Relief on the way for 5 NYC parks getting public toilets in 2024

Five New York City parks will get new public restrooms starting next summer, the city Parks Department said Monday.

The Portland Loos, made by Oregon-based company Madden Fabrication, means relief for park goers in each borough starting in 2024 as part of a pilot program to bring more bathrooms to parks at a lower cost, The City first reported on Monday.

Designed by the city of Portland, the toilets look like metal kiosks with slated sides that make them semi-private in order to discourage illicit activities. Recipients include Irving Square Park in Bushwick, Hoyt Playground in Astoria, Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem, Joyce Kilmer Park in the South Bronx and Father Macris Park in the Graniteville section of Staten Island – all locations that don't already have public restrooms.

“We are installing Portland Loos in one park in each borough, in areas specifically chosen because they did not previously have bathrooms,” Parks Department spokesperson Meghan Lalor said. “This is a pilot to determine the feasibility of using this model in the future as an economical solution to building bathrooms in parks.”

The pre-fabricated metal kiosks cost $185,000 each, but the project’s total budget is $5.3 million, the department said. That’s still less than what building comfort stations in city parks has cost in the past. In 2019, The City reported that, on average, the department spent $3.6 million building bathrooms at their facilities.

Building public restrooms in the city has been a long, costly process for years for a number of reasons. The current pilot program’s discrepancy between the cost of the toilets and total price tag is due to installation, according to the department.

Because they’re being placed in parks where previously there was no bathroom, they require new utility tuns to provide water and electrical service on top of laying a foundation, prep work, and fencing.

“It’s going slower than normal,” said Evan Madden, sales manager at Madden Fabrications, when asked about getting the Portland Loo in New York City versus other cities he’s worked in. One obstacle, he said, was fulfilling complex city requirements that would allow construction to begin.

Madden said he’s had everything set since August, but the city has yet to actually order the toilets.

The department is also still looking for other options to expand the number of public restrooms at their facilities. Another pilot in Staten Island involves a modular comfort station where the facility is built indoors to avoid weather-related delays, and a composting toilet in Freshkills Park.

This story has been updated with comment from Madden Fabrications.