The city of San Francisco has finally unveiled its long-awaited public bathroom with much fanfare and celebration, after it was severely mocked for its high price.
Estimated to cost $1.7 million, but ultimately built for much less, the metal toilet was installed in the Noe Valley neighborhood on April 20.
About 100 people gathered at the Noe Valley Town Square to celebrate the opening by dressing up as the Mario brothers (who are plumbers by trade) and had a live jazz band renamed ‘American Standard’ that day.
Leslie Crawford, organizer of the bathroom-themed party titled ‘Toilet Bowl,’ was heard telling the crowd: ‘Noe Valley, let’s hear it for our ‘not worth $1.7 million bathroom.’
The city of San Francisco has finally unveiled its long-awaited public bathroom with much fanfare and celebration, after it was severely mocked for its high price.
Estimated to cost $1.7 million, but ultimately built for much less, the metal toilet was installed in the Noe Valley neighborhood on April 20.
About 100 people gathered in the Noé Town Hall square to celebrate the inauguration
Celebrants saw a group of acrobats juggling plungers and children circling a maypole clutching long strands of toilet paper.
Speaking about what inspired her to throw such a party, Crawford saying: ‘When everyone laughs at you, you have to take back the power and laugh at yourself.
‘This whole thing got so ridiculous, so why not be ridiculous?’
In addition to the bathroom, the public bathroom also has a diaper changing station.
The installation comes three months after the public expressed outrage over the city government’s failure to install the toilet after a two-year delay.
Celebrants saw a group of acrobats juggling plungers and children circling a maypole clutching long strands of toilet paper.
In addition to the bathroom, the public bathroom also has a diaper changing station.
The city was forced to turn to the private sector to finish the job, but the two men who promised to build it were frustrated by the city’s lack of commitment and high construction costs.
Assemblyman Matt Haney had been planning for nearly a year to build the community bathroom at Noe Valley Town Square in a 150-square-foot space after city officials said there were not enough funds to build a bathroom when the plaza was built. in 2016.
So he got funding from the Department of Parks and Recreation, without questioning the $1.7 million price tag, which is almost as high as a single-family home costs in that area.
But the plans were met with outrage when the price was revealed by the San Francisco Chronicle in October 2022, prompting Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is also the city’s mayor, to threaten to block the funding.
A planned public bathroom in San Francisco for which California Governor Gavin Newsom allocated $1.7 million in public funds remains stalled after more than two years of bureaucracy and delays.
Somewhat surprisingly, Newsom returned the $1.7 million to the city after officials promised to build at least two bathrooms instead of one but had made “little progress.”
‘Why isn’t there a bathroom here? I just don’t understand. “Nobody knows,” local resident Ted Weinstein wondered at the time.
“It’s yet another example of the city not being able to,” he said. The New York Times.
Residents have also long complained about worsening potholes that the city has failed to fix.
Meanwhile, the city’s streets are overrun by homeless people who have turned parts of it into an open-air drug market, and crime remains out of control.
The lack of a bathroom is an inconvenience because parents and their children often enjoy the playground but have no way to relieve themselves.
Excuses offered by local authorities include the high cost of construction in the city, the search for an architect and the process of obtaining public input.
Noe Valley Town Square needs a bathroom since it opened in 2016
Assemblyman Matt Haney has been planning for nearly a year to build the community bathroom at Noe Valley Town Square in a 150-square-foot space after city officials said there were not enough funds to build a bathroom when the plaza was built. in 2016.
But the plans were met with outrage when the price tag was revealed by the San Francisco Chronicle in October 2022, prompting Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is also the city’s former mayor, to threaten to block funding.
The city’s massive amount of red tape also requires funding to hire people to ensure the bathroom is “appropriate to its context in the urban environment.”
The Times says it can take an average of 523 days for a developer to get the initial go-ahead to build homes and an additional 605 days to obtain permits, adding up to nearly four years.
The private sector has attempted to build the park bathroom on its own in the months since its initial failure, without success, despite Mayor London Breed’s promise to reduce bureaucracy.
Vaughn Buckley, CEO of Volumetric Building Companies, agreed to do the architectural and engineering prep work for free after the city approached him.
He and his friend Chad Kaufman, who runs the Public Restroom Company and offered to donate a modular toilet, said they would pay local union workers for the installation themselves.
The city reached an agreement with Volumetric in April 2023, but Buckley claimed that talks with the Parks and Recreation Department had broken down in a Dec. 22 letter where he cited both the high costs of hiring workers and a lack of willingness of the city to reach an agreement.
San Francisco Parks & Rec was similarly disappointed with a letter written to Buckley in December 2023.
“Your team did not respond to our repeated attempts to participate,” they wrote.
‘We are receiving inquiries from citizens, journalists and local legislators about the status of this highly publicized project. We’ll have to answer questions.’
Vaughn Buckley, CEO of Volumetric Building Companies, promised to do the architectural and engineering prep work for free, but has faced challenges from the city.
Private developers hope the town square toilet can be completed by April, but have been delayed by the city’s unwillingness to involve them.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed has promised to reduce bureaucracy like that faced by bathroom developers.