With Friends’ 25th anniversary rapidly approaching at the end of the month, we wouldn’t blame you if, say, you wanted to express your love for the sitcom by buying a whimsical peephole frame for your door or naming your new cat Gunther. What is not advisable, though, is trekking on a full bladder to the show’s famed apartment exterior on the corner of Bedford and Grove Streets, and whizzing all over the door. We wish a reminder of such uncouth behavior would be unnecessary, but here we are. Now let’s make this an educational moment. Because hidden within a New York Post article about how local West Village residents are pissed about a planned Friends outdoor couch installation, one resident summed up his irritation by recalling the near-constant public urination he deals with from the show’s fans.
“We have at least 400 tourists a day coming to look at that building. They take pictures all day and all night. I come outside and there’s 20 people hanging out on my stoop or taking a pee around the corner,†Rezar Skoda told the Post. “To close off the street or a section of the sidewalk would make it crazy.†Despite Warner Bros. Television filing the correct permits for the nostalgic publicity stunt — which would close the entirety of Bedford between Grove and Barrow for an unknown amount of time — residents are pissed (heh) that a representative from the studio didn’t show up to explain to logistics at a recent community-board meeting. “We are hopeful we can still move forward with the permit and create a unique experience for fans,†Warner Bros. said in a statement. Just, please, hit up the toilet beforehand.