First Universalist Church in downtown Rochester placed a portable toilet outside its building after city restrooms were locked at night, aiming to prevent unhoused individuals and passersby from using church grounds as toilets. The church partnered with St. Mary's and the Washington Square Community Association to advocate for 24‑hour public facilities, calling the portable unit a temporary act of dignity while urging municipal action.
A portable toilet is set up outside First Universalist Church at Clinton Avenue and Court Street in downtown Rochester , Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Rochester , N.Y.
— First Universalist Church now has a portable toilet set up outside the building "to temporarily provide a private solution to a public problem," the church announced Wednesday in a release. The church, located at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Court Street in downtown Rochester, said the city's public toilets are closed and locked at night.
So, having no private place to attend to a basic human need, passersby and the unhoused use church alcoves and gardens as their toilets. The church said installing the portable toilet "seemed the only way to keep the church property clean" in response to "city inaction.
" "No one should be forced to relieve themselves in a church garden," Adam Durand, the church's volunteer garden coordinator, said in a statement. "Yet our custodian and congregation members were cleaning up human waste because our unhoused neighbors had nowhere else to go. This toilet is a small act of dignity in response to a crisis that only the city can solve.
" First Universalist said it has partnered with neighboring St. Mary's Church and the Washington Square Community Association since 2023 to advocate for 24/7 public toilets. "The worth and dignity of every person is a core value in our faith," Rev. Eileen Casey-Campbell, minister of First Universalist, said in a statement.
"Bathroom use is a basic human need, and we believe everyone — especially our neighbors with the least resources — has a right to accessible, dignified, safe spaces to meet that need. "Perinton, N.Y. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says it is investigating a homicide in Perinton. Deputies have been on scene this morning at an apartment compPolice are searching for suspects after after a business was shot up Tuesday afternoon on the city's northeast side.
Police are asking the public for help identifying two people shown in surveillance video footage from the scene of a 2022 homicide on the city's north side. Attorney Cory Missell, senior counsel for Tully Rinckey who is not affiliated with the case, said the allegations are heavy. A heartfelt ceremony was held Tuesday night for the 4-year-old boy who was killed at the hands of his father earlier this year.
Portable Toilet First Universalist Church Public Restroom Shortage Homelessness Rochester
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