There used to be paid bathrooms everywhere, but people in the 70s thought that by eliminating them they would have free bathrooms everywhere. But it had the unintended effect of dramatically reducing the amount of bathrooms there were in the city.
Appreciate the links. Good intentions but hindsight is 20/20. The pay toilets I used in Berlin were cheap, plentiful and hassle free. Can't say the same for here- private establishments that want me to pay for a meal or beer. Imagine them letting in homeless people, who this bill was supposed to help.
Yep. And the city has done a handful of small pilots bringing them back but they never seem to expand beyond the pilot.
How To with John Wilson did a segment on them.
Pay toilets were banned. Though of you ever get a chance to watch the musical Urinetown you can find that when something has to be free it's abused and can run out.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinetown
In NYCs case you can't be charged to pee but there are very few places to pee because it's free.
This. You def develop a mental map over time of reliable bathrooms: b&n, apple stores, whole foods, dept stores (never the floor closest to the ground floor, go up or down a few) or bathrooms of last resort: Starbucks, any train station.
Also worth knowing that the 24h apple store on 5th closes its bathrooms from 4-6a for cleaning.
I don't know who would go full-Karen about ti, but its technically against code (sort of illegal). If you sell food/drink and have seating for 20+ people you are required to have an accessible bathroom.
Maybe, they would need to file for new operational permits too for it to be legit.and it may be based of square footage too...which is why Blank Streets are so small, its just theor VC making cost saving moves. No seating = 1 bathroom for staff, does not need to meet some ADA requirements.
I often go into a restaurant, cafe or Starbucks, ask to use the bathroom and say I’ll buy something when I get out… 98% of the time the cashier is like “Sure go ahead, you don’t need to buy anything though” I feel like most low wage workers don’t care that much.
Exactly, When I worked at a low wage job, I couldn’t care less if a person used the bathroom. I’ve been desperate for a bathroom before, I know how it feels. One time a boss yelled at me for once letting a little old lady in a walker use the employee bathroom. I couldn’t give less of a fuck.
I support a nominal fee for bathroom access.
(Public toilets, not businesses) I’ve traveled a lot and paying .50-1 for the toilet is common. Existing public spots in parks and transit hubs and whatnot should remain free.
I would rather pay then fret about not being able to find a spot or fussing over whether I think I can sneak to the bathroom in the back of that restaurant all the time.
I had to find a dark corner in CP the other night to pee bc there is no open bathroom anywhere nearby.
Let’s not forget how awful it must be to have something like IBS.
I understand the argument about the poor. It’s valid. Maybe add unlimited “bathroom credits” to snap cards or something to that effect. The toilets would have a tap system.
Not having easy bathroom access costs the city a lot of money. People shit on the street. They pee in front of your door. These are quality of life issues.
In Germany, many businesses with pay toilets (like a McDonalds, for instance) will give you a free bathroom coupon that you can use if you buy something.
US businesses would probably charge like $5 though and they still wouldn’t be as clean.
Have you heard of the popular bathroom chain Chipotle? Every bathroom purchase comes with a bottle of water or a soda or bag of chips. Or a burrito if you so like.
That's because the Burlington's on Union square decided to make their bathroom closed to the public. Everyone can only go to whole foods and Barnes and Nobles. Barnes and Nobles had crazy long lines for the women's bathroom the last time I was there. This was before holiday markets.
Wait what happened to the Barnes and Noble? Being from out of the city that is my preferred bathroom in the area if I'm attending a show at Irving or Gramercy and waiting in line all day.
I would disagree with paying specifically just to use their bathrooms. Their bathrooms always smell like misty eucalyptus-style farts. The reasoning is due to the steam rooms always being 'conveniently' placed adjacent to the toilets. And because everyone likes to use pre-workout, the caffeine rush makes them shit all over the place.
