Just think: You have to pay to piss

I was in for a surprise when I wanted to use the bathroom at Think Coffee on Eighth Avenue, between West 13th and West 14th streets, in Manhattan.

The front room. The bathroom is in the rear.

After coffee and a filling breakfast at home on Monday morning, I took the bus into the city and stopped at Think Coffee on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.

I walked in and started looking for an outlet to charge my iPhone. 

I found one in the back room, which was full of young men and women riveted to their computers, pads and smart phones.

Were they students or unemployed? 

One young man was kind enough to pull out the charger for his computer and allow me to plug in my iPhone charger.

After about 20 minutes, I went to the restroom, and found the door locked. The sign on the door is shown in the photo:

The pay bathroom at Think Coffee.

 

I know I didn't want to have more coffee or tea. So, I decided I could wait to go to the bathroom somewhere else.

The night before, I walked into a restaurant on Ninth Avenue, in the 50s, and was told using the bathroom was no problem. It was small, but one of the cleanest I've seen.

West 51st Street, between Eighth and Ninth avenues, in a photo taken from in front of a French bistro, Tout Va Bien, which means "everything is going well." That may be the case for the restaurant, but certainly not for the street itself, a one-lane track in what could pass for a Manhattan war zone.