Parks Department Dumped Sludge and Trash in Forest Park

Photo: Vimeo (Frank Schorn)

Sept. 4, 2019 By Allie Griffin

The NYC Parks Department dumped smelly sludge into an area of Forest Park last week and only after being caught in the act the agency said it would re-evaluate the practice.

The practice came to light when Glendale resident Frank Schorn captured a truck with Parks employees dumping muck and trash into a section of the park near Myrtle Avenue.

Schorn told CBS2 he witnessed the truck dumping the mess daily for the past week or so and decided to capture it on video.

While a Parks Department spokesperson said the debris was not hazardous waste, Schorn said it “smells like a sewer” in a video he shot last Thursday.

The parkland was left a deep muddy mess, with cans, wrappers and plastic bottles spewed about.

The dumped waste was soil and sediment from clogged catch basins and spray shower drains, according to the Parks department. Parks employees used fresh water from holding tanks to flush the sediment they collected into the area.

Thanks to the media attention and Schorn’s videos, the park has since been cleaned from debris and sediment. Parks employees took the waste to a proper landfill and the department is looking at alternatives for this type of trash and sediment in the future.

“The site was cleaned and cleared of debris and sediment by Saturday,” a Parks Department spokesperson said. “We are re-evaluating this practice and exploring alternative methods to dispose of the waste.”