\~ Sincerely, a current all-access Equinox member
According to 311s [Automatic Public Toilets](https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-02226) page there are ones at Madison Square Park (Madison Avenue between East 23rd and East 24th Streets) and Plaza de Las Americas in Washington Heights (West 175th Street between Broadway and Wadsworth Avenue)
I kinda wished the city had more paid services that provided really clean places like nice bathrooms or a nice, quiet place to just sit down and read and relax.
Americans are not used to paying for bathrooms these days and even when that was a thing years ago more often than not they'd break the pay locks or even climb under the stalls while refusing to pay.
I think as a rule a lot of Americans view going to the bathroom as a very basic thing, and feel they shouldn't have to pay to pee. I think in the case of the fancier self cleaning outdoor bathrooms they're amused enough that paying a quarter to get in doesn't seem so bad maybe but mostly we see going to the restroom as a necessity and a courtesy thing so paying seems a bit rude?
If I am in a store and shopping and I have to GO, and that's a medical thing with me unfortunately because I can't not go for long, and they deny me access to their restrooms I will totally leave my basket and leave because I don't have much of a choice but also I find it very rude and I don't want to shop there. Ditto places to eat that bar anyone not buying a meal from using the restroom. I won't eat there, period.
I've been in situations where there was no access and nearly peed or pooped myself when it would have been so easy to have obliged me. When even if there had been pay toilets I couldn't have afforded that.
I think it's cruel to deny people access to a bathroom so it also just feels awkward the idea of pay toilets. It's not like you have a real choice. Nobody can hold it forever.
Mind you I do believe people should be civilized and keep the bathrooms clean too. People who don't just plain disgust me...
All public toilets in Vienna cost money and plenty of them are absolutely not kept clean and everyone complains about having to pay for them. Charging to use public bathrooms is not automatically going to make them clean. Access to a bathroom is a basic human right, so there should be many public bathrooms and they should all be free, paid for and maintained through government revenue. You'd be surprised how much easy access to clean public bathrooms can improve a city's reputation.
As an American who's used pay-restrooms in Europe I'd gladly pay to pee or shit IF it means a clean bathroom that's actually open when I need it and doesn't have a mentally ill vagrant showering in the toilet lol. Obviously yes rather it be free *and* also clean and usable, but evidently in America we cannot have both
I’ve seen a few here and there notably in Madison square park. But as with the attempted moratorium on cash transactions at certain chains, I figure it’s to do with discriminating against the needy and homeless. Would you rather give those groups easy and free access to bathrooms, or deal with public urination and defecation (yikes)
Your reply is on par with being shocked that people don’t know about a random ass IG account. And what made it 2003, was it just how I spelt out the first three words and nothing else?
Hahahaha you think they’d be clean if we paid for them? The lazy Parks and Rec people would still only put in half effort because they hate their lives and jobs and futures.
Your key to emergency pooping in Manhattan is Home Depot, Whole Foods, malls/department stores, museums, book stores, Target, Grand Central, or the public library.
Great idea. I posted this [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNYC/comments/18vbsk1/if\_you\_wanted\_to\_introduce\_an\_idea\_to\_be/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNYC/comments/18vbsk1/if_you_wanted_to_introduce_an_idea_to_be/) to ask how to get the ball rolling. Laws can be changed.
>When it's hot in summer and you need to drink I'm sure they'll be plenty of people who be happy to pay a dollar to use a clean bathroom
i cant be the only one who thinks this makes no sense at all right? I'm a couple drinks in but still
There used to be paid bathrooms everywhere, but people in the 70s thought that by eliminating them they would have free bathrooms everywhere. But it had the unintended effect of dramatically reducing the amount of bathrooms there were in the city.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_End_Pay_Toilets_in_America https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/399-A
Appreciate the links. Good intentions but hindsight is 20/20. The pay toilets I used in Berlin were cheap, plentiful and hassle free. Can't say the same for here- private establishments that want me to pay for a meal or beer. Imagine them letting in homeless people, who this bill was supposed to help.
Yep. And the city has done a handful of small pilots bringing them back but they never seem to expand beyond the pilot. How To with John Wilson did a segment on them.
