'Inordinate' Amount Of Urine, Feces At Reopened NJ Parks: Police

NEW JERSEY — There was an "inordinate" amount of urine and feces left in bottles at recently reopened parks in New Jersey over the weekend, officials said on Monday.

“There is a zero tolerance policy for that,” Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said during the governor’s daily coronavirus news conference. “The whole idea behind the parks is to give our citizens the ability to go out and enjoy the fresh air and have time outside. That report from Park Police was certainly disheartening to say the least.”

Police at the state and county levels will be on the lookout for that from now on.

“You are not going to get a warning if we catch you leaving something like that behind, so please don’t do it,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about novel coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

“We understand that the public restrooms are closed, but people should be planning accordingly and shouldn’t be urinating in bottles and leaving them behind,” Callahan said. “That might lead us to take a different approach in the future. We really ask that that type of behavior not go on.”

On April 9, Murphy announced that the parks would be closed because of "far too many incidents" at the state's various parks. Read more here: Gov. Murphy Closes Parks On NJ Coronavirus's Deadliest Day

They were reopened in time for the first weekend in May, buteight of them were “overrun,” according to the New Jersey Division of State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites. On Monday, Murphy said there might be some signs added to the parks reminding residents to wear face masks while in the park.

See related: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know