From The Inbox: A Neglected Water Fountain Causes Concern In Scarangella Park

We received the following submission from reader Andre Lee Muñiz about Scarangella Park:

It’s only a little water, one might say. But the non-stop trickle coming from the drinking fountain servicing Scarangella Park’s basketball court is a serious hazard to locals.

Located on Stillwell and Avenue V, the park is named after John G. Scarangella, a Brooklyn-born police officer of Italian descent killed by gunmen while on duty in 1981 Queens. Just across the street from the Marlboro Houses, it is a common place of recreation for countless Marlboro residents. The park also serves as a sort of fitness center for the growing local Chinese community, which can be seen throughout the day performing group exercises, especially in the mornings.

However, for a few summers now, locals complain the water fountain servicing the park’s basketball court has been a real eyesore and source of frustration. As seen in the picture provided, the fountain seems to remain on even while not in use, causing water to leak from the structure onto the adjacent court. For those who would like to play basketball, the situation creates the threat of injury due to a slippery playing surface.

The author has personally attempted to fix the issue through the City’s 311 service twice. The first service request of Saturday May 3 was closed two days later without the issue being resolved. Immediately following up with a second request, after more than two weeks, on Friday May 23 this one was updated to a work request that would “be submitted to plumbers to repair.” On Wednesday May 28, an email stated, “The Department of Parks and Recreation has completed the requested work order and corrected the problem.”

To the author’s disappointment upon visiting the park, it was clear that whatever work had been done, if any was conducted at all, such was not adequate to resolve the issue. The drinking fountain remains as is, wasting water, creating a pool that can serve as a site of bacteria, and creating a real threat of injury for basketball players, especially young people.

Upon writing this, the author opened another, his third, service request through 311.

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