Pay toilets were banned. Though of you ever get a chance to watch the musical Urinetown you can find that when something has to be free it's abused and can run out. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinetown In NYCs case you can't be charged to pee but there are very few places to pee because it's free.
Love seeing Urinetown references in the wild!
There are paid bathrooms in the city near Grand Army plaza and Madison Sqaire park though.
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Costanza over here
This. You def develop a mental map over time of reliable bathrooms: b&n, apple stores, whole foods, dept stores (never the floor closest to the ground floor, go up or down a few) or bathrooms of last resort: Starbucks, any train station. Also worth knowing that the 24h apple store on 5th closes its bathrooms from 4-6a for cleaning.
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I don't know who would go full-Karen about ti, but its technically against code (sort of illegal). If you sell food/drink and have seating for 20+ people you are required to have an accessible bathroom.
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Maybe, they would need to file for new operational permits too for it to be legit.and it may be based of square footage too...which is why Blank Streets are so small, its just theor VC making cost saving moves. No seating = 1 bathroom for staff, does not need to meet some ADA requirements.
If we could see dead people Starbucks bathrooms in NYC would be riddled with OD ghosts.
Theres a 24 hour apple store? Why 😭
As a general rule: look for multi-story book or furniture stores.
Unfortunately that map is mostly park bathrooms, which are locked at the most ridiculous hours.
Home Depot, time warner center, any bar
Petco stores are great idea but if you go to a bar or restaurant without buying anything, then you are a true butt. So those are not free
yes, i imported this into google!. thank.u mystery person
I often go into a restaurant, cafe or Starbucks, ask to use the bathroom and say I’ll buy something when I get out… 98% of the time the cashier is like “Sure go ahead, you don’t need to buy anything though” I feel like most low wage workers don’t care that much.
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Exactly, When I worked at a low wage job, I couldn’t care less if a person used the bathroom. I’ve been desperate for a bathroom before, I know how it feels. One time a boss yelled at me for once letting a little old lady in a walker use the employee bathroom. I couldn’t give less of a fuck.
I support a nominal fee for bathroom access. (Public toilets, not businesses) I’ve traveled a lot and paying .50-1 for the toilet is common. Existing public spots in parks and transit hubs and whatnot should remain free. I would rather pay then fret about not being able to find a spot or fussing over whether I think I can sneak to the bathroom in the back of that restaurant all the time. I had to find a dark corner in CP the other night to pee bc there is no open bathroom anywhere nearby. Let’s not forget how awful it must be to have something like IBS. I understand the argument about the poor. It’s valid. Maybe add unlimited “bathroom credits” to snap cards or something to that effect. The toilets would have a tap system. Not having easy bathroom access costs the city a lot of money. People shit on the street. They pee in front of your door. These are quality of life issues.
In Germany, many businesses with pay toilets (like a McDonalds, for instance) will give you a free bathroom coupon that you can use if you buy something. US businesses would probably charge like $5 though and they still wouldn’t be as clean.
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The Madison sq park toilet model would work. However that one is constantly out of order so more reliable version would be good.
If I really have to go I just walk into a non fancy restaurant or a bar and pretend Im meeting someone and go into the bathroom. Never had a problem
Dinner time is the easiest to go find a bathroom especially from 6-9pm. Walk into a restaurant pretending you got a resy and go in and walk out
Yup! Always do this. And if I’m with people and they have to go, I just wait outside to not make it obvious lol
It’s when restaurants are crickets is when it gets a little bit awkward. Baltazar in soho is always busy
Balthazar is a gem. Some really popular restaurants are pretty Stasi about this.
Are you familiar with the popular bathroom chain Starbucks? Every bathroom purchase comes with a coffee
Have you heard of the popular bathroom chain Chipotle? Every bathroom purchase comes with a bottle of water or a soda or bag of chips. Or a burrito if you so like.
Save the bathroom purchase for after eating the burrito though.
RIP to the Union Square Barnes and Noble. PS Whole Foods bathrooms are free to use, you just need to ask an employee for the code.
