A Steel Enclosed Public Toilet Is Coming To Harlem Park: What To Know

HARLEM, NY — Finally, some relief. A Harlem park with no public bathrooms is getting a steel enclosed toilet as part of a trial program coming to New York City.

A prefabricated Portland Loo toilet, made by a Portland, Oregon-based company, will open in Thomas Jefferson Park, along with four other locations across the city, multiple publications reported, including The CITY.

The "sleek and modern kiosks" are described as easy to clean and maintain, inexpensive to install, and preventative to graffiti with slated sides that makes it clear when a person is inside while still maintaining privacy, according to Portland Loo's website.

It is billed as a cheaper alternative to constructing a permanent rest station and has been installed in more than 90 cities across the country since its first rendition a decade ago.

The Portland Loo doesn't come without its cost, though.

Each toilet costs around $185,000, but the project's total budget in New York City is $5.3 million, the Parks Department told THE CITY. While that is a large number, it is still a more affordable alternative than the average $3.6 million it costs to build a single permanent bathroom, according to reports.

The full design will be nine feet by five and a half feet that is ADA compliant with a locking door, baby changing table, and a single toilet.

The bathrooms will open as early as the summer of 2024.

The Response In Harlem

East Harlem's Community Board 11 has long advocated for a full comfort station in Thomas Jefferson Park.

In a letter sent to the Parks Department, the CB11 Chair Xavier Santiago voiced the board's support of the pilot program, but emphasized that it should not serve as a permanent alternative to a larger facility.

"While Community Board 11 supports this restroom, the implementation of the 'Portland Loo' should not serve as a permanent alternative to a full comfort station structure as requested in the CB11 Statement of District Needs," Santiago wrote. "It is important that historically disadvantaged communities like East Harlem receive equitable resources in the implementation of these intiaitives such that the quality and quantity of resources provided are commensurate with other Manhattan districts."

The other proposed sites are Irving Square Park in Brooklyn, Hoyt Playground in Queens, Father Macris Park in Staten Island, and Joyce Kilmer Park in The Bronx.