Mamdani unveils $4M pilot program to expand public restroom access in NYC
Bryant Park’s public restroom, one of the nicest in the city. Image via WikiCommons
New Yorkers on the go often face a familiar dilemma: finding a public restroom in a city of immense luxury yet with too few facilities across the five boroughs. On Saturday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a $4 million pilot program to address the shortage, publishing a request for proposals (RFP) for high-quality modular public restrooms that can be installed quickly and more cheaply than traditional public facilities. Similar to facilities already in use in cities like Los Angeles and Portland, the modular units can operate without direct connection to the city’s sewer and water lines, speeding installation.
NYC currently has about 1,000 public restrooms across the five boroughs, roughly 70 percent of which are located in parks—meaning there’s only one bathroom for every 8,500 residents. The new initiative aims to dramatically increase the number of public restrooms citywide, including in public plazas, making them more accessible to everyday New Yorkers.
Under the pilot, the city plans to install 20 to 30 new public restrooms. Mamdani said the city will issue the RFP within 100 days, with the installation timeline to follow.
Mamdani unveiled the program at 12th Avenue and St. Clair Place in West Harlem, where the Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to install a new public bathroom later this year. He described the program as a remedy to a “desperation that every New Yorker holds,” or in many cases, “struggles to hold.”
“It is a feeling that we all know too well,” Mamdani said. “You’re out in the city, the sun is out, you’re running an errand, spending a weekend afternoon with friends, or just going for a walk and then suddenly you feel it: you have to go to the bathroom.
He added, “In a city that has everything, the one thing that is often impossible to find is a public bathroom. In the greatest city in the world, you should not have to spend $9 to buy a coffee just to be able to find a little relief.”
Mamdani noted that the new West Harlem restroom will be self-cleaning, limited to 15-minute use periods, and maintained twice daily, as Gothamist reported.
The lack of public restrooms has long been a persistent issue that previous mayors have attempted to address, though with limited impact. In June 2024, former Mayor Eric Adams launched the “Ur In Luck” initiative, which aimed to build 46 new public restrooms and renovate 36 existing ones over five years.
Complementing Adams’ efforts, the City Council approved a bill in April to expand public restroom access, doubling the number of facilities from roughly 1,100 to 2,120 over the next decade.
In July, Adams announced the installation of five new “Portland Loos,” one in each borough, each costing $1 million. The modern restrooms are designed for year-round use and quick assembly. While costly, they remain far cheaper than traditional facilities, which can run between $3 million and $5 million, as 6sqft previously reported.
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