They’re flushing millions down the toilets.
The city dumped a whopping $5 million to install five new stainless steel toilets at public parks — even though the futuristic pods sell at a relatively cheap retail value of about $185,000.
The “Portland Loos” cost $1 million each with “additional site specific costs” that included related plumbing, electrical and pavement work that went along with the installation, officials said — but some Big Apple residents said the price tag is totally loo-dicrous.
“That frustrates me,” said Bushwick resident Tiv Adler, 29, at Irving Square Park in Brooklyn on Thursday. “I wish we could reallocate that money to more resources for the public.”
But others said when you gotta go, you gotta have somewhere to go — even though the pod at Hoyt Playground was locked Thursday afternoon.
NYC Parks
“At this point, I feel like we should actually be able to use it,” said Valeria Martinez, 23, who called the initiative a “waste of money.”
“I think it’ll probably take around a month or two for it to be gross, and be locked again probably,” she added.
The new toilets are part of a long-awaited $6 million pilot program, according to City Hall. Other spots where the facilities have been installed are Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx, Thomas Jefferson Park in Manhattan and Father Macris Park in Staten Island.
“Let’s be honest, when nature calls, New Yorkers shouldn’t have to cut their fun short,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.
“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 new locations were chosen in neighborhoods that needed some relief with more options for restrooms and many saw the cost as worth it.
“I think public restrooms are a huge issue,” said Williamsburg resident Mike Graffiti, 27. “Does a million sound a little steep? Yeah … there’s a lot of other factors that come into it, where it’s just expensive to do things in New York City because that’s how it is.”
But even the most optimistic New Yorkers were concerned about the cleanliness of the Portland Loos, first used in 2008 by the city in Oregon.
“Will it stay clean? We don’t know,” said Bushwick local Elise Verstraete, 39. “If they lock it at night, it may be, and as long as they maintain it.
“No one [bathroom] is ever that clean,” Verstraete added. “Plus, with the amount of homeless people that trickle in here in the evening, I believe they close [the park] down at night so that might be a good preventative measure, but I don’t think that’s going to stop it.”
The “deluxe” pods include a baby changing station, anti-graffiti walls, and angled louvers for officials to monitor criminal activity.
The facilities can also be connected to full utilities for year-round use, are ADA-accessible and are designed to last decades, if maintained properly.
The new potties are part of Adams’ June 2024 “Ur In Luck” initiative, which aims to expand public bathroom access citywide with nearly 50 new public bathrooms slated to be built and an additional 36 existing facilities set to be renovated through 2029.
