NYC’s new robotoilets will kick you out after 10 minutes—whether you’re finished or not

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is tackling yet another urban annoyance: the city’s lack of public restrooms.

As of June 2025, New York City had just 975 operating public restrooms across its five boroughs, or one per every 8,697 residents. To start making it easier to go while on the go, the city is installing 17 new modular bathrooms—aka robotoilets—equipped with amenities like running water, temperature control, and baby-changing stations. The bathrooms, made and operated by Throne Labs, are already being erected around NYC, with the first two open as of this week and two more coming on Thursday.

“Too many New Yorkers know what it’s like to have nowhere to go while they’re on the go,” Mamdani said at a press conference on Wednesday. “This pilot is about making sure New Yorkers can count on a clean, safe, accessible bathroom when they need one.”

But as Mamdani put it, these bathrooms are “not a place to scroll on your phone.” Users are meant to do their business, then get a move on within 10 minutes—or face the consequences.

Enforcing a time limit

How do the new bathrooms keep patrons from lingering? There’s a simple fail-safe: After 10 minutes in the bathroom, the doors will automatically open.

Users get plenty of warning before that point, with audio warnings playing at the five-minute and eight-minute marks. After 10 minutes, lights flash and an audio message plays in both English and Spanish, saying: “Attention. Your use time has expired. The door is opening now.” After a final 30-second grace period, the doors will open, whether a user is ready or not. There’s currently no way for users to extend their session.

If a user still refuses to leave the restroom after their 10 minutes are up, operators at Throne Labs will receive an alert to check on the situation in person. Employees then use their discretion on how to proceed, though officials said the police may be called to remove loiterers if necessary.

Who gets to go?

The threat of public indecency is a good deterrent against dawdling with your pants around your ankles, but it also raises accessibility concerns. Throne Labs bathrooms are ADA-accessible, but those who may require more than 10 minutes in the bathroom due to illness, disability, or other health-related factors may still find themselves unable to comfortably use the toilets within the time constraints.

Reacting to the time limit on social media, one user described the doors opening as their “new IBS nightmare scenario.”

“They can open the doors on me all they want, but unless that seat is spring loaded I am finishing my business,” another user replied.

“Imagine just being on the sidewalk and the robo toilet doors open and you get an eyeful of a total stranger,” a third user fretted.

The robotoilets also present an entirely different accessibility issue. In order to open the doors, users require either a smartphone (to text a designated number, scan a QR code, or use Throne’s app) or a special tap card, which will be distributed by local organizations.

The Free to Pee Coalition, an advocacy group led by VOCAL-NY and the Coalition for the Homeless, said in a statement that these requirements raise “several access issues for homeless New Yorkers.”

“Many may not have a smartphone or be able to easily obtain a physical tap card to open these restrooms,” the statement continued. “As the City tests this pilot and decides in the future to purchase additional bathrooms, modular bathrooms alone will not change the current imbalance in bathroom access.”

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