Sep

Finally, a Clean Bathroom in a Subway Station!

Posted by admin Published in Transportation Alternatives

One of the most inspirational slices of life in New York City is the subway, the rattling muse behind such works of art as Duke Ellington’s recording of “Take the A Train”, the many Seinfeld episodes that took place underneath the city, and the setting for the memorable chase scene in The French Connection. Thanks to Curbed, we can now add to that illustrious list a new Scottish homage to the DeKalb Avenue stop on the Fourth Avenue Line that gives a whole new meaning to BMT.

According to Reclaimed Home, a very intelligent Glasgow artist who goes by the name of Travis the Trannyboi was so inspired by the DeKalb Avenue stop during his first visit to New York City that he vowed to incorporate it into the bathroom of his first domestic. Ten years later, he and his sister found themselves owners of a former tenement with a bathroom that was wee in every sense of the word. Travis was finally able to live his dream, installing mosaics that he made and designed himself, along with subway-inspired wire mesh around the bathtub. According to Travis, “It’s been a great way to distract from the smallness of the room, and
visitors to the flat always open the bathroom door with a ‘Wow!’” We assume the reaction is partially considering of Travis’ talents, but mostly considering it’s the cleanest subway stop they’ve ever seen. You can see more images after the jump.

Maybe it’s the obvious olfactory connection or even the organization with sitting and waiting, but the bathroom seems the only fitting place to introduce

the thrill of a transit station to the domestic. We certainly couldn’t suppose anyone spraying Glade “Inbound Express” in the kitchen or the bedroom. Travis’ work even inspires further thought: why can’t there be a bathroom that clean actually inside of a subway station? It’s ironic that the world uses subway stations as bathrooms, but there aren’t many usable bathrooms in subway stations.

According to the New York Post, Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hilkind commissioned a study of New York City subway station restrooms (we didn’t know they existed either) and found that the majority are closed, under repair, or contain more unpleasant surprises than a Palin family picnic. Boston’s MBTA opened their few public restrooms to the public in a pilot program, but you’ll have to ask a station attendant for a key in order to pee on the T. The Koreans only added WCs in response to a tragedy: a conductor was killed after falling into the path of an oncoming train during a bathroom emergency.

Have you ever used a public restroom on public transportation? We don’t want any gory details, but we wouldn’t intellect hearing ways your local transit authority could better cater to commuters who downed one too many cups of coffee. At the very least, you could hit us with a couple of cheap Larry Craig jokes.