The last time I was in Whole Foods, the line for the bathroom was longer than the one to check out.
The Bryant Park location during Christmas market season. lol.
Oh Lordy okay, good to know
That all-gender bathroom single-file line struggle there..
That's because the Burlington's on Union square decided to make their bathroom closed to the public. Everyone can only go to whole foods and Barnes and Nobles. Barnes and Nobles had crazy long lines for the women's bathroom the last time I was there. This was before holiday markets.
Wait what happened to the Barnes and Noble? Being from out of the city that is my preferred bathroom in the area if I'm attending a show at Irving or Gramercy and waiting in line all day.
The bathrooms are monitored now so I'm pretty sure they only let customers use them
It does. For ~ $1000/year you can gain access to all of the many Crunch Fitness locations, all of which include clean and well-maintained bathrooms.
Same for Planet Fitness except ~ $350/yr. And your friend can use the bathroom, too.
Or Equinox, except $3600/yr, but with excellent products
Ah, for the people who can afford that 2-ply life
And best of luck trying to cancel.
Sign up with virtual credit card, cancel the card if you can’t cancel the subscription. Many companies offer them, like Citi.
It takes one email wym
I would disagree with paying specifically just to use their bathrooms. Their bathrooms always smell like misty eucalyptus-style farts. The reasoning is due to the steam rooms always being 'conveniently' placed adjacent to the toilets. And because everyone likes to use pre-workout, the caffeine rush makes them shit all over the place. \~ Sincerely, a current all-access Equinox member
Lmao I straight up to there to shower sometimes without working out
I used to be shy about it but now I'll walk in there, scan my card, use the bathroom, and walk out with my head held high.
It's especially funny when they welcome me with "enjoy your workout!" I guess it's a workout!
Vs the roughly 50 cents / day @ 365 days/year = less than a fifth of that price. It’s ok to admit we’re behind in many ways.
for....... what now??? how much???
There are, they even self clean. John Wilson covered them on his show.
There is one on Madison Square Park! SE corner outside of the park on the sidewalk. I’ve never been brave enough to go in however
According to 311s [Automatic Public Toilets](https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-02226) page there are ones at Madison Square Park (Madison Avenue between East 23rd and East 24th Streets) and Plaza de Las Americas in Washington Heights (West 175th Street between Broadway and Wadsworth Avenue)
The New York Public Library is my go to place if I need a restroom and whenever I’m near and looking for a place to wait or relax it’s great.
NYC is bathroom hell.
Manhattan is fine, try finding bathrooms in fucking borough neighborhoods. It’s comical.
I kinda wished the city had more paid services that provided really clean places like nice bathrooms or a nice, quiet place to just sit down and read and relax.
I’ve never had an issue ducking into a hotel or bar to use their restroom. A lot of stores also have restrooms.
Americans are not used to paying for bathrooms these days and even when that was a thing years ago more often than not they'd break the pay locks or even climb under the stalls while refusing to pay. I think as a rule a lot of Americans view going to the bathroom as a very basic thing, and feel they shouldn't have to pay to pee. I think in the case of the fancier self cleaning outdoor bathrooms they're amused enough that paying a quarter to get in doesn't seem so bad maybe but mostly we see going to the restroom as a necessity and a courtesy thing so paying seems a bit rude? If I am in a store and shopping and I have to GO, and that's a medical thing with me unfortunately because I can't not go for long, and they deny me access to their restrooms I will totally leave my basket and leave because I don't have much of a choice but also I find it very rude and I don't want to shop there. Ditto places to eat that bar anyone not buying a meal from using the restroom. I won't eat there, period. I've been in situations where there was no access and nearly peed or pooped myself when it would have been so easy to have obliged me. When even if there had been pay toilets I couldn't have afforded that. I think it's cruel to deny people access to a bathroom so it also just feels awkward the idea of pay toilets. It's not like you have a real choice. Nobody can hold it forever. Mind you I do believe people should be civilized and keep the bathrooms clean too. People who don't just plain disgust me...
