For some Washington Heights residents, not finding a bathroom in a pinch is one of the most exasperating things to experience. Many agree on one thing: more public toilets are needed in the city.
“That’s why you see that sometimes they pee wherever they want,” said a neighbor.
“Sometimes we need a bathroom and we can’t find where,” added another neighbor.
That’s why Councilmember Mark Levine, who represents parts of Washington Heights and Harlem, introduced a bill that if passed would add at least one public toilet to every ZIP code in New York, including 4 for Washington Heights and Inwood.
“It would be a good, great idea, although it would be somewhat expensive for the same state but it would also be much healthier,” said another neighbor.
Public bathroom.
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The bill would require the Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks to consult with community boards and residents to choose locations and discuss the costs and challenges associated with installing public restrooms.
“The lack of public toilets is a health crisis. There are about a thousand available for a city of 8 million people, compare that with Singapore, which has only 5 million inhabitants and more than 30 thousand public toilets,” said the councilor. Levine.
According Restrooms4All, a coalition pushing for more public toilets in the city, since 1940 the number of public toilets has dropped from more than 3,000 to about 1,100 city-wide. 680 of them enter public parks, which are not available at all hours of the day.
“People who are of a certain age, who have problems with their kidneys or problems holding urine go through a lot of work and a lot of pain,” added another neighbor.
According to Council Member Levine, the automatic type of toilet is the easiest and cheapest to install in the entire city. It only costs 25 cents to use and is automatically cleaned and sanitized after each use.
15 of these automated public toilets were purchased during Mayor Bloomberg’s administration but ten years later, only five have been installed, including this one in the Plaza de Las Americas in Washington Heights.
“That they put more bathrooms, they are needed”, asked another neighbor.
Councilmember Levine looks forward to holding public hearings on this issue when the council returns to legislate in September.
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