Building community through conversation, compassion and empathy.
About Denny Blaine Park For All
Denny Blaine Park is a public shoreline park, providing water access to hundreds of homes and community members who do not live on the shoreline. For generations, Seattle residents used this neighborhood park. Today, ongoing illegal and nuisance behavior has made the Park unusable by anyone who does not want to participate in or witness such behavior. The Park is now a regional venue for people who want to participate in public nudity and lewd conduct without consequence, brought there in crowds by social media.
After years of documented incidents and limited responses by the City, Denny Blaine Park for All was formed to engage Seattle leaders on conditions at the park.
Despite repeated engagement with the City, no meaningful response followed, and conditions at the Park worsened. In spring 2025, we filed suit to address pervasive and aggressive nudity, public sexual conduct, dangerously illegal parking, drug and alcohol use, and vandalism in and around the park. The goal is straightforward: restore the park as a public space usable by families, children, and all people who respect the rights of others.
The record reflects a consistent pattern. Neighbors and visitors have documented repeated incidents, supported by sworn declarations and evidence now before the Court. This activity occurs year-round, often in daylight, and in the presence of others. Enforcement is sporadic and ineffective, with SPD either taking hours to respond to calls or not coming at all, and Park Rangers refusing to take meaningful action.
Denny Blaine Park no longer functions as a public park. Visitors unaware of what is happening there arrive and immediately leave. Families with children flee in horror. Nearby residents who want to use the Park to access the water now avoid it.
Recently, the City hastily installed an illegal âvisual barrier,â in violation of State law, separating the upper park from the waterfront and reserving the beach for âclothing-optionalâ activities, officially denying the waterfront to people who do not want to participate in or witness public nudity, and providing cover for illegal activity.
Documented incidents show public sexual activity and masturbation continuing behind the barrier and in upper areas of the park as well.
Video and testimony show that the Cityâs attempts to stop illegal activity at the Park have been half-hearted at best. Park Rangers remain in vehicles or observe public sex or illegal activity without engagement. Sworn accounts also describe calls to police during active incidents going unanswered or delayed for hours, with officers in some cases driving through without stopping. Officers admit that theyâve been ordered not to make arrests for indecent exposure at the Park.
The Cityâs inaction has led to the conditions experienced in the park and neighborhood today. Incidents occur almost dailyâeven after the City installed its wall last summer. For example:
January 2026, neighbors documented a couple engaging in oral sex and intercourse on the beach in daylight while others stood nearby, including one person filming and another watching and touching himself, before police arrived after the activity ended.
In a separate January 2026 incident, a man was observed on the beach in late morning repeatedly touching his genitals, alongside a repeat offender returning to engage in similar conduct. Many of the people who masturbate in public at the Park return to do so repeatedly.
Public parks are meant to be shared spaces. When they become unusable by people who respect the law and other peopleâs rights, the City has a responsibility to act to restore basic access.
Elsewhere in Seattle, the City has acted when conditions demanded it. Alki Beach drew coordinated intervention. Other parks have been temporarily closed to stop illegal activity and reset expectations. Those are larger, highly visible parks.
Denny Blaine is a two-acre neighborhood park meant to provide access to the water. Why is it being treated differentlyâallowed to deteriorate until it is a public nuisance instead of a public space usable by all?
What Needs to Happen
A court order is needed because the City refuses to carry out its obligation to enforce the law, and refuses to abate the public nuisance that its refusal to enforce the law has created.
What the community wants to see happen is simple: a public park that people who respect the law and one another can actually useâfree of pervasive public nudity, public masturbation, public sex, filming for sexual purposes, intimidation, and threats of violence.
Judge sides with neighbors to close Denny Blaine Park, orders city to act within 2 weeks
MyNorthwest | July 14, 2025
City of Seattle ordered to come up with plan to address public lewdness at Denny Blaine Park
KIRO 7 | July 15, 2025
By Cheryl Murfin
Let say up front that Iâm as progressive as they get.
In my opinion, DEI should be mandatory in all businesses and public spaces in the country. And I support those who would prefer to sunbathe in the buff, even if I wouldnât be caught dead doing it myself (not because Iâm a prude, but because I donât believe in courting skin cancer).
Even so, Iâm going to have to side with the neighbors of Seattleâs Denny Blaine Park who filed a lawsuit to close the park down due to the City of Seattleâs failure to address the nudity and sex acts theyâve witnessed in the park. (continued on Seattle Child)
Seattle given deadline to address concerns over some behavior at Denny Blaine Park
KING 5 | July 15, 2025
April 25, 2025 Denny Blaine Park for All open letter to our community
Members of our community group have filed a lawsuit against the City of Seattle for its ongoing failure to stop illegal and dangerous behavior at Denny Blaine Park.
The lawsuit argues the park has become a magnet for public masturbation, illegal indecent exposure, harassment, and prowling near private homes. These acts are not rareâthey are routine, aggressive, and well-documented. Despite years of outreach to City officials, the situation continues to deteriorate.
