WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KNX) — At a meeting of the West Hollywood Public Safety Commission on Monday, former City Councilmember Steve Martin spoke out against the planned conversion of public restrooms at Plummer Park into gender-neutral facilities.
“I’m not quite sure what the point is,” Martin said during the public comment portion of the meeting. “Whether we’re trying to open up a bordello for our prostitutes that work locally, or we’re trying to create some kind of sex club [...] but this does not make any sense for Plummer Park.”
Martin, an attorney, served on the West Hollywood City Council from 1994 to 2003, and was previously president of the Stonewall Democratic Club.
The former councilmember said the redesign of park restrooms into gender-neutral facilities as “very insensitive to the history and the problems that we’ve had in Plummer Park.” Martin claimed park staff had been “abused and assaulted” by sex workers who entered the park to use restroom facilities.
Martin asserted that the redesigned bathrooms, which feature floor-to-ceiling stall doors and walls, could allow for some parkgoers to engage in public sex.
A spokesperson for the City of West Hollywood told KNX that restrooms at Plummer Park are already accessible to the public without restriction, regardless of gender identity.
Related
