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December 8, 2006

Ooh, yuk! Poop in elevator latest incident at parking garage

By Pat Litowitz

Gary Stone Jr. is disgusted with the crap taking place in New Castle’s parking garage.

The Mercer Street facility’s primary purpose is pretty straightforward. Over the years, however, it developed a seedy underside, hosting questionable and unwanted activity.

Wildlife reserve. Romantic hideaway. Skateboard park. Vagabond retreat. Traveling Port-A-John.

“Every winter, we have some kind of disgusting thing happen here,” said Stone, the garage’s office manager.

The latest incident, which took place Sunday, will force Stone to end weekend elevator service.

Stone and his family were leaving Westgate Cinema in Union Township when the Lawrence Emergency Operations Center contacted him. The garage’s elevator alarm was ringing nonstop.

Stone soon located the problem: the elevator was stuck on the garage’s fifth floor with its emergency stop activated.

Inside was a bigger mess.

Unfortunately, it’s not the first time the garage has served as a public outhouse.

“This isn’t the type of behavior that should be taking place in an elevator,” said Richard McGarvey, a Pennsylvania Department of Health spokesman. “You would hope you could find a facility relatively close by.”

Elevator defecation cases are not tracked by the state.

“The risks from that are all relatively low,” he said. “Certainly, from a psychological standpoint, people might be offended by it.”

Count Stone among those offended.

“We can’t be here 24-7.”

Stone said he believes the city’s homeless are responsible for creating unsanitary conditions in the garage.

They’re not the garage’s only unwanted guests.

Weaving and racing at night, skateboarders also call the parking deck home. A few sexual interludes have been reported to police. On occasion, a deer steers into the structure.

Stone is looking at various solutions. The first is to shut down the elevators over the weekend.

Next, city police will be asked to set up patrols.

“The police are not going to tolerate people trespassing here,” he said.

Then, there are security cameras.

Last year, Sky Bank donated cameras to the city. The problem is getting someone to install them in the parking deck.

Stone said the security companies he has approached want to install their own equipment. He continues to look for an installer.

For those wary of the elevators, Stone makes sure the offending area is clean and disinfected.

Still not sure? Clorox Bleach-Free Disinfecting Wipes cost approximately $3.

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