Destroyed Toilets

From Sunday’s New York Times:

THE THROGGS NECK GIRLS SOFTBALL LEAGUE feeds players to the local high school teams, and holds its own against the competitive clubs from Westchester County. But for years the league has taken a beating from vandals, and this season its equipment was so badly damaged that organizers decided to curtail practices and events at its home field, Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park. On July 13, someone destroyed the portable toilets, as well as the batting cages donated recently by the Throggs Neck Merchants Association, the league’s president, Rachel Mazza, said. As a result, the league canceled several games and its July 17 picnic.

The girls — 175 of them, ages 5 to 15 — must now rent time at commercial batting cages. Last year, vandals ransacked the equipment shed, devoured the snack bar food and scattered uniforms across the field. They have also torched the outfield grass and spray-painted swastikas and graffiti. “Everything we do for our children is getting destroyed,” Ms. Mazza said. “Parents don’t want their girls joining now, and Westchester teams don’t want to come to a field where this takes place.” COREY KILGANNON