Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 01, 2025
No. 31
www.nyc.gov/parks
MAYOR ADAMS AND NYC PARKS COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ-ROSA CONTINUE “WE OUTSIDE SUMMER” BY ANNOUNCING NEW PUBLIC RESTROOMS ARE NOW OPEN IN ALL FIVE BOROUGHS, EXPANDING BATHROOM ACCESS CITYWIDE
MAYOR ADAMS AND NYC PARKS COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ-ROSA
CONTINUE “WE OUTSIDE SUMMER” BY ANNOUNCING NEW PUBLIC
RESTROOMS ARE NOW OPEN IN ALL FIVE BOROUGHS,
EXPANDING BATHROOM ACCESS CITYWIDE
Sleek, Ready-Made Toilets Get Built Faster and for Fraction of the Cost
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa today celebrated the installation of five brand-new toilets, also known as “Portland Loos,” at parks across the five boroughs, the city’s latest investment in expanding bathroom access to all New Yorkers. The $6 million pilot program identified five neighborhoods with insufficient access to public restrooms to serve as the first five homes for the futuristic, ready-made, public restrooms, which cost a fraction of the price of a traditional public restroom building and take less time to build. As “We Outside Summer” continues, this announcement ensures more New Yorkers can have a safe, enjoyable summer in New York City outside.
The new facilities are part of “Ur In Luck” — an effort launched by Mayor Adams in June 2024 to expand New Yorkers’ access to public restrooms across all five boroughs — and are the latest example of the Adams administration’s commitment to expanding access to public restrooms so New Yorkers can enjoy uninterrupted time in the city’s shared parks and natural areas. The Adams administration is investing over $150 million through 2029 to construct new public restrooms and renovate existing facilities, as outlined in the “Vital Parks for All” framework.
“Let’s be honest, when nature calls, New Yorkers shouldn’t have to cut their fun short. Today, we are relieving one of the biggest obstacles to enjoying our parks and public spaces,” 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.”
“As the largest provider of public restrooms in New York City, NYC Parks is committed to delivering on our mission to care for park visitors by providing safe and clean amenities,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Rodriguez-Rosa. “We are excited to welcome the first of these innovative, ADA-accessible restrooms to all five boroughs to give New Yorkers more options when they need relief.”
As part of Ur In Luck, NYC Parks committed to build 46 new restrooms and renovate 36 existing restrooms through 2029, and the city unveiled a Google Maps layer that New Yorkers can activate on their phones to easily find the locations of every public restroom operated by a wide-range of agencies and civic institutions citywide.
First developed in Portland, Oregon, the “Loo” is a sleek, metallic facility that is easy to maintain and can be installed for a fraction of the price of a traditional restroom. The ready-made units include a baby changing station and can be connected to full utilities for year-round use.
While traditional public restrooms typically cost at least $3.5 million to construct, each Loo was constructed for only $1 million per location, plus some additional site-specific costs. The Loo can also be constructed up to a full year faster than a traditional public restroom. In addition to being faster and more cost efficient, the toilets are prefabricated, meaning most of the parts have been made in the factory and just need to be assembled when they arrive on-site. This allows for increased quality control of the construction, limits the time and impact construction has on the public, and reduces weather-related delays.
Currently, 70 percent of New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of the over 700 restrooms across the five boroughs managed by NYC Parks. The department identified five neighborhoods that were underserved by the existing public restroom network to host the first five Loos in New York City.
The new toilets are installed at Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx, Irving Square Park in Brooklyn, Thomas Jefferson Park in Manhattan, Hoyt Playground in Queens, and Father Macris Park in Staten Island. Public access to restrooms in parks can be found through the Vital Parks Explorer, a digital tool that connects New Yorkers with the many resources that NYC Parks offers people across the city, in their local communities and even on their specific blocks.
The “Better Bathrooms” strategic initiative unveiled through the Vital Parks for All framework outlines an investment of over $150 million in restroom construction and renovations. Using a combination of innovative design, construction approaches and partnerships, NYC Parks plans to complete 46 brand-new public restrooms to open to the public by 2029. Additionally, 36 more public restrooms will receive full renovations by 2029, extending the lifetimes of these vital facilities. NYC Parks is also investing in clean and accessible restrooms with the Second Shift program, which devotes an additional shift of cleaning to 200 hotspots across 121 parks citywide, including at public restrooms.
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