New Toledo park vandalized just weeks before opening

TOLEDO, Ohio —

A brand new east Toledo playground has been vandalized just weeks before it was set to open to the public.

Just days after the playground at Yondota Park was installed, someone spray painted it, leaving “J-Dog” across several pieces of play equipment.  

“Look at what he done just to leave his mark. Way to go, J-Dog,” said Cyncere Russell, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 40 years.

Russell said she was so excited when she found out a playground was being installed.

“Watching it from the beginning, the neighborhood is excited. The kids … they can’t wait for this to happen. It’s been a long time,” she said.

That excitement turned to disappointment when Russell saw the graffiti just days after the playground was installed.

“I’m sorry for when the parents find out that this is your child who vandalized this,” Russell said.

Luckily, Joe Fausnaugh, the city’s director of parks and youth services, said it’s an easy fix. Crews will use a chemical cleaning agent that won’t leave any residue. He said the cost is minimal, but the time isn’t.

“It’s more the capacity of my team to take time out of their day to clean something up when they’d much rather be installing new benches or, you know, another playground,” Fausnaugh explained.

The vandalism isn’t affecting the park’s opening date. Fausnaugh said kids are expected to start playing in just a few weeks.

“We still have a great playground and we’re going to be able to clean up this graffiti,” Fausnaugh said. “Let’s focus on all the people who are excited about it, who are going to benefit from it, and not focus on the one or two people who maybe aren’t treating it the way we want it to be treated.”

Fausnaugh said with 130 parks across the city, it’s hard for them to have eyes on them at all times. He is asking people to keep an eye on their neighborhood parks. If you see any vandalism, you should contact the parks department.

The parks department chose not to file a police report for the damage.