A concerned reader sends in the following comment that I have heard from several others as well as observed myself:
I’m a resident of Roosevelt Island and love living here very much. I walk a lot and have noticed this past year, that in some areas, the sweet smells of the salt water wafting from the river have been replaced with the revolting smells of urine. I, quite frequently, see men ducking behind bushes and around corners of buildings to relieve themselves. Uncomfortable for me, and them I’m sure when spotted. I’ve also been approached several times by women, visiting the island for the day either picnicking at Lighthouse Park or here to play sports, asking where the restrooms are. The answer is obvious if you’re near Octagon park. I direct them to the public restrooms, which seem to be locked more often than not. What about the people at Lighthouse Park? Where are they suppose to go? At the moment, the majority of them use the back parking area of Coler as their personal restrooms, men and women alike. There is one port-a-potty near there that is locked all of the time. Can we install port-a-potties down there that are available to the public or better yet a more permanent facility? I understand that port-a-potties are not the most attractive solution, but a solution non the less. I love our island and want our visitors to respect our little paradise, and not piss all over it.
The above picture is of the Mannekin Pis , a Brussels Belgium landmark that I saw many years ago but never thought would one day be used to illustrate a point of concern to Roosevelt Island. It just goes to show that one never knows when some piece of information learned long ago could be of use.