It'll finally be easier to pee legally in subway stations

For a city that's unfortunately become synonymous with pee smell, it’s surprisingly difficult to locate public restrooms across New York. Thankfully, the MTA will make things slightly easier when it reopens another hefty batch of bathrooms in NYC subway stations this summer.

RECOMMENDED: This interactive map shows every single open bathroom in NYC

A total of 133 public restrooms across 69 subway stations were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the transit agency has been rolling out a much-welcome reopening this year, with bathroom access already being resumed at 18 stations earlier this year. And beginning Monday, July 3, the MTA will unleash the next wave of openings, with 36 more bathrooms at 18 subway stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx. The second wave will reportedly be reopened in full in time for Labor Day. 

The stations will each have two bathrooms, one for men and one for women, which will be open from 7am to 7pm daily, with a one-hour closure for cleaning from noon to 1pm each day. 

"Reopening bathrooms is another way for New York City Transit to provide customers relief when they have to go on the go for a more comfortable experience in the subway," said NYC Transit President Richard Davey in a statement.

"These refreshed and reopened bathrooms, delivered by the Stations and Facilities divisions at our Department of Subways, show that NYCT is committed to providing faster, safer, and better service to customers across the subway system."

Speaking of said "refreshments," during the closure, the MTA gave bathroom units some much-needed maintenance, including new motion-activated faucets, new hand dryers and soap dispensers, new lighting, tile grouting, new privacy panels, deep cleaning efforts and more. 

Here's the full list of stations that will see bathroom reopenings this summer. Did yours make the cut? 

• 125 St (A, B, C, D)
• Hudson Yards (No. 7 train)
• Sheepshead Bay (B, Q)
• Myrtle/Broadway (J, Z)
• 125 St (No. 4, 5, 6 trains)
• 96 St (Q) 
• 18 Av (F)
• Rockaway Park - Beach 116 St (A, S)
• Pelham Bay Park (No. 6)
• 5 Av & 53 St (E, M)
• Church Av (F)
• 179 St (F)
• 34 St - Herald Square (B, D, F, M)
• Brighton Beach (B, Q)
• Church Av (B, Q)
• Chambers St (No. 1, 2, 3)
• Whitehall St (R, W)
• Jamaica Center - Parsons Archer (E, J, Z)