QUESTION
What strategies does the parks department have for renovating and building new bathrooms in NYC parks?
4:09:45
·
3 min
The parks commissioner explains the department aims to renovate and construct park bathrooms more efficiently and cost-effectively.
- The capital division has developed modular designs and other innovations to speed up bathroom projects.
- The department oversees over 1,600 existing bathrooms and prioritizes renovating them.
- New methods are being used to reduce construction timelines and costs.
- Some renovations are very expensive due to factors like age, utility connections, and landmark status.
Sue Donoghue
4:09:45
And then in terms of bathrooms, as I said earlier, our capital division has done a whole lot of work in developing new innovations to make are so that the bathroom renovations and new buildings are proceed more quickly and at lower cost, We talked about the Portland Lou, we talked about in Staten Island, we just put a new modular.
Gale Brewer
4:10:09
Those were the that's where you don't have about Right?
4:10:12
But I think in many cases, you've got a Riverside Park and other parks under Landmark, and they need to keep their current bathrooms, I would assume.
4:10:19
Mhmm.
4:10:20
So how are we handling that?
4:10:21
Do we have a list of, like, all
Sue Donoghue
4:10:22
the bathroom problems that you have?
4:10:24
I don't add pricing.
Gale Brewer
4:10:26
Not now, but can you get it can you get it to us?
Sue Donoghue
4:10:28
Add literally, we can get you So
Gale Brewer
4:10:30
what happens when you have $11,000,000 worth of bathrooms?
4:10:33
Like, it it's very small building.
Sue Donoghue
4:10:36
So you do mean that you have a bathroom that is $11,000,000 to renovate?
Gale Brewer
4:10:41
Yes.
Sue Donoghue
4:10:41
Yes.
4:10:42
So I'm sure there's a variety of reasons for that where the SOURA line is the connections, the pipe, the RPC that's required, the age Right.
Gale Brewer
4:10:53
But what I'm trying to say is I know this seems like maybe low on the totem pole, but bathrooms are really important.
4:10:59
And I I don't know what your vision is.
4:11:02
I know you have capital challenges, but I just would love to see more of a process strategy, etcetera, for the bathrooms.
4:11:10
Yes.
4:11:10
Absolutely.
4:11:11
If it's $11,000,000, it's $11,000,000.
4:11:13
Thank you much about it.
Sue Donoghue
4:11:15
No.
4:11:15
We absolutely agree with you, and the bathrooms are really important.
4:11:19
And as the overseer of over 6 1600 bathrooms across the city.
4:11:24
We take that responsibility very seriously, and that's why we've worked hard to be able to develop new innovations to be able to add more and add more quickly, add more in tight spaces where otherwise we couldn't.
4:11:37
And the capital team has done a great deal of work and looking at ways that we can both speed the creation of new ones and bring down costs and timeline for renovations.
4:11:48
This specific bathroom that you mentioned is is that
Gale Brewer
4:11:52
dinosaur park dinosaur playground, Riverside Park, $11,000,000.
Therese Braddock
4:11:59
Okay.
4:11:59
Then sorry.
4:12:00
Account number that's not really ringing about, but we promise to look into that, and we'll we'll get back But
Gale Brewer
4:12:05
there are people in the audience who know all about it.
Susan Zhuang
4:12:08
Okay.
Gale Brewer
4:12:08
Thank
Therese Braddock
4:12:09
you.
4:12:10
We did also just wanna say because we're doing a as far as the commissioner said, they're lot of bathrooms in construction right now.
4:12:17
We have 31 reconstructions in the pipeline at a dollar value of $73,000,000, and we have 20 new brand new bathrooms in the pipeline with a similar about a similar price tag.
4:12:30
So we've got quite a lot of bathrooms
Gale Brewer
4:12:33
Unfortunately, you need a lot more if you got 1600.
Therese Braddock
4:12:36
Yes.
4:12:37
We we we do
Sue Donoghue
4:12:38
We have 1600 existing, and then this is an additional almost 5 HD.
Gale Brewer
4:12:43
That's great.
4:12:44
But you have to fix up the ones that you have.
4:12:46
That's the problem.
Sue Donoghue
4:12:47
Absolutely.
4:12:48
Yeah.
Susan Zhuang
4:12:48
So I'd
Gale Brewer
4:12:48
love to see a list at some point as to what has to be fixed up.
4:12:51
New is great.