NYC Removes Final Payphone

The march of time and technology never stops. The latest item to be reduced to the trash is the final payphone in New York City. In a place where payphones were on every single corner, the city that never sleeps now relies on wireless technology to keep New Yorkers connected.

The bank of two phones was on 7th Avenue and 50th Street in Midtown Manhattan. And, as you might expect in Manhattan, graffiti was scrawled on it. The city began removing payphones in 2015 and replacing them with public Wi-Fi hotspots.

The removal marks the end of the payphone era in the city except for some private payphones on public property and four permanent full-length so-called Superman booths.

Fox 5 NY

The LinkNYC kiosks are now all over the city and according to the article, will begin providing 5G connectivity this summer. Whether that means carriers like Verizon will utilize them as broadcast points or something else, remains to be seen.

A big thanks to TimeMachiner member John for sourcing this story!