Northeast - NYC: Finding Comfort in a Parks Department Comfort Station

I'm posting this very early Sunday morning, hoping that it will be the first thing most Queens Tour participants see, as they eat their granola bars or oatmeal prior to today's big event.

Over the years, it has been a great pressure bearing on my mind, as well as other parts of my body, to find a public bathroom when the need arises.

In the last two months, I've been pleasantly surprised to find that many New York City parks have fairly decent comfort stations. Okay, they're not like you would find in the Plaza Hotel, but many certainly are cleaner than my own bathroom.

I've been happy to find most with toilet paper (even found some with two ply), running water, soap dispensers, electric hand dryers, fairly clean facilties and many with a tray containing foil wrapped chocolate mints.

I've been riding the bike lanes in Staten Island for my 620+ NYC Bike Lane tour and have been very pleased to find that many of the parks and beaches are quite well provided with comfort stations. The 2.5 Greenway between Fort Wadsworth and Miller Field, alongside the boardwalk, has many excellent facilities.

Anyway, I'm hoping that this thread is of interest to some of you and perhaps will become a sticky thread.

I'm trusting that we are all quite mature and not prone to making adolescent jokes about this topic.

Here's a link to one site I found on this subject.

http://www.americanrestroom.org/us/nyc/index.htm

When I complete the last hundred or so miles of NYC bike paths, I'm considering a study of conditions in the 1000+ public comfort stations in New York City parks.

WHEW

I'm glad this topic didn't stop at the POST somewhere and there were no elected officials in it:roflmao2:

Consumer Reports hasn't tackled this yet...TANKS for the report:thumb:

WHEW

I'm glad this topic didn't stop at the POST somewhere and there were no elected officials in it:roflmao2:

Consumer Reports hasn't tackled this yet...TANKS for the report:thumb:

You mentioned elected officials. Now I realize that this subject may be somewhat off-topic, but I just can't hold this in. Back about 20 or 30 years ago, a NYC councilman was attending a major event in Central Park. While there, he had a major GI meltdown and urgently needed to find a bathroom. He didn't and ended up soiling himself (I'll leave it to others to put this more crudely). Here's where I really admire him. He immediately called a news conference, described what happened to himself and caused quite a stink. Okay, he didn't call a news conference that same day. I don't know how he managed to get home or to his office, with any self respect left. Anyway, he did discuss what happened and used the experience to call for more public bathrooms.

Although it must be 20 or 30 years since this happened, I'm not sure if Central Park has all that many comfort stations. Off the top of my head, there's one at the Children's Science Center at the northern end of the park, a neat one in the Conservatory Gardens around 105th & 5th, one along the steps leading down to Bethesda Fountain, Tavern on the Green has facilities that are open to the public...

For a park as big as Central Park, I think it is still lacking facilities. I just checked my Central Park map and guide and counted 18 restrooms.

Maybe we should do a map of public comfort stations and private facilities that are accessible to the public. One of the things I like best about Parks comfort stations is that most are large enough to bring in your bike. Of course it's not uncommon to find strollers and dogs in there too.

My most used comfort stations in Central Park are the Boathouse Comfort Station, East Drive just north of the 72nd street transverse. The Comfort Station just north, and a smidgen east, of Columbus Circle, and the Sheep Meadow Comfort Station that's mid park on the path just north of Sheep Meadow. The Boat House CS is my least fav because it's small and I have to chain up my bike outside, but sometimes it's open when the others are closed.

Maybe we should do a map of public comfort stations and private facilities that are accessible to the public. One of the things I like best about Parks comfort stations is that most are large enough to bring in your bike.

Stacy... Although I can't seem to find links to them right now, I remember reading of a toilet locator that works via a Blackberry. Also a woman put out a list of toilets in NYC that can be purchased for $2.50.

I've taken my bike into some Parks Dept restrooms without a problem. If questioned about doing so, I've thought of explaining that I have to let some air out of the back tire and my bike is very sensitive and wouldn't want me to do that in public.

Starbucks is a great bathroom resource, since there are so many of them around (even more before the current Depression).

I wonder if there would be any interest in doing a bike tour which would visit the restrooms of New York?

I have a list from the MTA of the 70+ restrooms in the subway system. Frankly they leave a lot to be desired, although the set of bathrooms at Times Square are pretty well taken care of.

