Park goers in East Harlem raised eyebrows at the cost, but many were overjoyed to finally have a nearby place to find relief.\n<\/p>\n
The sleek structure, nestled between the playground and barbecue area near the park\u2019s First Avenue entrance, features stainless steel interiors, a baby-changing station, automatic lighting, and slanted slats at the top and bottom for airflow. The louvers are also designed to \u201cprovide limited lines of sight\u201d for park officials and law enforcement to monitor possible drug use or any other lewd behavior inside the stalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After years of relying on seasonal or temporary options like portable toilets, a park goer named Maria \u2014 known locally as Greeny \u2014 said she was more than happy to see the structure pop up this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is nice, I like that,\u201d she said, pointing at the facility. \u201cI couldn\u2019t use the temporary ones. It was a disaster because they were so filthy and smelled. They never got cleaned, and the poop was overflowing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Antje, who lives on 117th Street and Fifth Avenue, walks through the park most days and was led by Greeny to check out the new loo. Both were delighted upon inspection.\n<\/p>\n
![\"Antje](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_0747.jpg\" "\\"Shock")
Antje and Maria, known as Greeny, share a laugh after checking out the new Portland LooPhoto by Adam Daly ![\"Maria,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_0745.jpg\" "\\"Shock")
Maria, known as Greeny, shows off the new $1 million Portland Loo to fellow East Harlem resident Antje at Thomas Jefferson Park on Wednesday,Photo by Adam Daly<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful,\u201d Antje said. Recalling a recent ordeal trying to find a bathroom while dealing with a bladder infection, she added, \u201cThis place needed it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to the swimming pool in the park and really had to go, but they wouldn\u2019t let me use the bathroom,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I think $1 million is worth it to have this now.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Carmen Stone, who visits the playground regularly with her grandchildren, said the restroom is long overdue.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m diabetic, so when you gotta go, you gotta go,\u201d she said. \u201cWe used to walk over to Costco just to use the restroom. They had a porta-potty here, but it wasn\u2019t reliable. They should have one of these [Portland Loos] in every park.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toilet price tag leaves many feeling flushed<\/p>\n
But while many residents were happy to see the long-awaited amenity arrive, not everyone was sold on the price tag.\n<\/p>\n
Courtney, 36, a Navy service member currently stationed in Virginia, grew up near the park and still visits frequently when off duty. He welcomed the convenience but questioned the cost.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good that it\u2019s here \u2014 usually we\u2019d have to run to someone\u2019s apartment to use the bathroom,\u201d he said. \u201cBut let\u2019s be real: it\u2019s definitely not a million-dollar bathroom.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
City officials said the high cost stems from construction and the installation of new utility lines. Each kiosk cost $185,000 and were built in Portland, Oregon, where the modular design originated in 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Evan Madden, CEO of Madden Fabrication, the company that manufactures the Portland Loos, previously told amNY<\/a> that the five sites in New York City had some of the most expensive installation costs among the 250 Loos across North America<\/a>. Still, they cost about one-third as much as traditional public restrooms and can be installed faster through the Department of Design and Construction\u2019s Design-Build initiative<\/a>, which aims to cut delivery times for public projects<\/p>\n Jean Marc, who lives a couple of blocks from the park, was cooling off in the shade during a walk with his newborn daughter when he noticed the bathroom was finally open. He said he\u2019s glad to no longer have to plan out where he\u2019ll answer nature\u2019s call.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really understand money these days \u2014 look at the price of everything \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t seem shocking,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think they should be sparing any expense on a public amenity like this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI like that it has airflow and seems a lot safer than the brick-and-mortar style bathrooms in other parks,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n Diana Altamirano, who lives in Astoria, comes to the park when visiting her mother, Aleyda Lozano, who lives an avenue away.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad they finally did something,\u201d Altamirano said. \u201cIt was always a problem, we\u2019d have to leave the park and go home just to use the restroom.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a good investment, if they keep it clean,\u201d Lozano added.\n<\/p>\n Loo stuck in the mud in Brooklyn<\/p>\n On Wednesday afternoon, in Brooklyn\u2019s Irving Square Park, the Portland Loo saw similar traffic but was not faring as well in terms of cleanliness. The manufacturer recommends the stalls be cleaned about 2-5 times a day.\u00a0<\/p>\n When amNewYork visited the loo, which has been opened to the public for a few weeks, the drain at the center of the kiosk\u2019s concrete floor was clogged with mud, creating swamp-like conditions around the toilet.<\/p>\n Sitting on a bench near Bushwick\u2019s new loo, Rishi and Akhil\u2019s jaws dropped in unison when they heard it cost $1 million. They questioned why the city opted for the Oregon-based company and hoped it would be kept cleaner as the pilot continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jesse and Sean, two stagehands lying on the grass nearby, offered to take over any future rollout plans.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI could f\u2014ing build that,\u201d said Sean. \u201cGive me $50,000. I could get three carpenters together and two welders from my other job and build that in three days.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d be happy with $50,000 \u2014 it would change my life,\u201d Jesse joked. Despite sticker shock, some residents said the benefits outweighed the cost. Clint, a local who has yet to use the new loo, said public urination has been a frequent issue in the area.<\/p>\n City officials say the Portland Loos are permanent installations that support their goal of building 46 new public restrooms by 2029. If properly maintained, the manufacturer estimates each unit has a lifespan of up to 10 years, with annual upkeep costs ranging from about $12,000<\/a> to $14,000.<\/a><\/p>\n The city plans to evaluate the pilot program\u2019s success before expanding the Portland Loos to more public restroom deserts across the city, though officials would not specify how long the evaluation period will last<\/p>\n For now, park goers are glad to see the city\u2019s bathroom drought being addressed \u2014 even if the new loos don\u2019t look like a million bucks.\n<\/p>\n The city\u2019s other Portland Loos can be found at Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx, Hoyt Playground in Queens, and Father Macris Park in Staten Island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A steady stream of East Harlem residents inspected an alien-looking structure at Thomas Jefferson Park on Wednesday morning…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":44344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,34484,34485,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,24672,34486,26467,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-44343","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-bushwick","10":"tag-east-harlem","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-pm-newsletter","18":"tag-portland-loo","19":"tag-public-restrooms","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114808435955118822","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Mud](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_0750.jpg\" "\\"Shock")
Mud clogs the drain inside the Portland Loo at Irving Square Park, creating swamp-like conditionsPhoto by Adam Daly<\/p>\n
\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_0752.jpg\" "\\"Shock")
The newly installed Portland Loo stands on the edge of Irving Square Park in BushwickPhoto by Adam Daly\n<\/p>\n