New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has unveiled plans for 17 new high-tech public toilets across the city, part of a $4 million pilot scheme aimed at easing a longstanding shortage of public restrooms. Four of the futuristic units, built by modular toilet firm Throne Labs, have already been installed, with the rest due over the coming months. The move is intended to supplement the roughly 1,100 existing public restrooms serving the city's population of more than eight million, and comes as police issued over 10,000 summonses for public urination in 2025.

The self-cleaning booths feature running water, climate control, baby-changing tables and free sanitary products, and can be unlocked via text message, QR code, an app or a tap card between 7am and 10pm. Each visit is capped at 10 minutes, after which an automated bilingual announcement warns the occupant before the door slides open automatically; Throne Labs staff, and potentially police, can intervene if someone refuses to leave. Reaction has been mixed, with some praising the units as clean and modern while others have mocked the reported $235,000-per-unit cost and raised concerns about safety, privacy and their potential use as shelter by homeless people.