Posh public bathroom pops up in Manhattan park
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Inspired by visits to the city’s priciest hotels, the posh public bathroom cost nearly $300,000 and comes complete with freshly delivered flowers, imported tiles, classical music and artwork.
NEW YORK >> In a park amid skyscrapers, a gem has emerged: a posh public bathroom that cost nearly $300,000, complete with freshly delivered flowers, imported tile, classical music and artwork.
The free-of-charge, air-conditioned splendor, inspired by the city’s priciest hotels including the Waldorf Astoria, is open to everyone. More than 1 million people a year are expected to use the facility, park officials said.
On Thursday two bathroom attendants held toilet tissue that a park official cut as the inaugural ribbon for the high-tech facility housed in a landmark Beaux Arts building behind the New York Public Library in Manhattan. The toilets, in 310 square feet divided between the women’s and men’s sides, are reopening after a three-month renovation.
“It’s very clean and the flowers are alive,” said Irena Marentic, a tourist from Slovenia, as she left the space, whose walls and floors are lined with tiles from Spain and Italy.
The women’s side has three toilet stalls, while the men’s, two stalls and three urinals, the same number as before. The facility can’t be expanded because the space surrounding it is considered a scenic landmark.
The public luxury was funded privately by the Bryant Park Corp., a nonprofit that manages the city-owned park.
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Attendants with mops keep everything clean from 7 a.m. until midnight during the warm months and until 10 p.m. the rest of the year. By park rules, no tips are allowed.
A few out-of-town companies provided donations not included in the facility’s $280,000 cost. The Japanese luxury brand Toto contributed self-flushing, energy-saving toilets and hands-free faucets and wash basins.
The park went through a makeover some years ago after decades of urban decay and crime that spilled into the bathroom, which was closed for years and reopened only in the 1990s.
With the improvement of the park, the number of visitors has increased. So, too, has the daily use of the toilets, from an average of 1,800 in 2013 to 3,300 last year, or 1.2 million a year, park officials said. On the women’s side the wait could be as long as 20 minutes.
On Thursday, with the line growing, park workers directed people to the massive library building and more public toilets, though not quite as fancy.
