New York Says Goodbye to the City's Last Public Payphone

New York Says Goodbye to the City's Last Public Payphone

New York, Says Goodbye to the City's , Last Public Payphone.

New York, Says Goodbye to the City's , Last Public Payphone.

New York City marked the end of an era this week as the city's last public payphone was removed.

New York City marked the end of an era this week as the city's last public payphone was removed.

On May 23, municipal officials removed New York's last remaining city-owned payphone in the Midtown area.

As a native New Yorker, saying goodbye to the last street payphone is bittersweet because of the prominent place they’ve held in the city’s physical landscape for decades, Matthew Fraser, New York’s commissioner of the office of technology and innovation, via 'The Guardian'.

At one time, there were over 6,000 public payphones throughout the city.

Since 2015, most of those have been replaced with LinkNYC stands.

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Just like we transitioned from the horse and buggy to the automobile and from the automobile to the airplane, the digital evolution has progressed from payphones to high-speed wifi kiosks to meet the demands of our rapidly changing daily communications needs, Matthew Fraser, New York’s commissioner of the office of technology and innovation, via 'The Guardian'.

Just like we transitioned from the horse and buggy to the automobile and from the automobile to the airplane, the digital evolution has progressed from payphones to high-speed wifi kiosks to meet the demands of our rapidly changing daily communications needs, Matthew Fraser, New York’s commissioner of the office of technology and innovation, via 'The Guardian'.

The freestanding kiosks provide a charging station for mobile devices along with free wifi and domestic phone calls for all users.

The freestanding kiosks provide a charging station for mobile devices along with free wifi and domestic phone calls for all users.

LinkNYC kiosks also serve as digital billboards for advertisers, artists and public service announcements.

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LinkNYC kiosks also serve as digital billboards for advertisers, artists and public service announcements.

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'The Guardian' reports that a small number of private payphones still remain in New York.

According to Gothamist, the last of the public payphones will end up in the Museum of the City of New York as part of an exhibit about the city before the advent of computers.

According to Gothamist, the last of the public payphones will end up in the Museum of the City of New York as part of an exhibit about the city before the advent of computers