New York City To Welcome Modular Public Bathrooms Into Its Parks

While New York City is home to the iconic 843-acre Central Park, only the fifth-largest in the city, it’s still lacking in one amenity that would make picnics or leisurely strolls through the greenery more convenient: public restrooms.

Thankfully, the Department of Parks and Recreation has finally moved to test modular public bathrooms at five locations across the city, one for each borough. These pre-fabricated modular toilets—known as Portland Loos—have already been rolled out in Seattle, Boston, and Portland.

While they look like simple metal newspaper stands, these “comfort stations” cost a pretty penny, with Archinect reporting that the agency will be shelling out US$185,000 for each restroom. Each of them will include a toilet, changing table, and hand-washing station.

According to The City, the pilot program will likely place these bathrooms at Irving Square in Bushwick, Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem, Hoyt Playground in Astoria, Father Macris Park in Staten Island, and Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx.

Parks Department spokesperson Meghan Lalor told the publication the trial would be used to “determine the feasibility” of deploying more of similar modular toilets as a more affordable solution than building restrooms from scratch in every park.

For those worried about illict behavior happening within the stalls, authorities already have that covered, and will install metal slats in each toilet to provide privacy while ensuring there is enough sight so no hanky panky takes place.

[via Archinect and Time Out, images via New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]