Health & Environment Active Updated Sep 17, 2026
The robotoilet pilot
Mayor Mamdani launched a yearlong pilot of 17 free, sewer-free modular public bathrooms built by Throne Labs, opening the first units in Bed-Stuy and Queens with digital entry and a 10-minute limit. Homeless advocates warn the digital-entry requirement shuts out people without a smartphone or tap card, and the fight is over whether the city's overdue strategic bathroom plan addresses access and expands the network beyond the pilot's 17 units citywide.
The story so far
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Sep 17, 2026 Latest
The first of 17 free modular public bathrooms, built by Throne Labs and requiring no sewer, water or power hookup, opened on Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy and on 34th Avenue in Queens, open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. with doors that auto-open after a 10-minute limit. Entry requires a text message, QR code, the Throne app or a tap card, and the Free to Pee Coalition, led by VOCAL-NY and the Coalition for the Homeless, warned people without a smartphone or tap card could be shut out; Mamdani said all 17 units together cost about what one traditional public restroom has cost the city.
City Limits 
Gothamist 
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