Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
City Council seeks to tackle public bathroom equity with new restrooms for every zip code
By
Jessica Gould
Published Apr 30, 2022
Modified May 2, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
John Lamparski/Getty Images
By
Jessica Gould
Published Apr 30, 2022
Modified May 2, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
When you gotta go, you gotta go. But in New York City, the question is often: Where? The five boroughs have among the fewest public bathrooms per capita of any big city in the United States.
Now a City Council member has introduced legislation that would require the Adams administration to identify at least one new restroom location per zip code within the next year.
“Restroom equity doesn’t get the attention that it deserves, but it’s a critical human rights issue,” Brooklyn Councilmember Rita Joseph, who introduced the bill, wrote in a tweet.
The bill calls on the Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks and Recreation to consider input from the public and community boards in identifying the new potties.
The pandemic underscored the bathroom emergency. With so many restaurants and businesses closed, New Yorkers relied even more on public lavatories, which are difficult to find and often in deep disrepair.
According to a 2019 report from former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, there are only 16 “comfort stations” in parks per 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, restrooms located in subway stations that shuttered during the pandemic remain closed.
Crain’s New York Business reporter Aaron Elstein has written extensively on the topic. In an interview with Gothamist in March, he traced the problem back to the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, when the city closed bathrooms to save money. “When the city hit the rocks financially, the city's bathrooms really went into the toilet, and no one's been able to fix the problem ever since,” Elstein told Gothamist.
Elstein said one challenge is the multiple levels of bureaucracy involved in approving a new bathroom. Some business and neighborhood groups have also been resistant, citing concerns about the restrooms attracting unhoused people or drug users.
If the bill passes, agencies would have to recommend the new sites by June 2023.
This article has been updated to clarify that Council Member Joseph introduced the bill and was not a co-sponsor.
Tagged
new york city
public bathroom
restroom
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .