This local law takes effect immediately and will allow the public and Council to better understand the progress city agencies are making towards the installation of new bathrooms. The citywide bathroom strategy will increase the number of public restrooms in New York to 2,120 in 10 years. Explore the intricacies of New York's public restroom access laws, business compliance requirements, and legal exceptions.
§ 492. Access to restroom facilities. 1.
Every Public Bathroom In NYC Is Conveniently Listed On This Map
A place of business open to the general public for the sale of goods or services that has a toilet facility for its employees shall allow any individual who is lawfully on the premises of such place of business to use that toilet facility during normal business hours, even if the place of business does not normally make the employee toilet facility. The law called for a strategic plan to identify funding, policy changes, locations, designs, and create an online map of all the city's public bathrooms. The law will require the city to double its number of public restrooms by 2035.
By Shayla Colon After decades of complaints about a lack of public bathrooms in New York City, as well as the. A City Council bill to dramatically increase the number of public bathrooms across the five boroughs has officially become law without the mayor's signature. In 2025, the New York City Council passed the historic Bathroom Bill, the first law of its kind requiring the city to build over 1000 public restrooms by 2035.
46 New Public Bathrooms Are Heading To NYC
This CLE program will discuss the history of public restrooms and the many fights they have incited from the 1970s nationwide movement to ban pay toilets to a 1990s lawsuit, Lucas v. Does NYC need more public restrooms? The city will double its number of bathrooms over the next 10 years. Legal publisher offering ordinance codification services for local governments, specializing in providing codes of ordinances in print and on the Internet.
The law also requires the City to work with Community Boards and the public about new bathroom locations and submit their report to the Mayor and Speaker of the City Council no later than December 31, 2023 with the identified location in each ZIP code.
