NYC to remove remaining payphones

[left-of-center2012]

New York City is reportedly planning to remove all of the last remaining public payphones from the city’s streets.

About 30 payphones will be removed from Hell’s Kitchen by the end of the month, according to ABC News’ New York City station WABC, followed by an estimated 3,000 more across the city’s five boroughs in the coming months.

There are currently only four phone booths left in New York City, according to the New York Times – all of them on the Upper West Side. The last remaining booths can all be found on West End Avenue on 66th Street, 90th Street, 100th Street and 101st Street.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson spoke about the plans to remove payphones around the city:
“My office has received numerous community complaints from local residents about these antiquated pay phones, which present public safety and quality of life issues," Johnson said. "Additionally, they take up sorely needed sidewalk space that could better serve people with disabilities, families with strollers and ease sidewalk congestion.”

Some of the payphones will be replaced with Link NYC internet kiosks which provide free internet and phone calls to the public.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/york-city-set-remove-iconic-payphones-off-streets/story?id=69318328

[MyOwnPeace]

1. I was watching.......

a YouTube clip with my 3-year old grandson when a "random screensaver" came on while we were talking about something we had seen on the video. The picture was of a row of phone booths on a London street.

He looked at the screen and asked, "What are those?"

I tried to explain, but the more I tried the more alien the idea sounded to him - and me!

Don't know where Clark Kent would go these days.......

[customerserviceguy]

9. Back when

Clark Kent was changing in phone booths, they were opaque! I wondered why the Superman story had phone booths in it when I first read comic books in the early 1960's. By that point, nearly all of them were made of see-through glass!

[Javaman]

13. superman was an exhibitionist. LOL nt

[customerserviceguy]

14. I've heard

that he was like a streak of lightning!

[LiberalFighter]

2. The city controls that? I thought they were telephone company property.

[left-of-center2012]

3. On city sidewalks n/t

[virgogal]

8. The phone company

used to pay commission to the city for the phones on city property----the cities wanted them there.

[CTyankee]

4. I thought they were already gone...

[dewsgirl]

5. It's nice to have at least one, for an emergency. I locked

my phone and everything in my car one day, luckily I was near the one left in my town, and extra lucky for me my debit card was in my pocket, because they only take cards and that call cost me 15.00 dollars, but it was better than the alternative of having to walk the three miles to my husband's work. I'm now always terrified of locking my phone/keys in the car.

[left-of-center2012]

6. From the OP

Some of the payphones will be replaced with Link NYC internet kiosks which provide free internet and phone calls to the public.

[dewsgirl]

7. I missed that, thank you.

[Demovictory9]

10. the charge to use one is exorbitant. i was charged $32. cheaper to buy pay as you

go phone with $10 of minutes

[dewsgirl]

11. The crazy thing is, the only people I ever see on that

phone are either homeless or very close to it, some of them I know for a fact have cell phones. I ponder this often.

[DFW]

12. I wonder how good those internet kiosks will be in a rain storm? n/t