Almost sounds like the bigger and more complex issue is homelessness rather than people with homes not being able to find a convenient bathroom.

True. I was surprised by the number of homeless people in NY. Especially in the train.

Yeah, it's an unfortunate, "This is why we can't have nice things," situation. I would really love the idea of having public restrooms both for convenience for anyone who is out and about, and to allow homeless people to have some amount of dignity about being able to relieve themselves.

But you're right, it invariably gets taken over and becomes disgusting. And all the solutions I can think of are quite dystopian, like having a video camera that watches you in the bathroom so it can detect any kind of foul play.

I would pay 5-10$ to use a bathroom when emergency.