Mayor Mamdani Announces New Commitment to Expand Access to Public Bathrooms

h. nazan ışık

10 January 2026

“Currently, there are nearly 1,000 public restrooms in the city, or about one per 8,500 New Yorkers,”  Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Saturday at a press conference at 12th Avenue and St. Clair Place in West Harlem. 

Are “nearly 1,000 public restrooms in the city” enough for the entire population and for visitors? 

Mayor Mamdani, who announced a public bathroom pilot program in West Harlem at the press conference, answered the question.

Mayor Mamdani and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin at Saturday’s press conference. (Screenshot from YouTupe)

“I speak of a desperation that every New Yorker holds or struggles to hold. (…..) It is a feeling that we all know too well. You are out in the city with friends. You suddenly feel it. You have to go to the bathroom.  

“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,” he added.

Mayor Mamdani announced a new program to expand access to public bathrooms across the city, on Saturday at 12th Avenue and St. Clair Place in West Harlem, where he and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin signed the final approvals for New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) to install a new public bathroom on the site later this year. 

Mayor Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin signed the final approval.  (Screenshot from You Tube) 

Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is a mother of four, said: “So many times (my kids) have to go to the bathroom. They got to go, they got to go, and you don’t have a lot of time to find a bathroom.” 

“New Yorkers should not have to be worried about where to go, when they have to go. We are flushing that worry away. We want to make the city a more livable city, it means making it easier for New Yorkers to access a bathroom” she added.

Mayor Mamdani announced the city would commit $4 million to a  Request      for Proposals  (RFP) for high-quality modular public restrooms that would not need to be connected to the city’s deep sewer and water lines.  “These modular public restrooms will be self-cleaning, limited to 15-minute use periods, and have maintenance performed twice a day,” he said.

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