68 NYC park bathrooms are closed, some for nearly a decade, records show

Sixty-eight bathroom facilities in New York City parks are currently closed, and some playground comfort stations have been locked for close to a decade, according to Parks Department records obtained by THE CITY through a Freedom of Information Law request.

Nine of the closed facilities have been out of service for at least nine years, and only three of those have a capital repair project scheduled, the records show. One example THE CITY found is a playground bathroom in Gravesend, Brooklyn, near the Belt Parkway, that city records show has been shut since at least 2018. Another, at Ethan Allen Playground in East New York, has been closed for at least eight years.

Why repairs stall

• Cost: Restoring a single comfort station can cost $5 million to $7 million, THE CITY reported, roughly equal to an individual Council member's $5 million yearly capital allocation.
• No dedicated repair budget: Parks does not have a dedicated budget for restroom repairs; in-house trades staff fix bathrooms as part of general building maintenance, according to the department.
• Contracting rules: Former Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe pointed to the state's Wicks Law, which requires separate contractors for plumbing, electrical, heating and general work on projects above set cost thresholds, and to the dozen or more review steps even small projects face.
• Old buildings: Many comfort stations date to the Works Progress Administration era, with aging plumbing and fixtures.

Parks spokesperson Gregg McQueen told THE CITY that the agency operates more than 700 restroom buildings, nearly all open seven days a week year-round, and is on track to finish renovations or new construction at 14 restroom facilities this year. He said Parks is also working with the Department of Design and Construction on a faster design-build process. Council Parks Committee chair Ty Hankerson called the closures a serious inconvenience, especially for parents with young children.

The modular pilot and the citywide plan

Separately, the Mamdani administration in September began installing 17 modular public bathrooms under a $4 million, one-year pilot run with Throne Labs, according to the Mayor's Office. They are free and open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and are unlocked by text message, QR code, the Throne app or a tap card from a nearby community partner, per the DOT restroom page. Locations include Yankee Stadium, Mapes Park and Admiral Farragut Playground in the Bronx; Columbus Park and Milestone Park in Brooklyn; Northern Boulevard at 31st and 54th streets in Queens; Cooper Square and Malcolm X Plaza in Manhattan; and the North Shore Esplanade on Staten Island.

A broader plan to build 2,120 public bathrooms by 2035 under the city's so-called Bathroom Bill has been delayed; Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson told Council Speaker Julie Menin she hoped to submit it by Nov. 1, THE CITY reported. The final city budget gave Parks about $709 million, short of Mamdani's campaign pledge of 1% of the budget, according to THE CITY.

The Parks Department said it needed more time to comment on repair plans for the longest-closed bathrooms. We will update this story when it responds.