[SMGFan]

All that money flushed down the crapper.

[hinckley buzzard]

Oh yeah. Thicker sheet metal for a couple stall doors must cost an extra half a million easy.

[GeronL]

Is it unisex and have little holes between the stalls?

It will

[JimmyMc]

Talk about pissing away money!!!

[ClearCase_guy]

They spent all that money — and it really stinks!

[JimmyMc]

Talk about pissing away money!!!

[DemforBush]

"A spokesperson for the Parks Department offered a reason for the extravagance: because public bathrooms are used so frequently, the city used more durable materials, such as thicker gauge door metal and all-steel sanitary piping consultant's commissions to some fine gentleman who also engage in waste management and arranging personal loans at relatively reasonable rates.

There, fixed it.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Da unions gotta get deir share.

Yous got a problem wid dat?

[Gay State Conservative]

Hey,these days it's essential that bathrooms are designed to accommodate all seven genders in a discreet and respectful way.That stuff costs $$$,particularly with union plumbers in NY making more than some brain surgeons.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

When I was in NYC they seemed to prefer pissing in telephone booths.

[SkyDancer]

Cheap union labor. It would have cost more than that if a non-union crew did it. (sarc for those of you who don’t get it.)

[Carriage Hill]

Union corruption, graft and payoffs always drive-up the price; it could have been done for significantly less. Sounds like a blast bunker-grade crapper. It'll be trashed and unusable within 1½ years, I'd bet.

[unixfox]

How long before graffiti turns it into another dump?

[smokingfrog]

WHAT??

It was only supposed to cost $1.9 million. (not kidding)

[hoagy62]

2.3 million? Pssht! That's nothing! Here's a story about a public restroom in Elbe, WA (on the road to Mt. Rainier Natl. Park) that the State of Washington built for 3.2 million...and nothing flushes....it's water-free!

Elbe rest area a welcome addition on road to Mount Rainier

[varyouga]

I’m an engineer and years ago worked as a sub-consultant for a NYC Parks job. Almost as a favor to help a contractor that was in over their head and wanted to get the job over with.

They are actually very very very frugal with spending but in a completely idiotic way. Basically, their rules force them to save $1 today even if it means that they will end up losing $100 over the course of the project.

The rules are intended to reduce corruption and favors to connected firms but instead they get “impossibly low bidder” unqualified firms that give up once they realize how much money they are losing jumping through Parks’ hoops. Eventually you end up with a building that was basically rebuilt several times in pieces by several of these incompetent firms fixing each other mistakes.

Most firms that foolishly win a Parks job never ever bid on them again. I know at least 5 firms that went bankrupt after making a deal with the devil known as “Parks”.