New York City is coming to grips with the severity of the migrant problem faced by border cities, with a sewage crisis casting a pervasive toilet-like stench across neighborhoods.

For years, sidewalks and parks in San Francisco have been used as impromptu bathrooms.

The issue reached a new level when the city realized it would require $1.7 million to install a single public toilet.

With more than 170,000 migrants arriving in New York since spring 2022, according to Newsday, the city is facing a problem similar to San Francisco’s.

According to a Jan. 20 New York Post report, New York City’s Tompkins Square Park has been transformed into one giant toilet, after the city decided to whisk away three port-a-potties that became too difficult to clean.

Little did they know, this move would cast a darker shadow.

Worn down by the agonizing wait for a coveted spot in the local shelter, migrants have now turned the park into an improvised relief area.

“There was a cup of what I thought was somebody’s discarded hot chocolate that turned out to be not hot chocolate,” said street cleaner John Cashvan, according to the Post.

“Most of them want to pee in plastic cups rather than the ground, and they leave them on people’s doorsteps,” resident Garrett Rosso told the newspaper.

The story got the attention of social media users:

According to the Post, residents of Manhattan’s Lower East Side — the part of the city that’s home to the park — are criticizing the city administration for failing to address the influx of migrants.

Their sentiment is crystal clear: Before welcoming such a multitude of migrants, there should be a clear plan in place on how to properly take care of them.

“The bathrooms are an issue. We’ve tried to engage administration regarding this [but] we have not as of this moment been successful,” Susan Stetzer, the district manager for Community Board 3, told the Post.

She added that migrants are left standing outside in freezing temperatures, labeling it a “humanitarian crisis.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.