Five brand new public restrooms—each a “Portland Loo”—have just been installed across NYC, with each one costing more than a million dollars. Now that’s what you call a golden throne!
The six million dollar project identified five areas throughout NYC with insufficient access to public restrooms, making them the sites for the five new public restrooms. And though six million dollars seems like a steep price for some potties, these ready-made toilets cost a fraction of what a traditional public restroom building would, according to the city press release.
Developed in Portland, these new prefabricated restrooms can typically be assembled on-site, saving the city up to a year of construction time compared to building a traditional public restroom.
Each new restroom includes a baby changing station and can function year-round, so long as they’e connected to full utilities.
“Let’s be honest, when nature calls, New Yorkers shouldn’t have to cut their fun short,” said Mayor Adams. “We’re proud to be rolling out our new, sleek bathrooms across all five boroughs, which will ensure New Yorkers across our city can soak up more of the sun this summer with friends and loved ones without having to worry about where to go when they have to go. The bathrooms cost less, are quicker to build, and will improve quality of life for New Yorkers so they can spend more time enjoying one of the best parts of this city: our shared outdoors spaces.”
Locations of the five new restrooms:
- Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx
- Irving Square Park in Brooklyn
- Thomas Jefferson Park in Manhattan
- Hoyt Playground in Queens
- Father Macris Park in Staten Island
If you’re spending time in another NYC park, you can find the nearest public restroom to you with NYC Parks’ digital tool.
NYC Parks is the largest provider of public restrooms in NYC. At the moment, 70% of New Yorkers are actually located within a 10-minute walk from one of the more than 700 public restrooms operated by NYC Parks.
The new restrooms are all part of Mayor Adams’ “Ur In Luck” effort to expand public restroom access across the five boroughs. Over $150 million is being invested to achieve this goal, creating 46 new restrooms and updating 36 existing facilities, by 2029.