Sachi makes very important points and I very much appreciate her Substack pieces. Two comments that I would like to add:
One. At one time, particularly in the eras before Reagan and Clinton, major municipalities like NYC had any number of people on the payroll who could build things (and fix them as soon as they broke). With the advent of privatization, most municipalities subbed those functions out to vendors and in large part that has led to a great deal of destruction and deterioration of the public space.
Two. The City Charter revision that gave individual residents input opportunities in a the community board or city council districts where they reside was intended to balance, at least in part, the power of wealthy donors with that of the general public. As long as the Supreme Court equates financial donations with free speech (this is likely to be the case for another generation or more), money will hold sway in our two party political system.
Just a postscript: What oil is in Texas, real estate is in NY, these major donors and the high priced strategists, pollsters, lobbyists and consultants only they can afford, are the power players behind all our city, state, and federal electeds.
Thanks Sachi for your work, and for creating this valuable space for civil discourse.
I'm going to refrain from making a comment about Flushing because my parents live there 😅, and honestly, I don’t think I have anything clever to say. But reflecting on this article, I wonder if there has been any attempt at a broader roadmap/project plan/etc. (as opposed to piecemeal efforts) to move us from the current state—which we can all agree isn’t great—to a place that’s at least incrementally better. Even if that means starting with solutions that aren’t fully ADA compliant or rely on ad-subsidized facilities, having a path toward a more ideal vision would be so much better than the status quo. Progress doesn’t have to be perfect from the start, but it has to start somewhere.
Such a good point-- I couldn't agree more that we just have to start somewhere!
There was a bill that passed back in 2022 to basically task the agency with gathering information and making proposals. It tasked the agency with identifying locations in every ZIP code where a public bathroom should be located and also "require that the agency/office consider public and community board input and provide recommendations for overcoming any identified barriers regarding locations suitable for public bathrooms". https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5570473&GUID=85B9DA11-6B8A-444A-9964-F413C6CCC324
So it's like a roadmap, but holding current conditions constant. Not changing any of the things that make it impossible to actually execute on.
I know! It made me wonder how many of the bus shelters and other infrastructure from that same deal is going unused. Like, is it just the toilets, or are there also 200 news stands in another warehouse in the Bronx? 😂
Sounds like a lot of money down the drain… Excellent article!
1) Always skeptical of the % completion and forecasts on the capital projects trackers, so we’ll see 🤞🏼
2) I’ve seen the special inspection requirements for steel (structural performance diligence baked into building code), but public facing toilets? Definitely process bloat
3) Did you come across any open competitions for design? Could a new RFP
Yeah good points. I didn't search for RFPs, that's a good idea though. But one article I read said that NYC Parks was also piloting a composting toilet. I couldn't anything else on that, so I stopped digging, but that'd be fascinating....
Sachi makes very important points and I very much appreciate her Substack pieces. Two comments that I would like to add:
One. At one time, particularly in the eras before Reagan and Clinton, major municipalities like NYC had any number of people on the payroll who could build things (and fix them as soon as they broke). With the advent of privatization, most municipalities subbed those functions out to vendors and in large part that has led to a great deal of destruction and deterioration of the public space.
Two. The City Charter revision that gave individual residents input opportunities in a the community board or city council districts where they reside was intended to balance, at least in part, the power of wealthy donors with that of the general public. As long as the Supreme Court equates financial donations with free speech (this is likely to be the case for another generation or more), money will hold sway in our two party political system.
Just a postscript: What oil is in Texas, real estate is in NY, these major donors and the high priced strategists, pollsters, lobbyists and consultants only they can afford, are the power players behind all our city, state, and federal electeds.
Thanks Sachi for your work, and for creating this valuable space for civil discourse.
zool
I'm going to refrain from making a comment about Flushing because my parents live there 😅, and honestly, I don’t think I have anything clever to say. But reflecting on this article, I wonder if there has been any attempt at a broader roadmap/project plan/etc. (as opposed to piecemeal efforts) to move us from the current state—which we can all agree isn’t great—to a place that’s at least incrementally better. Even if that means starting with solutions that aren’t fully ADA compliant or rely on ad-subsidized facilities, having a path toward a more ideal vision would be so much better than the status quo. Progress doesn’t have to be perfect from the start, but it has to start somewhere.
Such a good point-- I couldn't agree more that we just have to start somewhere!
There was a bill that passed back in 2022 to basically task the agency with gathering information and making proposals. It tasked the agency with identifying locations in every ZIP code where a public bathroom should be located and also "require that the agency/office consider public and community board input and provide recommendations for overcoming any identified barriers regarding locations suitable for public bathrooms". https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5570473&GUID=85B9DA11-6B8A-444A-9964-F413C6CCC324
So it's like a roadmap, but holding current conditions constant. Not changing any of the things that make it impossible to actually execute on.
Great article. 15 toilets sitting in a warehouse… what a waste.
I know! It made me wonder how many of the bus shelters and other infrastructure from that same deal is going unused. Like, is it just the toilets, or are there also 200 news stands in another warehouse in the Bronx? 😂
Burn it down!
Anne, I thought if anyone you would have a Flushing pun for me!
Sounds like a lot of money down the drain… Excellent article!
1) Always skeptical of the % completion and forecasts on the capital projects trackers, so we’ll see 🤞🏼
2) I’ve seen the special inspection requirements for steel (structural performance diligence baked into building code), but public facing toilets? Definitely process bloat
3) Did you come across any open competitions for design? Could a new RFP
add some lifeblood to the efforts?
Yeah good points. I didn't search for RFPs, that's a good idea though. But one article I read said that NYC Parks was also piloting a composting toilet. I couldn't anything else on that, so I stopped digging, but that'd be fascinating....