NEW YORK (AP) — Want to head to the Big Apple? There is some relief on the way.
New York City is not only getting more public restrooms, but it’s also making them easier to find with your smartphone.
Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan Monday to build 46 new restrooms and renovate 36 existing restrooms in city parks, adding to the city’s roughly 1,000 such facilities over the next five years.
The Democrat said the city has also developed a new Google Maps layer so people can easily find the locations of every public restroom operated by government agencies and community institutions, including libraries and at transit hubs.
“Part of making New York City a more livable city is addressing the little things — the things we don’t think about until we need them,” Adams said in a statement launching the effort, which is government has called “Ur in Luck”. ”
The lack of public toilets has long been a problem in a city where more than half of households do not own a car and large numbers of tourists explore the sights on foot and by metro. It can be especially difficult for parents of young children, pregnant women, seniors and people with medical conditions, officials noted at a news conference.
New Yorker Teddy Siegel created a now wildly popular social media account and online map dedicated to public restrooms in the city “after almost having an accident in Times Square” in 2021. She welcomed the additional amenities Monday.
“Over the past three years, I have learned from my community that the lack of publicly accessible restrooms in New York City is not only a quality of life and public health problem, but also an equity crisis,” says Siegel, whose own crowdsourced got2gonyc- map contains more than 2,000 places where you can find a facility.
The mayor said 28 of the new or renovated restrooms will be in Manhattan, 23 in Brooklyn, 14 in Queens, 10 in the Bronx and seven on Staten Island.
The existing restrooms being renovated will receive improvements ranging from additional stalls to accessibility improvements, as well as energy-efficient features, Adams said.
The Google Maps layer will be updated biannually and will include restrooms operated by the city parks department, local transit agencies and the city’s library systems, he said. Data on the city’s public toilets will also be available via Open Data.
Last month, the Adams administration said baby changing tables were being installed in all restrooms in city parks where possible.
“Public bathrooms are essential to a well-managed and welcoming public realm,” the Alliance for Public Space Leadership, a local advocacy group, said in a statement. “They ensure that New Yorkers can use public spaces more often and for longer.”
