Image Credit: Daniel Avila/NYC Parks.
On September 5, 2024, the City Council released Nature’s Call, a report about the functionality and conditions of over 100 restrooms in city parks. The report followed an investigation led by the Council’s Oversight and Investigation Division in partnership with the Council’s Community Engagement Division and Parks Committee Chair Council Member Shekar Krishnan’s office. The report found that two-thirds of the inspected restrooms – or 68 out of 102 – were closed or had sanitary or safety issues.
A prevalence of litter was found in 40 percent and unsanitary conditions were found in 23 percent of the bathrooms inspected. A lack of garbage cans were found in 30 percent of restrooms. Only 8 percent of the restrooms had menstrual product bins, and nearly a quarter of the inspected restrooms were missing baby changing stations. Of the inspected bathrooms, 30 percent of men’s restrooms and 17 percent of women’s restrooms were missing baby changing stations. Thirteen percent of inspected stalls lacked toilet paper, and ten percent of restrooms lacked soap. Only one restroom had menstrual products available.
The full report can be read here.
Council Member Gail Brewer, Chair of the Committee on Oversight and Investigation stated, “This is a topic that gets discussed often, but never resolved. Many of the restrooms would benefit greatly from simple fixes, such as replacing sinks or toilets. Others need much more. I urge the Administration to allocate funding for necessary bathroom upgrades. The staff at the Parks Department, along with the Central Park and Riverside Park Conservancies in my district, work very hard to keep the bathrooms usable, but the facilities need long-term solutions.”
Parks Committee Chair Krishnan stated, “Public bathrooms, just like paved roads, schools, or fire stations, are critical infrastructure for New York City families. Unfortunately, the City Council’s own inspections of park bathrooms across the five boroughs frequently found broken locks, empty toilet paper holders, and wet, dirty floors. The solution to this mess is clear: to provide the safe, clean public bathrooms that New Yorkers deserve, we need to stop cutting and start investing in our NYC Parks.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)