With nary a dissenting vote, the New York City Council on Wednesday passed sweeping legislation to bring so-called "potty parity" to the city's bars, sports arenas, movie theaters and other venues at which long lines at the ladies' room have long been a frustrating fact of life.
The measure, called the Women's Restroom Equity Bill, will require all new establishments falling under the terms of the legislation to maintain roughly a 2-to-1 ratio of women's bathroom stalls to men's stalls and urinals. Existing establishments will have to come into compliance when they undergo extensive renovations, while restaurants, schools, hospitals, and municipal buildings are excluded.
"Today indeed is a very historic day," said Councilwoman Yvette Clarke, the bill's chief sponsor. "When we talk about women and their quality of life, one thing that everyone has sort of turned a blind eye to has been our ability to utilize public facilities in a timely manner."
As the roll call vote progressed, the City Council's female members were visibly enthusiastic in their praise of the bill -- and its male contingent deliberately so.
"It's a good bill, but if there was ever a bill I was afraid of being on the wrong side of, it is this bill," said Councilman Erik Martin Dilan of Brooklyn, voicing a sentiment held by a number of his colleagues. Noting that 60 percent of his constituents are women, Dilan added, "I really don't want to face them in an election year having to explain my position if I was on the wrong side of this vote."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the bill and is expected to sign it into law.
The council also passed a bill expressing its support for legislation pending in Albany to restore city officials' control over local rent and eviction laws, which cover about 2.4 million New York City residents living in rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments.
In 2003, the council passed a resolution favoring such a change in principle, but Wednesday's legislation, known as a home-rule message, is a more formal statement of support.
"The city of New York should not have to go up and bargain with upstate representatives to protect our own homes," Council Speaker Gifford Miller said at a news conference before the vote.
"We have a duly elected mayor and a duly elected City Council. And the mayor and the City Council ought to be able to get together and make decisions about our homes and our lives," Miller said.
Every Democratic council member supported the home-rule message, while the three Republican members voted against it. A return to local control of rent and eviction laws would require the consent of the Assembly, the state Senate and Governor George Pataki.
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