Rocky Point vandals cause $300 in damage to park bathroom

By Alana Cerrone

acerrone@abc6.com

@Alana_Cerrone

$3 million went into renovating Rocky Point Park, which re-opened just about a year and a half ago, so the public could enjoy over 100 acres of open space and a waterfront bike path.

The state even put in two brand new bathrooms.

But this week, someone decided to destroy one of them, costing about $300 in damage.

Susan Powell takes her kids and dog to Rocky Point Park every day. "I love it with the path it’s great for her she can run around…"

Then, one day this week, one of her kids went to use the bathroom. "The toilet seat was out here…the pole was in the road…it looked like someone set fire to it."

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management oversees the park. They said the bathroom was in fact vandalized.

"They ruin it for everybody else," Powell says.

The bathroom door has since been locked, but people that come here everyday say they hope there’s a better solution.

"I don’t really know what the solution would be without putting money into it…you could have a guard here but that’s the taxpayers’ money."

"It’s like anything else it’s money spent and nothing coming back from it…"

Buddy Kean isn’t surprised at all by the vandalism. "I’ve seen kids park here and walk across…they’re in there at night… police wont check on them."

He’s called Warwick Police late at night when he sees kids go in the park…but that is state-managed property.

Police tell me they patrol the bike path inside the park, which is city-owned, and share park patrol with DEM’s Police Officers.

DEM says the bathroom was unlocked at the time of the incident.

They’re trying to get it fixed by next week, but until then, both bathrooms inside the park will be  locked.

They also say it’s the first major case of vandalism they’ve seen since they re-opened.

© WLNE-TV 2016