A great holiday treat the last 2 or 3 years is the Charmin toilets in the Times Square area. It's mind boggling to see such an upscale, positive and fun bunch of restrooms.

I'm posting this very early Sunday morning, hoping that it will be the first thing most Queens Tour participants see, as they eat their granola bars or oatmeal prior to today's big event.

Over the years, it has been a great pressure bearing on my mind, as well as other parts of my body, to find a public bathroom when the need arises.

In the last two months, I've been pleasantly surprised to find that many New York City parks have fairly decent comfort stations. Okay, they're not like you would find in the Plaza Hotel, but many certainly are cleaner than my own bathroom.

I've been happy to find most with toilet paper (even found some with two ply), running water, soap dispensers, electric hand dryers, fairly clean facilties and many with a tray containing foil wrapped chocolate mints.

I've been riding the bike lanes in Staten Island for my 620+ NYC Bike Lane tour and have been very pleased to find that many of the parks and beaches are quite well provided with comfort stations. The 2.5 Greenway between Fort Wadsworth and Miller Field, alongside the boardwalk, has many excellent facilities.

Anyway, I'm hoping that this thread is of interest to some of you and perhaps will become a sticky thread.

I'm trusting that we are all quite mature and not prone to making adolescent jokes about this topic.

Here's a link to one site I found on this subject.

http://www.americanrestroom.org/us/nyc/index.htm

When I complete the last hundred or so miles of NYC bike paths, I'm considering a study of conditions in the 1000+ public comfort stations in New York City parks.

:eek:

I like the idea of an iPhone app. Maybe we could call it iPee.

I like the idea of an iPhone app. Maybe we could call it iPee.

I went back to Google and came up with a couple of sites.

Here's some information about Diaroogle.

http://gpsobsessed.com/diaroogle-mixing-a-search-engine-with-new-yorks-public-toilets/

There was a guy who published a Manhattan map with toilet locations.

http://nyctoiletmap.com/

If you follow a link to his portfolio, you'll find a copy of his map.

And there's Mizpee.

http://www.mizpee.com/mizpeeweb/welcome.do

There was a guy who published a Manhattan map with toilet locations.

http://nyctoiletmap.com/


OMG! I knew him when he was a child! In fact, I think my daughter Facebooked him. I had no idea he was doing toilet maps until now.

since we're on the subject, I'll share that I time my nutrition so that I can sh*t; shower and shave in the morning before any endevour. was out for almost 4 hours without peeing even though I drank 2 water bottles and 1 big gatoraide. which is saying something cuz I'm 50.

OMG! I knew him when he was a child! In fact, I think my daughter Facebooked him. I had no idea he was doing toilet maps until now.

Stacy... That's weird that you know the guy. Well, at least this thread hasn't been a total waste.

since we're on the subject, I'll share that I time my nutrition so that I can sh*t; shower and shave in the morning before any endevour. was out for almost 4 hours without peeing even though I drank 2 water bottles and 1 big gatoraide. which is saying something cuz I'm 50.

Well I'm 65, so go ahead and rub it in my face that due to a disasterous early childhood toilet training, my gastrointestinal tract is totally unpredictable and that I experience high level anxiety everytime I feel a gas bubble in my guts. Also everytime I pass a fire hydrant that's leaking or a public fountain shooting water into the air, I've got to pee. I'm currently planning on buying a portable toilet that I can hitch to my bike, so that relief will always be nearby. And under no circumstances would I allow someone else to use it.

I think we need to engage businesses around the New York area in sort of an AAA-type club that gets listed as an approved toilet stop for cyclists in exchange for a gentleman's/lady's promise to make a small purchase after using the facilities. We might also organize a volunteer toilet clean-up crew, much the same way CLIMB enlists mountain bikers to clean up and maintain its trails.

Having once had an "accident" myself that involved riding some forty miles from Riverside (Manhattan) to eastern Nassau County with a full diaper (if you know what I mean) this topic is VERY near to my fart -- I mean heart.

Sometimes all you have to do is ask. When I was in Piermont I stopped at the Piermont Bicycle Connection (http://www.piermontbike.com/) and they were happy to let me use the bathroom. Of course I wound up buying something while I was there.

