A local mom, Michiko Sasaki, was fined $50 for letting her four-year-old son urinate outside during a park visit. Sasaki and her son, Kobe, were at the Battery Playscape in Battery Park City when the boy needed to use the restroom, but they found the nearest one closed. Kobe, who has anxiety and sensory processing disorder, urgently needed to go, forcing Sasaki to let him urinate outside. Park officers approached her and issued a fine for the incident, claiming it was illegal to allow her child to urinate in public.
Sasaki, a professional dancer and actress, explained that it was a sudden emergency when her son needed to use the restroom. After the incident, she was shocked that she was being ticketed for what she saw as a necessary action to prevent her son from wetting himself. The officers were described as rude and dismissive, suggesting she should have taken her son to a nearby upscale restaurant to use the bathroom instead.
Sasaki argued that the lack of public restrooms in parks and the limited access to bathrooms in restaurants make it difficult for parents with children. Many establishments no longer allow the public to use their facilities, and only larger food establishments are required to have bathrooms for customers. The spokesperson for the New York City Parks Department stated that there were other public bathrooms available in the park, although they were not mentioned to Sasaki and her son by the officers.
The incident highlights the challenges parents face when trying to find accessible restrooms for their children, especially in public spaces. Sasaki believes that the fine she received was unjust and intends to fight it rather than paying. Since public urination is considered a civil offense in New York City, she hopes to demonstrate that her actions were due to a child in an emergency situation and not intended as a deliberate act of defiance. The lack of suitable public restroom facilities in parks and businesses adds to the difficulty for parents in similar situations.
The common struggle with finding clean and accessible restrooms for children, especially in emergency situations, is a problem that many parents can relate to. In response to the incident, Sasaki highlighted the need for more public restrooms in parks and establishments to accommodate families with children. The disparity between establishments that allow public restroom access and those that do not creates challenges for parents seeking facilities for their children in urgent situations. Sasaki hopes to raise awareness of this issue and advocate for more accessible and family-friendly restroom options in parks and public spaces.
The incident at Battery Park City demonstrates the difficulties faced by parents in providing adequate restroom facilities for their children, particularly in emergency situations. Sasaki’s experience sheds light on the lack of accessible public restrooms in parks and establishments, highlighting the need for improvements in providing family-friendly facilities. The struggle to find suitable restroom options for children reflects a broader challenge faced by parents in navigating public spaces with limited bathroom access, emphasizing the importance of ensuring facilities that cater to the needs of families and children.
