By Bob Harris
Community Board 8, Fresh Meadows, has just voted to oppose a plan to build a comfort station in the playground at Utopia Parkway and 73rd Avenue. Residents of the Fresh Meadows Homeowners Civic Association had opposed the construction because previous comfort stations in this location were vandalized by people who hung out in the park after dark drinking and doing other illegal activities.
When the park was renovated it was intentionally designed without a comfort station at the request of the community. Although it was pointed out by officials that certain summer programs cannot take place in the park if there are no bathroom facilities, the residents who spoke in opposition to the construction said the park is currently well-used without a comfort station.
Others pointed out that the comfort stations in Cunningham Park near Union Turnpike and 196th Place were dilapidated and not handicapped accessible, and that it would make more sense to use the money to fix these rather than build a new station where it wasn