>>>>Sometimes all you have to do is ask. When I was in Piermont I stopped at the Piermont Bicycle Connection (http://www.piermontbike.com/) and they were happy to let me use the bathroom. Of course I wound up buying something while I was there.<<<<

Bike shops are generally very cool about that stuff, especially if you're wearing some type of bike gear. It's the thousands of other types of stores you'll pass in between bike shops that I think would do well to be a little friendlier to any cyclist who walks in squeezing and contorting. After all, we are all consumers.

Anyway, I think this thread was intended to discuss public facilities, rather than private ones. Sorry to get off topic.

I think we need to engage businesses around the New York area in sort of an AAA-type club that gets listed as an approved toilet stop for cyclists in exchange for a gentleman's/lady's promise to make a small purchase after using the facilities. We might also organize a volunteer toilet clean-up crew, much the same way CLIMB enlists mountain bikers to clean up and maintain its trails.

Having once had an "accident" myself that involved riding some forty miles from Riverside (Manhattan) to eastern Nassau County with a full diaper (if you know what I mean) this topic is VERY near to my fart -- I mean heart.

I don't know about the volunteer stuff. As it is, my backpack is full, what with wrenches, spare tubes, tire pump, oxyacetylene torch, books, water, 6 pack of Charmin Ultra, videocamera, 5 pairs of spare underwear and the like. I don't think I have room for a toilet brush, Comet, hand soap, a mop, bucket and Rubbermaid "CAUTION WET FLOOR" signs.

I've long considered myself close to the top of the dysfunctional index when it comes to dealing with having to use public bathrooms. It's not the normal issues of cleanliness, but more embarrassment and privacy issues. I also don't like to have to ask to use a bathroom.

So, I've been quite happy and proud of myself in my 620 mile NYC Bike Lane tour that I've been quite comfortable with the facilities around. I have no problem using the bathrooms in big box stores like Target, Home Depot, Macys, Gimbels (I know they're long gone), Starbucks, Grand Central, Strand Book Store, public libraries, museums and colleges. Why as I write this, I feel warm all over realizing that I'm surrounded by welcoming toilets.

On the other hand, I visited Randalls Island today to ride its bike paths, after verifying that it indeed is part of Manhattan, requiring me to ride its official bike path. I got on the island from the Bronx using the Triboro and departed on the 102nd St Bridge to Manhattan. While not in urgent need of a pit stop, I didn't see any comfort stations around the northern end of the island. On the southern end of the island, there were 3 or 4 outdoor portable bathrooms, all with a small padlock on them. I thought better of looking for a Target, Starbucks, LBS or library on Randalls Island and rode to Manhattan in a rather pissy mood.

Bike shops are generally very cool about that stuff, especially if you're wearing some type of bike gear. It's the thousands of other types of stores you'll pass in between bike shops that I think would do well to be a little friendlier to any cyclist who walks in squeezing and contorting. After all, we are all consumers.

Anyway, I think this thread was intended to discuss public facilities, rather than private ones. Sorry to get off topic.

Papa Tom... You're not at all off topic. For me the subject is not just the facilities available or not available, but how we deal with it. I especially was intrigued by the accident you had and admire your honesty in discussing it. I have filed it away in mind and will wait for the right moment to throw it in your face and publicly humiliate you.

In fairness to the proprietors of small shops, I think many of them are rightfully wary about letting someone use their bathroom. Usually, the bathrooms are not in the public area of the store, which creates major security concerns for the owners. Although I'm thinking that you might be able to barter use of their facilities if you promise to clean and sanitize the room after using it. You could make up a business card, HAVE TOILET BRUSH & CLEANING MATERIALS, WILL DO ANYTHING IF YOU LET ME TAKE A DUMP IN YOUR CRAPPER....

You could make up a business card, HAVE TOILET BRUSH & CLEANING MATERIALS, WILL DO ANYTHING IF YOU LET ME TAKE A DUMP IN YOUR CRAPPER....

That sounds a little kinky. Just promise not to do it 'au naturale.'

>>>>I especially was intrigued by the accident you had and admire your honesty in discussing it. I have filed it away in mind and will wait for the right moment to throw it in your face and publicly humiliate you.<<<<<

Ah, but that won't happen if I beat you to the punch and publish my whole diary of that day for all to read! Actually, it's a hilarious story that I'd love to share. I just don't want to offend anyone or earn myself a "reputation." Perhaps someday, when I'm sure I'm not going to run for public office!