Our concern is rooted in public safety. Every resident and visitor to Denny Blaine Parkâand all Seattle parksâdeserves access to a safe public space. But when criminal behavior becomes normalized, ignored, or downplayed, that commitment is lost.
Hundreds of incidents of this type called into Seattle Police by neighbors and documented. The lawsuit is not based on speculation, it's based on first-hand accounts and documented examples of unsafe behavior, including:
A man exposing himself to a female neighbor while making sexually aggressive remarks
A nude man masturbating on the hood of his car for over six hours
Four public masturbation incidents in a single week this March
Ongoing trespassing, indecent exposure, and menacing behavior to nearby residents
These incidents happenedâand theyâre documented through video, police reports, and criminal charges. In a moment when public institutions feel unreliable, and narratives often pop up without facts, the courts remain one of the few places left that can seriously consider the problems at hand and offer a solution.
One case illustrates the stakes. According to police reports and charges, a man repeatedly seen masturbating in public assaulted another parkgoerâyelling homophobic slurs, beating the victim, and dragging him into the water. The assailant was arrested and charged with a felony hate crime. After his release, he missed court dates, had a bench warrant issued, and was arrested againâback at the parkâfor public masturbation. His felony hate crime trial is scheduled for May.
The incidents detailed in the lawsuitâand those reported to policeâreflect just a fraction of the ongoing behavior occurring at Denny Blaine.
Some have claimed the park can be âself-policed.â But the facts say otherwise. When public lewdness is routine and repeat offenders return to observe nude sunbathers and masturbate, safety can't depend on a park visitor. A bystander is not a deterrent to crime. Safety and de-escalation should not be left to the public. Whatâs been branded as âcommunity-based safetyâ is not a serious solution.
This case is being brought by people with a direct connection to the parkâneighbors, visitors, and members of communities whoâve long relied on Denny Blaine as a shared public space, including LGBTQ residents. The issue isnât who uses the parkâitâs the Cityâs failure to enforce the rules that make it safe for everyone.
Seattleâs own Parks Code prohibits behavior that prevents others from safely using public parks. Denny Blaine is clearly in violation. After years of documentation and inaction, weâre asking the court to compel the City to actâor to temporarily close the park, as it has done elsewhere, until safety is restored.
Denny Blaine should be a place for recreation, expression, and connection. And for many visitors, it may feel that way during their time in the park. But for othersâespecially those who live nearbyâthe experience is very different, and increasingly disturbing. What feels like a rare and unsettling incident to some is a part of their daily life for others. These problems arenât going away. Theyâre getting worse, and the Cityâs failure to enforce the law is enabling these problems to happen and allowing them to grow.
This park should remain a place for communityâbut thatâs only possible if the City does its job. Until then, this lawsuit is the path to restore safety and accountability.
Denny Blaine Park for All: Promoting Safety and Inclusion
Our Mission
Denny Blaine Park for All is an association of concerned neighbors dedicated to creating a welcoming and safe environment at Denny Blaine Park. Our mission is to ensure that all visitors, including families, the LGBTQ community, and neighbors, can enjoy the park's natural beauty and tranquility. We are committed to fostering respect and civility, making Denny Blaine Park a welcoming space for everyone.
From Playground to Policy Since the December public meeting about the playground proposal, progress has been made in addressing community concerns at Denny Blaine Park. We are actively negotiating a park policy that will outline a detailed code of conduct for the park. Upcoming sessions will focus on refining this policy so it works for the needs of all park users.
This policy is being developed in collaboration with the Friends of Denny-Blaine Park, local neighbor representatives, and Seattle Parks and Recreation. To stay informed about upcoming meetings, please join our supporters.
Our Approach
Our approach is rooted in building a strong community through conversation and compassion, and actively collaborating with city officials and Friends of Denny-Blaine Park to ensure a healthy, safe and inclusive environment for all.
Clear Policy Language: We advocate for policies that clearly define acceptable behaviors, ensuring they are interpretable and enforceable under the law.
Educational Signage: Our balanced approach includes signage that outlines a clear code of conduct that encourages respect for neighbors.
Effective Enforcement Plans: We work on enforcement through community ambassadors and park rangers to ensure compliance with the park policies. We seek to partner with the Seattle Police Department and Seattle Parks and Recreation to develop robust enforcement plans intended to ensure compliance with park policies and maintain public safety.
Clear Accountability Measures: We hold ourselves and our partners accountable to the community standards we've set so Denny Blaine Park becomes a welcoming environment for all.
Join us in our efforts to ensure that Denny Blaine Park continues to be a space where diversity is celebrated and all visitors feel respected and valued.
Get involved with keeping Denny Blaine Park for All
Email info@dennyblaineparkforall.org if you are interested in attending neighborhood meetings to build our future neighborhood.
Please sign our letter of support so the Mayor knows we want Denny Blaine Park safe for all.