NYC Delays Plan to Add 2,100 Public Restrooms by 2035

The city's plan to significantly expand its public restroom network has been delayed, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration cites the complexity of the task.

The legislation, known as the Bathroom Bill, was passed by the City Council in April 2025. It aims to double the number of public restrooms in New York City to 2,100 by 2035. Each relevant agency was required to submit an updated strategic plan by September 1, with updates every four years thereafter.

However, Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson informed City Council Speaker Julie Menin in a letter dated August 12 that the report will be submitted after the deadline. "Given the extensive cross-agency coordination required to establish a reporting framework, compile baseline data, and develop a substantive strategy toward the law’s target of 2,120 public bathrooms citywide, I am writing to inform you that the report will be submitted after the September 1 deadline," she wrote.

The mayor's team has initiated work on the plan, including forming an interagency working group and identifying potential sites. The report is now expected to be submitted by November 1.

City Councilmember Sandy Nurse (D-Brooklyn), who introduced the package of bills, expressed her anticipation for the report. Currently, there are 1,066 public restrooms in the city, with 943 open year-round.

Nurse highlighted the lack of a specific agency responsible for public restrooms. "People don’t realize there’s no particular agency or mayoral office tasked with bathrooms," she said. Nurse and other Brooklyn councilmembers were briefed by City Hall this month on new restrooms planned for their borough.

Nurse hopes the report will explore innovative and cost-effective ways to increase public restrooms. "What are the new models coming out? What are places across the country, across the planet, what are they doing?" she said. "What are we doing to decrease the cost and cut down on red tape?"

In January, Mayor Mamdani announced a request for proposals to build modular public restrooms across the city. In June, the administration selected Throne Labs Inc. to install and maintain 17 modular public restrooms. The $4 million pilot program will be overseen by the city’s Economic Development Corp.

"My administration is committed to closing the gaps in this public health infrastructure," Mamdani said in a statement at the time, "and delivering a network of restrooms that are clean, accessible, and most importantly, close by."