This New Yorker is utilizing TikTook to doc the very best public loos in metropolis -

(CNN) — A cheeky New Yorker goes viral for the useful data she shares on TikTook about public loos within the metropolis.

Teddy Siegel, 22, began the “Got2GoNYC” account in 2021 after practically peeing herself in Times Square.

“I was on the verge of peeing my pants, and I had been turned away from multiple locations that either said their bathroom was for employees only, or they didn’t have a bathroom,” the Long Island native and aspiring opera singer informed CNN. Finally, she encountered a McDonald’s the place she was ready to make use of the toilet, however solely after shopping for a product.

To keep away from one other shut name, Siegel began making brief movies on TikTook to doc free and clear loos she might use when wanted. “This is something I really wanted for myself,” she stated.

Since then, her account has amassed practically 100,000 followers, with many individuals sending in their very own details about which loos are accessible to the general public and even sharing door lock codes.

As of April 2022, her movies have garnered practically one million likes.

While the TikTook account might sound quirky, Siegel says it has allowed her and followers to study extra about accessibility points in New York City. Commentators typically share tales in regards to the hardships they endure searching for secure, clear, and free loos.

One follower shared a narrative about utilizing Got2GoNYC to search out accessible loos whereas homeless, and one other detailed the battle of looking for a rest room at evening as a Black supply employee, Siegel stated.

“I’ve learned the most through my followers,” she stated. “It really underscores that this is such a public health and equity crisis.”

To assist, Siegel has partnered with ClearPath, a nonprofit group offering assets to homeless youth in NYC, to create a spreadsheet of accessible loos individuals can use.

Teddy Siegel is seen in a TikTook video talking about being banned.

Courtesy Teddy Siegel

She additionally makes use of TikTook’s built-in features to make her movies as accessible as potential to New Yorkers in a pinch. For occasion, she made devoted playlists to focus on loos providing free menstrual merchandise, embrace altering tables, and are gender-neutral. She additionally created a Google Map the place customers can add publicly accessible loos on their very own and edit the data

The reputation of her account is “a very big wake-up call to NYC that they’re miserably failing in providing sanitary and accessible bathrooms to their people,” stated Siegel.

“This has always been an unspoken truth in NYC, that there are no bathrooms,” she stated. “All of the bathrooms are literally locked away, but it’s illegal to use the bathroom in public, so what are people supposed to do?”

Still, the response to Got2GoNYC hasn’t been all optimistic. Siegel stated a number of movies have been taken down by TikTook, and she or he is at present quickly blocked for violating neighborhood tips, however wasn’t certain which of them.

TikTook didn’t reply to CNN’s request for remark.

As for Siegel’s favourite lavatory within the metropolis? She says it is in Bryant Park.

“It makes you feel like you’re royalty,” she stated. “It has classical music, art, and fresh flowers,” in addition to free menstrual merchandise and “really nice” attendants.