New York wants to spend no less than $9 billion constructing latest prisons in 4 boroughs, and can be spending billions of dollars protecting us from climate change.
Nevertheless, even after a 12 months of Mayor Adams’ “Get Things Done” plan, we will not construct five public restrooms for lower than $5.3 million, excess of the associated fee of other cities.
The Tale of the Portland Loos, it was first announced in The City on Mondayit is very instructive how much it costs to construct anything – if we will construct anything in any respect – in New York.
In most construction projects, town bundles material costs, labor costs, and management costs together, making it difficult to know what’s what.
For instance, in the prisons project, we have now no idea how much town will spend on concrete and steel and the way much it will spend on construction labor and design consultants.
But thanks to Portland Loo, we all know exactly how much a physical product costs.
Whether you are in New York or Seattle, the corporate that makes them, Madden Fabrication, sells them for around $185,000 each: 185,000 times five is $925,000.
Meaning we’re spending almost $4.4 million on… what? How can we get $875,000 each to install one toilet after the physical cost of the toilet?
Other expensive cities fared higher.
Ten years ago, San Diego spent the equivalent of $358,000 in today’s dollars to install a Portland Loo toilet.
![Portland Loo in downtown Portland, Oregon](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/NYPICHPDPICT000007418243.jpg?w=1024)
That is lower than half of what we’ll spend – despite the fact that in San Diego, like here, town has spent extra cash to make sure the restrooms meet strict constructing codes, including earthquake standards.
Kodiak in Alaska spent about $200,000 installing its Portland Loos last 12 months.
Terrace of Canada says it will cost around $70,000 (in US dollars) to install this 12 months.
Sacramento estimates it costs lower than $200,000 to install toilets.
That is a wide selection – but no city comes close to New York’s nearly seven-figure cost to do a easy job: connect a prefabricated unit to water, sewer and power.
The large problem is the state payroll law. Municipal contractors will perform sewerage and other connection works.
Under state law, contractors must pay an entry-level employee $94 an hour in wages and advantages plus time beyond regulation.
Project management also involves costs that increase the longer the project lasts.
Since New York has no plans to install these toilets for no less than 15 months, many individuals in the parks department may have to steer the project through a public design committee and five community boards.
These are also full-time, well-paying jobs.
Those self same costs make it too expensive to construct something prettier than the Portland Loo, a public restroom that is so easy it’s easily mistaken for a prison restroom. (This is definitely what the Portland Loo is all about, to discourage people from lingering – the water gutter, not even the sink, is definitely outside.)
![Portland Loo in downtown Portland, Oregon](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/NYPICHPDPICT000007418246.jpg?w=1024)
There isn’t any secret to it: after the physical parts and transport, there may be nothing left but work and management.
It doesn’t take much to construct real restrooms in more used parks, but we just cannot: it cost $4 million to construct even before the pandemic, after which inflation drove up overall prices.
Adams understandably wants to leave a physical mark on town.
Prisons aside, he starts with surprisingly modest projects: Perhaps we do not need huge mega-projects for a while, but we could use some bathrooms and prettier streets.
Bathrooms are a good place for Adams to show he can control costs.
Nicole Gelinas is co-editor of the City Journal of the Manhattan Institute.