|
Monday, June 3, 2024
News, updates and more from NYC Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr.
Maria Febus
MAYOR ADAMS LAUNCHES “UR IN LUCK,” NEW EFFORT TO MAKE NYC PUBLIC RESTROOMS MORE ACCESSIBLE, EQUITABLE
82 New and Refurbished Restrooms Will Come Online Citywide in Next Five Years, City Will Site 14 Additional Automatic Public Toilets in Next Two Years
City Releases Google Maps Layer with Nearest Public Restrooms
Announcement Comes as NYC Parks Recently Completed Expansion of Changing Tables to All Feasible Public Restrooms, Three Years Ahead of Schedule
New York City Mayor Eric Adams today launched “Ur In Luck,” a new effort to expand New Yorkers’ access to public restrooms across all five boroughs, including in Flushing. Over the next five years, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) will build 46 new restrooms and renovate 36 existing restrooms, adding to New York City’s nearly 1,000 existing public restrooms. Once all the restrooms are complete, 10 are slated to be placed in the Bronx, 23 in Brooklyn, 28 in Manhattan, 14 in Queens, and seven on Staten Island. The 36 existing restrooms being renovated will receive improvements ranging from additional stalls to accessibility upgrades, as well as energy efficient features. At the same time, the city is making wayfinding to the city’s public restrooms better in time for summer by introducing a new Google Maps layer that New Yorkers can activate on their phones to easily find the locations of every public restroom operated by a wide-range of agencies and civic institutions citywide.
“Part of making New York City a more livable city is tackling the little things — the things we don’t think about until we need them,” said Mayor Adams. “Access to public restrooms is high on that list, maybe even number one or two. We’ve already added changing tables to all NYC Parks public restrooms where it’s feasible — three years ahead of schedule. The new and renovated bathrooms we’ll deliver over the next five years will make it easier for New Yorkers to embrace the best parts of this city: our shared outdoors spaces. And our new Google Maps layer will make it easier to find relief when you’ve got to go. ‘Ur in’ luck, New York.”
“Need a bathroom, ‘ur in’ luck!” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Everyone — seniors, parents with kids, anyone enjoying the day outdoors, needs access to a public bathroom without having to buy anything or beg for a code. Public bathrooms are critical infrastructure for New York City, where people are always out and about. We’re making New York City a little easier and more livable, one public restroom at a time.”
“New Yorkers deserve accessible, well-maintained public restrooms — and we’re delivering. NYC Parks is leading the way with innovative initiatives and partnerships to build these vital public resources more quickly and efficiently,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “By creatively bringing new and improved bathrooms to New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs, we’re ensuring that visitors to our parks can access the amenities they need, when they need them. We’re grateful to the Adams administration for this innovative map and their vital investment in restroom access, just the latest step in our shared work of making New York City even more green, livable, and equitable for all.”
“The Adams administration is reimagining our streets through the creation of more public plazas than ever before, and expanding access to public restrooms makes these spaces more welcoming and creates a more hospitable environment for everyone that lives, works, and visits New York City,” said New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “We’re excited to participate in this new task force to site 14 new automatic public toilets as part of this broader effort to improve restroom access.”
“From ‘privately-owned public spaces’ to parks, bathrooms are an important part of New York’s public spaces, and this increased access will help New Yorkers across the city when nature calls,” said New York City Department of City Planning Director and City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick. “‘Privately-owned public spaces’ continue to provide high-quality amenities and access to public restrooms, and they are a key part of our planning work to ensure New Yorkers can enjoy public space in some of the densest areas of the city.”
“As a mom of three kids, I understand all too well the struggles of trying to find an open public restroom in New York City. When kids gotta go, they gotta go,” said Chief Public Realm Officer Ya-Ting Liu. “Investing in new restrooms and in public information so that New Yorkers are able to quickly find them is one of the many ways this administration is making the public realm better for people who live, work, and travel in New York City.”
The Google Maps layer — which will be updated biannually— will include restrooms operated by NYC Parks, DOT, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the city’s ‘privately-owned public spaces,’ and all three of the city’s library systems — the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Public Library. The city has also created a series of advertisements, available online, which will run on LinkNYC kiosks and on Taxi TVs from June through September and help guide New Yorkers on how to access this resource. Data on the city’s public restrooms will be available on Open Data to enable the public to build their own tools leveraging this data and to conduct analysis around the city’s public restrooms, using one consistent, reliable, and updated data set of the city’s restrooms.
Finally, the city is establishing a joint taskforce — which will bring city departments together under the leadership of Chief Public Realm Officer Liu — to assist in siting and fast-tracking approvals for 14 new high-tech, self-cleaning automatic public toilets on city sidewalks and plazas in collaboration with DOT’s Coordinated Street Furniture franchisee JCDecaux.
Last month, NYC Parks completed its expansion of new baby changing tables to all public restrooms in city parks, where feasible — more than three years ahead of schedule. NYC Parks has opened seven new restrooms to the public in the past five months at:
- Bronx Point/Mill Pond Park, Bronx
- Starlight Park, Bronx
- Wyckoff House Park, Brooklyn
- Frederick Johnson Playground, Manhattan
- Highbridge Park Adventure Playground, Manhattan
- Maspeth Park, Queens
- Lopez Playground, Staten Island
Bronx River Public Input Meeting | Tuesday, June 4 | 6:30PM-8PM (Virtual
BRONX RIVER PUBLIC INPUT MEETING
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 2024
TIME: 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
CONTACT: Victoria Toro (646) 408-3090
(718) 542-4124 ext.102; victoria.toro@bronxriver.org
LOCATION: Virtual meeting on Zoom
EVENT: On Tuesday, June 4th from 6:30pm to 8pm, the Bronx River Alliance will be hosting a virtual Public Input Meeting for the Bronx River Intermunicipal Watershed Management Plan (IWMP). Anyone who lives, works, or plays in the areas around the Bronx River is invited to attend and give their feedback and ideas for improvements over the next 10 years. The Plan will outline long term projects contributing towards the goal of making the Bronx River swimmable and fishable. New to this update of the Plan are climate resiliency recommendations that mitigate projected climate impacts over the next 10 years.
DETAILS: The Bronx River Intermunicipal Watershed Management Plan is the result of a coalition partnership including the Bronx River Alliance, the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation Natural Resources Group, the New York State Department of State, and the Westchester County Department of Planning, and 100+ other stakeholders who have engaged in planning and resource management efforts throughout the watershed.
The coalition began in 2006 and reconvened in 2022 to work together towards goals of improving water quality, protecting and improving aquatic and riparian habitat and riparian and ecosystem services, biodiversity and ecological values, and reducing overall environmental stress to the river system.
The recent updates to this plan will inform the next decade or more of priority projects to make the Bronx River, its neighboring parks, and waterfront communities more resilient in the face of climate change and environmental justice issues. Updates also include proposed strategies, project recommendations, and an all-new Climate Resiliency Plan.
This public input meeting will facilitate discussion around priority projects as well as provide a platform for community members to voice their questions, concerns, and feedback regarding the Bronx River IWMP and environmental issues the community faces.