Officials Report Vandalism at Mead Park [UPDATED]

[Note: This article has been updated with information from New Canaan Police.]

Officials said last week that Mead Park was recently hit by vandals.

They “melted part of the one the slides” in the playground area, according to Parks & Recreation Director John Howe.

“We’re waiting for the new piece to come in,” Howe told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission during their May 10 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center and via videoconference.

“We’ll replace it,” he said. “Since that happened we haven’t had any more vandalism recently. There have been some more cameras installed and we’ll go from there.”

New Canaan Police said their investigation into the matter has been closed. There was “minor graffiti” as well as “marks to the plastic slide,” according to NCPD Public Information Officer Lt. Marc DeFelice.

“No suspects and not able to determine specifically when the incident occurred,” he said.

Howe’s comments came in response to a question from Commissioner Hank Green regarding recent vandalism at Bristow Park, which abuts Mead. In Bristow, vandals toppled fieldstones from a bridge, broke open a bird seed donation collection box, sprayed graffiti, destroyed signs and damaged new trails by riding over them on dirt bikes that created ruts.

The police investigation into vandalism at Bristow remains open, according to DeFelice.

Asked about the situation, New Canaan Conservation Commission Chair Chris Schipper, who has led an effort to restore the historic bird sanctuary and wildwood preserve for its centennial in 2024, said he hopes the culprits are identified “and perhaps do public service work in the Park to make amends.”

“Lots of invasive plants need pulling, the fernery needs occasional watering, and trails can be raked,” Schipper told NewCanaanite.com in an email. “The good news is that the damage to the Bird Blind was quickly repaired and tire ruts on trails smoothed out.”

It’s not clear what officials will do about the bird seed donation box—it may be replaced with a system whereby donations are taken via QR Code. The graffiti is expected to get sanded out this week, he said, white the fieldstones that were knocked into a stream will be raised this upcoming fall. 

The new cameras are in place at the two entrances to Bristow—through Mead or along Route 106—and they hopefully will “provide an additional layer of security,” Schipper said.