Mamdani’s new NYC public bathrooms come with a warning: You’ve got 10 minutes

BS BULLETIN:

New York City is rolling out 17 high-tech public bathrooms under a $4 million pilot program.
Users get 10 minutes inside, with warnings at five and eight minutes.
After a final warning, the bathroom door automatically opens.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has a message for anyone planning to settle in with their phone while using one of the city’s new high-tech public bathrooms: Don’t get too comfortable.

You have 10 minutes.

The Mamdani administration has begun installing 17 modular public bathrooms across all five boroughs as part of a $4 million, one-year pilot with Throne Labs. The free bathrooms will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and include running water, flushing toilets, climate control and baby-changing stations.

But it’s the built-in countdown that’s getting attention.

Throne Labs co-founder and COO Jessica Heinzelman explained during Wednesday’s rollout that users are informed of the 10-minute limit before entering and again once inside.

At five minutes, the music playing inside stops and a friendly message tells the occupant they’re halfway through.

At eight minutes, another warning announces that the session is nearing its end and reminds the user that the door will open at 10 minutes.

Then things get considerably more urgent.

“At 10 minutes, there are flashing lights,” Heinzelman said, explaining that an English-and-Spanish audio message tells the occupant: “Your time is up, the door is opening.”

There is still a roughly 30-second grace period before the door actually opens.

“So, if you are still pants down, we’re not going to open the door on you,” Heinzelman said. “But then the door does open.”

The company says the timer isn’t arbitrary. Heinzelman told Fox News Digital that the vast majority of Throne users across its existing markets are finished within about 3.5 minutes, and the time limit is intended in part to discourage loitering. Throne also says the automatic-opening feature can help when someone inside suffers a medical emergency.

Mamdani offered his own advice for New Yorkers tempted to spend their bathroom break catching up on social media.

“This is not a place to scroll on your phone,” the mayor said. “I know that many people do that. This isn’t one of them.”

The units are ADA-accessible and fully touchless. They can be unlocked through a text message, QR code, the Throne Bathroom Network app or physical tap cards distributed through community partners. Because the self-contained units don’t require connections to city water, sewer or power infrastructure, officials say they can be installed and relocated far more easily than conventional public restrooms.

The 17 locations include spots near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, Columbus Park in Brooklyn, Cooper Square in Manhattan and several locations in Queens, along with the North Shore Esplanade on Staten Island.