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The public toilet in NYC is called Starbucks. It doesn’t get easier than that.

Having just spent the year in Manhattan, my experience was that most (every?) Starbucks there no longer have public bathrooms even with purchase. I was surprised to discover that the only free public bathrooms were at Sweet Green. It changed my perspective of them as a company- it’s a real commitment when the trend is going in the other direction and I want to support them financially as a result.

Yes, I figured out the Starbucks (or any other fast food chain) thing after staying there for a while. It's however really a sad scene where people deny visiting washrooms especially when you need it the most.

Plus it paints a wrong picture of a country because it's technically people asking you a few bucks for a basic necessity and the government has failed.

This is in stark contrast with developed countries like Singapore (where I visit a lot). Singapore makes sure a public toilet is available within a few hundred meters and boy are those clean!

And McD. And Shake Shack. And others.

(Yes you might need to buy something but seems like a small effort for it)

I can attest that Shake Shack have purchase-only bathrooms. And even after a purchase they seemed annoyed…

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