Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release #08-014
Contact: Seth Solomonow (212) 442-7033
City Announces Next Round of Public Toilet Locations
Project Generating Over $1 Billion in Revenue for New York City
The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced the next four locations where Automatic Public Toilets (APT's) will be installed under the City's Coordinated Street Furniture Franchise with Cemusa, Inc. The 20-year contract calls for Cemusa to, among other things, build and maintain 3,300 new bus shelters, 330 newsstands, 20 APT's and provide $1.4 billion in new revenue to New York City.
The first APT was installed in Madison Square Park in January 2008. The next four APT's will be installed over the next six months at the following locations:
69th Street Pier, Brooklyn
Marcus Garvey Boulevard at Broadway, Brooklyn
Lippmann Arcade, Flushing, Queens
Corona Plaza, Queens (National Street near Roosevelt Avenue)
"Restrooms are an essential part of a livable city and we will not 'stall' until we have world-class amenities and public spaces in New York," said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. "We are pleased to partner with Cemusa to bring these public toilets to communities across the City."
The locations for the APT's are selected from suggestions provided by the community and elected officials. DOT and Cemusa then review the sites to determine if they have the necessary infrastructure to support an APT. By law, the final sites are approved by the City Council Speaker and Mayor Bloomberg. The 20 APT's will be spread across all five boroughs and sites are currently under review in the Bronx and Staten Island.
Since June 2006, Cemusa has installed 1,284 bus shelters, 64 newsstands, 1 APT and the city's first four Sheltered Bike Parking Structures. The franchise has already delivered $118,460,000 to the city, and by manufacturing at least half of all franchise structures locally, Cemusa has helped to create more than 150 jobs in the New York City area. Cemusa has also provided the City with valuable advertising space on its street furniture here in New York City and around the world, which the City has used to promote itself as a tourism destination.
Like all of the new street furniture, the APT's have a simple, contemporary design, created for the City by Grimshaw Architects, incorporating stainless steel and tempered glass. The APTs clean themselves after each use, and tamper-proof automatic doors that open from the inside will ensure security.
The APTs cost 25 cents to operate, with a time limit of 15 minutes and will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Each APT is climate-controlled and includes a toilet, a wash basin with running warm water, and a mirror. An automated system controls the door and prevents unauthorized entrance, and the APTs are fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
After 12 minutes of use, an acoustic alarm and red flashing lights go off for three minutes before the door opens. Once a user has exited, the APT doors will close and the 90-second automatic cleaning cycle will begin. During the cleaning cycle the interior surfaces of the APT are cleaned and dried. Once the self-cleaning process is complete, a new user can access the APT.
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