Mornings in New York: The taste of hot coffee, the din of traffic, the aroma of fresh urine. If you have the bad luck to pass anywhere a drunken bar-goer might have the night before, as most of us do, chances are you'll pass some building nook with a suspicious stain and catch a nasty whiff of beer that's been through somebody.
Drunken public urination isn't just an American problem, of course: Tokyo, London, Hamburg, and every city whose name is under a clock on some globally-concerned office's wall suffers the same problem. But Hamburg is now fighting it with technology. Specifically, superhydrophobic paint, i.e. water-repellent coating, which a local community board has applied liberally to walls in their party district of St. Pauli. Here are the results:
I need to get the name of that coating, and to start lobbying my local community board! Last fall I returned home to find someone peeing on my building's front door. WeWorkNYC, the world's worst neighbors, were throwing another uncontrolled party and revelers didn't feel like waiting for the bathrooms. Meanwhile I had to wait for the guy to finish before entering my building.
"You're an animal," I said to the guy as he zipped up.
"Yeah, I know," he said, unconcernedly, and went back into the party to tank up again.
Hell in a handbasket.
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Comments
I feel this would only make the problem worse!
firstly since peeing on the ground or standing a little further from the wall or even peeing diagonally along the wall will eliminate the negative effect off the hydrophobic paint.
Secondly the problem of people having to pee hasn't been solved at all!
In The Hague, The Netherlands, there is a great solution to this problem, after a certain hour (around 10pm) Public toilets rise from the ground in the city centre and around bars during weekends (thursday evenings till sunday evenings). Easily accessible and visible in night time and completely invisible during day time.
I think they're called Urilifts, but anyhow I think it's a way better to try to facilitate than it is to try to restrain something which is inevitable
Why not focus energy on increasing spots for sanctioned peeing, as there seems to be a need and demand?
I can see you just like Ray on "Girls" raging at the City Council with your home built model.
You are so right...