A New York City mother is furious after she was fined $50 for allowing her four-year-old son to urinate in the park after the bathrooms were closed, even though offenders were allowed to run wild. in the Big Apple.
Michicko Sasaki, 46, and his son, Kobe, were enjoying a beautiful spring day at Battery Playscape in Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan, last Saturday when the young man had to go to the bathroom.
The park bathroom was closed and had a paper sign taped to the door that said, ‘No bathroom! No bathroom!’
Sasaki, who described the ordeal as “an emergency,” said The New York Post: ‘My son told me: ‘I really need to go, I’m going to pee my pants.’
The mother tried to be as discreet as possible while pulling down her son’s pants so he could relieve himself, but seconds later, a group of park officials approached her and told her that it was “illegal and not okay to use bathroom”. outside.’
She said she was “bewildered and very confused” as five or six officers walked toward her. She said they “harassed” her and recalled one of them speaking to her in an aggressive manner.
Urinating in public is a civil, rather than criminal, offense under the Criminal Justice Reform Act passed in 2017, but it is punishable by fines of up to $450.
Michicko Sasaki, 46, was furious after she was fined $50 after her young son urinated in the park after the toilets were not opened.
Sasaki’s 4-year-old son, Kobe, has anxiety and sensory processing disorder, his mom explained, which is why she waited until the last minute to tell him he had to pee.
Sasaki, an actress and professional dancer who lives in the Washington Heights area, explained that her son hass anxiety problems and a sensory processing disorder.
She said that’s why she probably waited until the last minute to tell him he had to pee.
When DailyMail.com reached out to the New York City Parks Department and sent them a photo of the bathroom door with the sign, they said, “Public urination is prohibited in the parks and we ask everyone to use the designated facilities.” for it”.
“The public restroom at Battery Park Playscape was open and operational on Saturday,” said Kelsey Jean-Baptiste, press officer for New York City Parks.
“In addition, two other public restrooms are located in the park and were available for use.”
“We want all New Yorkers to be able to enjoy and feel comfortable in our parks, which is why NYC Parks maintains more than 1,600 public restrooms across the five boroughs for the benefit of the public and the health of our city,” he said. .
The parks spokesperson said public restrooms are located in front of Playscape in the rear of the concession building and across the park on Battery Place in the northwest corner.
But, according to the mother, the other two bathrooms cited by the Parks Department did not appear to be located where Saskai’s young son was playing.
She told the Post that park officials never told her that Battery Park Playscape had other bathrooms she could have gone to, but instead pointed to The View restaurant, located in Battery Park, as a possible alternative.
She described them as “extremely rude.”
‘They were very brazen and demeaning. Phrases like “how can you stop your child from going to the bathroom beforehand?” Sasaki told the Post.
“He told me, ‘Your son is old enough to hold it,'” she said, describing the entire ordeal as “absolutely crazy.”
The New York State Parks Department told DailyMail.com that Battery Park Playscape (pictured) has three public bathrooms and that “public urination is prohibited in the parks.”
Another view of the park located in Battery Park
Along with the fine, he was given a summons with a court date of July 2.
The citation read: “I observed the defendant allowing her son to urinate on park property, next to the public restroom,” according to The Post.
Sasaki told the news outlet that “this is not just a Battery Park problem.” As parents, we struggle with public toilets every day’ and intend to fight against it.
‘Sure it’s $50, and it’s not much, but it’s the beginning. “I’m not saying we should all go out and pee on the sidewalks, that’s not okay for adults,” he told the media outlet. “However, I was a kid in an emergency situation.”
DailyMail.com has contacted the mother for further comment.