New York, NY – Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a new city initiative committing $4 million to expand access to public bathrooms, launching a program aimed at installing modular, high-quality restrooms across New York City on a faster timeline and at lower cost than previous projects.
The program directs the New York City Economic Development Corporation to issue a Request for Proposals within the administration’s first 100 days, seeking vendors to deliver modular public bathrooms modeled on systems already used in cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Portland. City officials said those systems have been installed within months and at a fraction of the cost of traditional restroom construction.
The announcement was made in West Harlem, where city officials finalized approvals for the New York City Department of Transportation to install a new public restroom at 12th Avenue and St. Clair Place later this year. The facility will be free to use, fully accessible, self-cleaning, and equipped with a water bottle filling station.
Officials said the new initiative is part of a broader effort to improve the public realm and expand access to basic infrastructure for residents, workers, and visitors. The city currently has nearly 1,000 public restrooms, about 70 percent of which are located in parks, leaving many neighborhoods and commercial corridors without access.
Under the program, additional public bathrooms are expected to be placed in areas such as public plazas and other high-traffic locations outside the parks system. City agencies, including DOT, will determine future sites.
City Council leaders noted the announcement aligns with existing legislation to significantly increase the number of public restrooms citywide in the coming years.
New York City has committed $4 million to rapidly expand public bathroom access through modular restroom installations, beginning with a new facility in West Harlem.