By Hadassa Kalatizadeh
Finding a clean bathroom has never been more necessary in New York, with the extra-large beverages sold at every corner, and the hustle and bustle that keeps New Yorkers out on their toes from morning till night. New Yorkers seemed to be destined to get used to bathrooms in subway and train terminals that are less than decent, with clogged toilets and missing soap. Now, though things are looking brighter, and the search for a suitable restroom just got simpler. As per a recent article in the NY Times, a five star restroom was recently reopened after a two-and-a-half-year renovation that cost almost $600,000. It is conveniently located in Midtown’s Greeley Square Park, on Broadway between 32nd and 33rd Streets, a short distance from a major subway stop, as well as the New York terminus of the PATH train, which travels from Manhattan to New Jersey.
If there were a competition for the most luxurious, nicest public bathroom, the one in Greeley Square Park would certainly stand out as a front runner. This bathroom, which is actually a small curbside kiosk situated in the heart of the Big Apple, boasts four gleaming toilets with sanitary seat covers that rotate between uses at the wave of a hand. The walls are decorated with Black-and-white photos of old New York, and the sink is ornamented with freshly picked seasonal decorative grasses. It is of course heated in the winter, and there is calming classical music playing. There is a full-time attendant just waiting to touch-up after every use, and to adhere to the highest standards of cleanliness. “It’s very elegant,” admired Yolanda Reyes, 53, a cleaning woman from Brooklyn who stopped there after getting off the subway. “It made me feel very comfortable.”
In fact, a whole new class of commuter bathrooms is being planned, to uplift the dreary process of using a public restroom in the big city. Amtrak has taken the initiative to improve worn-out bathrooms in Pennsylvania Station, the busiest transportation hub on the Western Hemisphere. New terrazzo floors, shiny gray stalls and hands-free faucets and soap dispensers have been installed. Even the men’s room is getting an upgrade, with a row of urinals by Toto, a luxury brand that is used in upscale bathrooms including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Mandarin Oriental. Improvements have also already been made in the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Queens’ Jamaica Station near the Air Train, and other locations.
As per the NY Times, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is revamping 200 bathrooms in airports and transit centers in an initiative to provide improved amenities for travelers. “There is no reason for bathrooms to be unattractive,” said Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority, who noted that “bathrooms are frequently at the top of the list of what passengers focus on.” There will also be an increased emphasis on keeping bathrooms clean. Overall, the Port Authority bathroom improvements will cost in excess of $118 million. The authority itself will pay about 20 percent of the cost, while the remainder of the expenditures will be spent by private companies contracted to run its facilities.
