When you gotta go, New York City is hoping you’ll have somewhere to, well, go.

The city is rolling out 17 new public bathrooms across all five boroughs starting this month, in public plazas and other “high-traffic” areas where finding a restroom can be a challenge, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday.

Struggling to find a bathroom while out and about is a “universal experience” for New Yorkers, the mayor said.

“Many of us have pleaded with baristas and maître d’s. We have listened intently as a worker at Chipotle whispers the bathroom code to another paying customer. We have bought that $9 latte,” he said. “And all of us have, at some point or another, just turned around, and had to go home.”

The new modular toilets will be free and open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Mamdani said. Each of the units will be ADA-accessible and fully touchless, with running-water sinks, flushing toilets, climate control and a baby-changing station.  

The one-year, $4 million pilot was first announced in January, with the New York City Economic Development Corporation selecting Throne Labs to produce, install, operate and maintain the units in June, City Hall said in a release.

The pilot will expand access to public restrooms beyond the city’s existing network, which includes nearly 1,000 bathrooms. About 70% are located in parks, according to the EDC.

The new restrooms will pop up at the following sites, the release said:  

The Bronx: Yankee Stadium, Admiral Farragut Playground, Mapes Park and Monsignor Raul Del Valle Square
Brooklyn: Columbus Park, Milestone Park, Fulton Street and Truxton Street, and Avenue C Plaza
Queens: Astoria Boulevard South and 31st Street, Northern Boulevard and 31st Street, Northern Boulevard and 54th Street, and 34th Avenue and 64th Street
Manhattan: Cooper Square, Malcolm X Plaza, Delancey Street and Suffolk Street, and Plaza Alianza Dominicana
Staten Island: North Shore Esplanade

The city said it will be easy to install and relocate the toilets as needed, since they do not require connections to water, sewer or power infrastructure.

The bathrooms will have a 10-minute time limit per visit Throne Labs says is meant to “discourage extended stays, keep the restroom available to others, and act as a safety measure in case of a medical emergency.”

“While the doors do open automatically after 10 minutes, we never want to catch anyone off guard. We give friendly overhead voice reminders at 5 and 8 minutes, and another at 10 minutes letting them know time is up,” the company said in a blog post. “If someone doesn’t leave after the door opens, our sensors count that as an overstay.”

Additionally, while free to use, users will only be able to enter the restrooms by text message, a QR code, the Throne Bathroom Network app or a tap card distributed through local community partners, according to the release.  

Asked whether that could pose a “barrier to entry” for homeless New Yorkers or those without cellphones, Mamdani said the city’s partnerships with community organizations would aim to address that.

“We are partnering with a lot of local institutions that are going to be passing out these tap cards so that people can actually have a physical manifestation of them,” he said. “And that is going to be a critical part of ensuring that this is something for all New Yorkers.”

He also said the electronic system will help track restroom usage and improve cleanliness.

The toilets, he added, will “go beyond the simple act of providing New Yorkers a place to go in a pinch.”

“They are a critical addition to our public health infrastructure. This is how we keep the streets clean,” he said. “This is how we deliver New Yorkers the basic public services they need to live lives of dignity.”