New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) is facing fresh criticism after unveiling a $4 million pilot program to install “self-cleaning” public bathrooms across the city, a move opponents say perfectly captures his priorities just days into his administration.
Mamdani announced the plan Saturday in West Harlem alongside City Council Speaker Julie Menin, framing the initiative as relief for what he described as “desperate” New Yorkers struggling to find public restrooms.
“Too many of our fellow New Yorkers feel a desperation too often in their lives,” Mamdani said. “Suddenly, you feel it. You have to go to the bathroom.”
The mayor argued that even in what he called “the greatest city in the world,” necessities like public restrooms remain shockingly difficult to access without spending money.
“In a city that has everything, the one thing that is often impossible to find is a public bathroom,” Mamdani said. “You should not have to spend $9 to buy a coffee just to be able to find a little relief.”
Under the proposal, the city would solicit bids within the next three months to install between 20 and 30 modular, self-cleaning bathrooms across the five boroughs.
One of the proposed locations is 12th Avenue and St. Clair Place, the site of Saturday’s announcement, where a public toilet already exists but has been neglected for years, according to Mamdani.
The new bathrooms would automatically clean themselves, limit each user to 15 minutes, and be serviced twice daily by maintenance crews, per the New York Post.
City officials did not specify where the remaining restrooms would be placed, when they would open, or how neighborhoods would be selected.
Supporters argue the bathrooms would reduce public urination in streets, sidewalks, and subway stations, a persistent issue worsened by the city’s growing homeless population.
Critics, however, say the plan reinforces claims that Mamdani is turning New York into what they mockingly call an open-air restroom.
The city currently has roughly 1,100 public restrooms serving about 8.6 million residents, a ratio long criticized as inadequate.
Last year, the City Council set a goal of building 2,100 new public bathrooms by 2035, a target many view as unrealistic given costs and bureaucracy.
Mamdani said traditional public bathrooms can cost more than $1 million each to build, a price tag he claims has discouraged expansion for decades.
He insisted the modular units would cost “far less than what we’ve come to expect in the city,” though no exact figures were provided.
Council Speaker Julie Menin backed the proposal, calling the lack of public restrooms “shameful” and sharing personal anecdotes as a mother of four.
“When they got to go, they got to go, and you don’t have a lot of time to find a bathroom,” Menin said.
The plan is one of Mamdani’s first major initiatives as mayor, and it arrives amid broader concerns over crime, homelessness, and strained city services.
As proposals move forward, critics are questioning whether millions spent on bathrooms address New Yorkers’ most urgent problems or simply symbolize misplaced priorities at City Hall.
