$30M Upgrade Starts At BK Park As Worker Reports Rape By Boss

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — The Parks Department announced a Brownsville park will get a $30 million upgrade the same day The New York Times reported one of the parks' workers had been raped by her boss.

The Parks Department issued a press release Tuesday celebrating an upcoming renovation at Betsy Head Park, where park cleaner Makeda Stevenson told the Times she was working when forced to give oral sex to supervisor Jeffrey Blount in 2016.

The Times report details three cases in which Parks Department workers sexually abused their employees, were allowed to resign and given "neutral references."

Blount threatened to fire Stevenson, a mother on a welfare-to-work program, and forced her to have sex with him at least three times, the Times reported. Investigations found Blount cornered Stevenson, who was transferred to Betsy Head Park after their encounters, and forced her to perform oral sex, which she recorded with her phone, according to the Times.

Hours after the Times published "They Were Accused of Sexual Harassment, but the City Hid It From Future Employers," the Parks Department issued a release celebrating the upcoming reconstruction at the park.

The Brownsville Park — bordered by Thomas S. Boyland and Bristol streets and Blake and Dumont avenues — will get a new playground, basketball court, fitness center and sports field by 2020, officials said.

Betsy Head is one of five parks to be funded through Mayor Bill de Blasio's Anchor Parks 2016 initiative, which commits $150 million to major renovations in each of the five boroughs.

"This major Anchor Parks renovation will kick off a fresh start for its next 100 years,” said Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver. “We can make Betsy Head the true Brooklyn destination it is meant to be.”

The Parks Department didn't immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.