Lectures on Tap - "The Rise and Fall of Public Restrooms in New York City"

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🧠 Lecture: "The Rise and Fall of Public Restrooms in New York City"

🎤 Speaker: Dr. Elizabeth Yuko

Since public restrooms were introduced in the mid-19th century, they have quietly shaped who is—and is not—welcome in public spaces. They were once hailed as a major leap forward in sanitation and public health, transforming cities like New York from filthy, disease-ridden environments into more livable urban centers.

In this talk, award-winning journalist and bioethicist Dr. Elizabeth Yuko traces how Victorian and Progressive Era concerns with hygiene and cleanliness led to a boom in public restrooms, and how shifting attitudes eventually moved us from government-provided facilities to a consumer model where toilets are largely tucked inside private businesses.

What happens when “public” restrooms are no longer truly public, and many people are left with nowhere to go? Dr. Yuko will unpack the social, ethical, and health implications of this evolution, revealing how something as everyday as a bathroom can expose deeper questions of access, equity, and power in city life.

Elizabeth Yuko, PhD, has written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Bloomberg CityLab, Playboy, and more.

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Agenda

6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key.

6:55 PM – Host introduction

7:00 PM – Lecture begins

7:45 PM – Audience Q&A

8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round

8:30 PM – Wrap up.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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