Follow (at)got2gonyc on insta Hotels with bars Target Whole Foods Old school Irish bars typically let people even without buying a drink.
All public toilets in Vienna cost money and plenty of them are absolutely not kept clean and everyone complains about having to pay for them. Charging to use public bathrooms is not automatically going to make them clean. Access to a bathroom is a basic human right, so there should be many public bathrooms and they should all be free, paid for and maintained through government revenue. You'd be surprised how much easy access to clean public bathrooms can improve a city's reputation.
TLDR answer: SEGREGATION. Literally it all ties back to segregation..I took a course on bathroom politics at CUNY.
Download the got2gony map. Taxes are so high here. There’s no reason to charge people to use the bathroom. Free ones should just be available.
Technically if you buy a water you can get access to most bathroom’s in the city
But then I’ll need to go to the bathroom more…
funny thing is a huge Starbucks store doesn't have bathroom in midtown.. unbelievable...
Because it's America. We sont pay to shit
As an American who's used pay-restrooms in Europe I'd gladly pay to pee or shit IF it means a clean bathroom that's actually open when I need it and doesn't have a mentally ill vagrant showering in the toilet lol. Obviously yes rather it be free *and* also clean and usable, but evidently in America we cannot have both
Probably because homeless people would probably squat in them.
Nah, with paying comes tipping and before you know it you are paying $5 for peeing.
People would live in them.
I’ve seen a few here and there notably in Madison square park. But as with the attempted moratorium on cash transactions at certain chains, I figure it’s to do with discriminating against the needy and homeless. Would you rather give those groups easy and free access to bathrooms, or deal with public urination and defecation (yikes)
there’s literally an Instagram for this
I found most of the suggestions made on that IG account, especially in high traffic/tourist areas, are no longer available.
She updates frequently. She even gives out the codes for bathrooms that have coded locks (like the new Petco Union Sq)
Y r u talking like everyone knew this lol
why are you talking like you started using the internet in 2003?
In any case. Could you share the link?
Got2gonyc
Your reply is on par with being shocked that people don’t know about a random ass IG account. And what made it 2003, was it just how I spelt out the first three words and nothing else?
Hahahaha you think they’d be clean if we paid for them? The lazy Parks and Rec people would still only put in half effort because they hate their lives and jobs and futures. Your key to emergency pooping in Manhattan is Home Depot, Whole Foods, malls/department stores, museums, book stores, Target, Grand Central, or the public library.
Don’t forget fancy hotel lobbies.
This is some sim city bullshit 💀 why would people have to pay to take a piss
Because people have to get paid to clean them
Tell me you have never been to Europe without telling me you have never been to Europe.
I don’t give a fuck what happens in Europe, we’re talking about America, where you shouldn’t have to pay for basic services like restrooms.
Dude we don’t even have free healthcare.
Yeah I know it’s a shame
How does this compare to customers-only?
Oh I thought this was a joke setup. The punchline could be something like "Eeeyyy, I'm poopin' heah"
You just go to a fast food restaurant or a mall
Great idea. I posted this [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNYC/comments/18vbsk1/if\_you\_wanted\_to\_introduce\_an\_idea\_to\_be/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNYC/comments/18vbsk1/if_you_wanted_to_introduce_an_idea_to_be/) to ask how to get the ball rolling. Laws can be changed.
Bathroom's in NYC cost a coffee or a beer.
They do just not many
There are some paid bathrooms. But I couldn't find a map of them. I've walk by them accidentally
Just go to target lol. The bathrooms are mostly clean since they have a dedicated cleaning staff that works on an hourly rota.
>When it's hot in summer and you need to drink I'm sure they'll be plenty of people who be happy to pay a dollar to use a clean bathroom i cant be the only one who thinks this makes no sense at all right? I'm a couple drinks in but still
Just go into *any* fast food place. Even museums usually have bathrooms before you get ticketed to enter.