3,541 (75 percent)
of these work orders as of September 24, 2012. Comptroller Liu’s audit
found that, among the completed work orders, just 58 percent (2,043)
were resolved in 30 days and 25 percent (868) took more than three
months to correct.
In
addition, PIP inspectors identified 583 Immediate Attention conditions,
of which 46 (8 percent) were not resolved within the required 30-day
period. Some of these took as long as 387
days to resolve.
Finally,
Comptroller Liu’s audit identified 63 of the work orders that could
easily have been classified as needing Immediate Attention, requiring
correction in 30 days, if the conditions
had been found by PIP inspectors. (See table below)
Brooklyn Potential Immediate Attention Hazards with Longest Wait Times for Repair
Hazard
|
Playground
|
Date Reported
|
Date Repaired
|
Days Elapsed
|
Weld loose railing on Play Equipment. 5-foot fall hazard
|
Benson Playground
|
5/26/2011
|
2/15/2012
|
266
|
Exposed bolt on bottom railing of play equipment
|
Ethan Allen Playground
|
4/19/2011
|
1/11/2012
|
267
|
Trip hazard-missing cobble stones on East 68th Street opposite fire hydrant
|
Hickman Playground
|
5/9/2011
|
3/31/2012
|
327
|
Tree roots pushing up pavers causing a trip hazard
|
Jackie Robinson Park
|
7/31/2011
|
9/17/2012
|
414
|
Repair/Replace climbing on play equipment. Coating cracked, pinch hazard
|
Mother Cabrini Park
|
5/17/2011
|
8/28/2012
|
469
|
Queens
The
Parks Department issued 6,164 work orders for Queens playground repairs
and maintenance from April 1, 2011, through March 31, 2012. Of the
5,269 work orders that the Parks Department
managed to resolve by May 29, 2012, Comptroller Liu’s audit found only
64 percent (3,385) were corrected within 30 days, and another 16 percent
(832) waited more than 90 days.
In
addition, PIP inspectors identified 527 Immediate Attention conditions,
of which 58 (11 percent) were not fixed within the required 30-day
period.
Queens Potential Immediate Attention Hazards with Longest Wait Times for Repair
Hazard
|
Playground
|
Date Reported
|
Date Repaired
|
Days Elapsed
|
Uncovered manhole
|
P.S. 42/Almeda
Playground
|
7/30/2011
|
2/12/2012
|
198
|
Loose rail on
both sides of monkey bars platform
|
Glendale
Playground
|
6/18/2011
|
1/12/2012
|
209
|
Protruding chain
link fencing at eye level to be removed in handball court
|
Leo
Ehrenreich-Austin St. Playground
|
6/19/2011
|
1/20/2012
|
215
|
QBC/A
[Queens Boro Command/ High Priority] Please cold patch in front of
water fountain ASAP
|
Astoria
Park-Charybdis Playground
|
6/24/2011
|
3/14/2012
|
264
|
QBC/S [Queens
Boro Command/ Safety] Several uplifted curled edges of safety
surface
|
London Planetree
Playground
|
7/24/2011
|
4/20/2012
|
272
|
Bronx
The
Parks Department issued 6,040 work orders for Bronx playground repairs
and maintenance from April 1, 2011, through March 31, 2012. Of the 5,432
work orders that
the Parks Department was able to address by September 24, 2012, the
audit found that 90 percent (4,916) were completed within 30 days.
In addition, PIP inspectors identified 239 Immediate Attention conditions, of which 12 (5 percent) were not resolved within 30 days. In fact, some took from 31 days to 129 days to remedy.
Finally, the Bronx audit found 32 work orders that could easily have been classified as hazards demanding repair within 30 days. (See table below)
Bronx Potential Immediate Attention Hazards with Longest Wait Times for Repair
Hazard
|
Playground
|
Date Reported
|
Date Repaired
|
Days Elapsed
|
Hole in handball
court surface, trip hazards at curb, by comfort station, and work
out play equipment
|
Captain Rivera
Playground
|
11/12/2011
|
8/9/2012
|
271
|
Remove dead limb,
entrance to basketball handball courts
|
Matthews Muliner
Playground
|
8/31/2011
|
6/11/2012
|
286
|
Very large limb
down over play equipment
|
St Mary’s
Playground South
|
8/29/2011
|
6/14/2012
|
291
|
Large dead limb
over sidewalk. Can fall on parked vehicles, Story Ave. side
|
Story Playground
|
4/19/2011
|
4/24/2012
|
371
|
Dead branch
hanging over swings, approximately 20 feet long and 6 inches in
diameter
|
Ciccarone Park
|
7/18/2011
|
8/3/2012
|
383
|
Staten Island
The
Parks Department issued 1,301 work orders for Staten Island playground
repairs and maintenance from April 1, 2011, through March 31, 2012. Of
the 1,206 work
orders completed by May 29, 2012, 83 percent (1,001) were completed
within 30 days.
In addition, PIP inspectors identified 90 Immediate Attention conditions, of which six (7 percent) were not resolved within 30 days. They took 38 days to 63 days to resolve.
Finally, the Staten Island audit found 11 work orders that could easily have been classified as hazards demanding repair within 30 days but were not. Some of these work orders took over 100 days to resolve. (See table below)
Staten Island Potential Immediate Attention Hazards with Longest Wait Times for Repair
Hazard
|
Playground
|
Date Reported
|
Date Repaired
|
Days Elapsed
|
I.S. 2 safety
fences missing from bottom of backstop
|
Midland Field
|
6/14/2011
|
8/15/2011
|
62
|
Remove large
hanging limbs in trees on Lincoln Avenue
|
Midland
Playground
|
12/29/2011
|
5/21/2012
|
144
|
Check all
shackles on top of swings, at least four are worn
|
Lopez Playground
|
9/11/2011
|
5/24/2012
|
257
|
Trip hazard due
to protruding bollard
|
Midland Field
|
6/14/2011
|
5/3/2012
|
324
|
Fall Hazard. 6
inches wide, 1.5 feet deep, 100 feet long
|
Naples Playground
|
5/25/2011
|
5/17/2012
|
358
|
The five audits are available for download here:
http://www.comptroller.nyc. gov/bureaus/audit/yearlyview. asp
Background:
In
March 2012, Comptroller Liu audited the Parks Department’s inspection
process and found that, while inspectors were
performing inspections in accordance with standards in many cases, the
agency failed to fix hazards that its own inspectors flagged for
attention. A press release announcing the March 2012 findings is
available here:
http://www.comptroller.nyc. gov/press/2012_releases/pr12- 03-022.shtm
The latest audits more closely examined the maintenance and repairs of playgrounds and determined if problems identified
in the prior audit were limited or a systemic problem.
Follow Comptroller Liu on Twitter. To receive Twitter updates via text message,
text “follow johncliu” to 40404.
View the latest Comptroller’s office videos on YouTube.
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