Attendant Locks Boy in Park Bathroom

A child was locked inside a public bathroom in Lefferts Park by a park worker who neglected to check if it was occupied. Firefighters had to cut the high security lock in order to free the child.

The incident occurred at around 6:15pm in the bathrooms that are maintained by the New York City Parks Department in the Hamilton Metz-Field Park, more commonly known as Lefferts Park.

A Shomrim volunteer who was in the park with his family was approached by a large group of children alerting him that a kid was locked in the bathroom. He immediately called for backup and 911.

One Shomrim volunteer arrived within minutes with bolt-cutters, but did not stand a chance against the tamper proof and high security lock. Firefighters arrived shortly thereafter and had to use a large power tools to cut open the cover, then the lock itself.

They had the door open within minutes, much to the young boys’ relief.

“I am shocked that the [park] attendant did not even bother checking the bathroom before locking it” said a parent. “There was no one call besides 911 and Shomrim.”

Some 15 minutes after the child was freed a parks department worker finally showed up with a key.

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16 Comments

  • A reader

    Why does the city lock park bathrooms during daylight hours?
    There should be done sort of video cameras (not where people are “going”) and more security provided by the city in parks too.

  • Anonymous

    First brick at the bus then punch in the face then burning a bus and now locking us in the bathroom…what’s going on?!

    • Anonymous

      You skiped the stabbings (that are worse) we need to get them scared of us if they are not scared of the government

  • STOP

    Let’s not get carried away with the dramatics and let’s just deal with the actual situation. The situation is that the park attendant is negligent and doesn’t bother checking the bathrooms before locking them. My grand daughter got locked in the same way at the same park about 5 or 6 years ago. before she even owned a cell phone where she could have called for help. It was her screams for help that alerted a passing cop who managed to get in touch with the park attendant who then returned and unlocked the door.

  • Thank you

    Thank you to the wonderful firefighters who are always on call to help those in need!

  • thank you Hashem

    who sent His shluchim in form of shomrim and the FDNY
    MAy Hashem bless you all

  • Cold winter

    We don’t get anything by using hands let’s not stoop to that level let levelheaded people deal with this

  • Anonymous

    Sad to say but in today’s weird world no child ( boy or girl ) should go into a public rest room unescorted by an adult or at least a friend .

  • Are we our own worst enemy?

    If this was malicious (hard to prove), then add
    it to the string of anti-semitic attacks, plaguing
    our community. In fact, I was so outraged by the
    headlines about the bus arson, that much racial
    sentiment was firing up in me.
    Then, I see this article about a secular (assuming Jewish) bus driver, in Israel, assaulting a Charedi – see:

    http://crownheights.info/jewish-news/532589/anti-semitism-on-the-rise-in-israel/#comments

    So, who are we to talk?

  • srw

    just when the news is all over about transgender issues of bathrooms, there comes a bathroom issue.
    insane.