Brooklyn parents say that some parks and playgrounds in Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy and other nearby neighborhoods are littered with used drug paraphernalia — including crack cocaine pipes and colorful “trash can” bottles used to store fentanyl or heroin.
“We searched everything — Crispus Attucks Playground, Hattie Carthan Playground, Herbert Von King Park, Jesse Owens Playground, Brower Park,” one distraught mother told The Post Wednesday.
A group of parents recently cleaned more than 100 pieces of drug paraphernalia over a seven-day period at Crispus Attucks in Clinton Hill, the 40-year-old Crown Heights homeowner said.
“My daughter was given a container of fentanyl [from a playground] than other classmates,” said an artist mother whose son’s school uses Hattie Carthan Playground in Bed-Stuy. “It’s pretty scary when your kids come home with containers of fentanyl.
“Our school has created a group of parents who clean the playground every morning before school,” he added. “Our principal, for a while, bought his own Master Lock to lock the playground because the city had cut funding to Parks and Recreation. So our playground which is connected to our primary school is not cleaned. Often the bathrooms are so full of human excrement that children cannot play on the playground during the school day.”
A small sample of the drug bottles known as “trash cans” was found Wednesday at Hattie Carthan Playground in Bed-Stuy.Stefano Giovannini
When The Post interviewed the mother at the playground, which is connected to PS 305, her daughter found “a container of fentanyl behind one of the park benches. I just asked my daughter where containers of fentanyl are always found and she knew exactly which bench want to go to…”
Like the other parents in this story, she asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.
Suspected drug users and dealers regularly operate at Hattie Carthan Playground, parents say, leaving behind irrefutable evidence.
A discarded drug bottle was spotted among fallen leaves at Hattie Carthan Playground, where suspected dealers are using the public space as a “drug drop,” worried Brooklyn parents told The Post.Stefano Giovannini
“Fentanyl dumps and crack pipes and people actively using are a common sight for kids,” a mother of a 2-year-old son told The Post, calling Madison Street between Nostrand and Marcy avenues a “massive drug market.
“Dealers use the Hattie Carthan playground as medicine, and students frequent this block,” added the 39-year-old educator. “I’ve actually stopped going to Hattie Carthan and John Hancock, which is really sad because the playground is attached to the school and it’s in the worst possible shape.”
The mother praised authorities for charging six suspects Oct. 4 with running an open-air narcotics market near Putnam and Nostrand streets, but insisted the children are still not safe.
Jack Maher of Bed-Stuy said he’s noticed a big increase in drug paraphernalia at local parks and playgrounds where he takes his daughter to play.Stefano Giovannini
“It doesn’t feel like anything has changed in that area,” he told The Post.
Jack Maher, who was at Crispus Attucks with his daughter, Leah, said he had noticed a sharp increase in abandoned drug paraphernalia in the past year.
“Especially with young children, we are very concerned about them playing in the park and then taking something that could be very dangerous. So hopefully people are hearing about this issue and taking action — it’s a frequent topic of conversation.”
Hattie Carthan Playground adjacent to PS 305.Stefano Giovannini Another medicine bottle at Hattie Carthan Playground.Stefano Giovannini Brooklyn Waldorf School recently notified parents of a “capsule full of fentanyl” found by students at Crispus Attucks Playground in Clinton Hill.Stefano Giovanni
Some frustrated Bed-Stuy residents demanded action Tuesday at a Build the Block meeting hosted by the NYPD in the 79th Precinct, but a 33-year-old software engineer who lives in the area left disappointed.
“Their reaction to our question was to ask us all to always report crimes by contacting them directly,” said the engineer, mother of a 2-year-old son. “They did not propose a real strategy to solve the drug issue in the playground or to reduce the drug distribution that is rampant during the day. They only put the responsibility of solving problems on the people.”
A spokesperson for the Parks & Recreation Department did not return messages seeking comment. The Post has also contacted the NYPD.
The call for action comes weeks after the private Brooklyn Waldorf School in Bed-Stuy sent a note to parents saying students had found “capsules full of fentanyl” during a class trip to nearby Crispus Attucks Playground.
Both public and private schools and nurseries regularly use the affected parks and playgrounds.
“We’ve fielded hundreds of 311 and 911 complaints,” said a mother whose 3-year-old son attends a private school in Bed-Stuy. “They sell drugs in the open, they do drugs in the open. It’s just an overarching issue.
“I mean, listen, we still go to the park; our children can’t help but go to the park,” said a mother who works in sales. “We’re really trying to work hard to find a solution.”
Narcotics arrests in Brooklyn’s 79th Precinct, which includes parts of Bed-Stuy and Herbert Von King Park, have jumped 27% this year through Sunday compared to the same period in 2022, NYPD data show.
The increase has been even more pronounced in recent weeks — jumping 160% in the past 28 days, according to statistics obtained by The Post.
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