A pay toilet opens. But not an ordinary pay toilet. The kiosk, made of tempered glass and stainless steel, is about the size of a newsstand is located on Madison Avenue, between 23rd and 24th Streets.
The toilet itself is made of silvery metal, and more rectangular with curved edges than the familiar oval shape. Flushing, as on an airplane, is done at the press of a button. And men, take note: There is no toilet seat to leave up. There are toilet covers available. Also inside are a sink, a mirror and a hand dryer. A user has a (generous) 15-minute period of privacy before the doors pop open — with a warning light and alarm going off when there are only three minutes left. In between is an automatic 90-second self-cleaning process, which will be one of the great mysteries of New York going forward, since it happens only when the doors were closed. But the news media was given a behind-the-scenes peek at the process: for one, a sweeping arm sprays disinfectant over the toilet, before it blows heat to dry it. And jets propel about seven gallons of water with disinfectant on the floor, which is not dried, leaving it wet for the next user.
There are all sorts of “just in case” precautions in place. For one, there are two red emergency buttons: one small and waist-high, the other big and toward the floor, in case someone falls. There is also a separate yellow button to reach an operator. The toilets are locked every night to prevent someone from camping out inside. And lastly, the floor sensors have both a maximum (currently about 550 pounds) and minimum (45 pounds) weight allowance, or the doors will not close. The minimum is to prevent small children from getting trapped inside. The maximum allowance is a bit of strange choice — as it is generous to allow two, or maybe even three, people inside. (Are they trying to prevent a party?)
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