No More Payphones- It’s The End Of An Era

End of an era as New York removes last public payphone – The Guardian US

Nowadays, most people have smartphones that they use for connection, entertainment, and work. All of the convenient features of their devices fit right in their pocket.

This wasn’t always the case. Payphones have been a long-standing tool that people have used to keep contact with others when they don’t have access to a landline.

With so much cellphone usage, these payphone booths have become seemingly insignificant. Most people don’t think to find the nearest payphone if they need to call a family member on their way home.

The lack of payphone usage prompted New York City to make a major change. The city removed the last public payphone from a Times Square street on Monday. Municipal officials cited a need for digital innovation.

The kiosks put in place of the payphones offer free WiFi, domestic calling, 911, and 311 access. You can also charge your devices at these stations if your phone dies while you’re on the go.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine admitted to missing the payphones, but felt a twinge of nostalgia seeing them go.

The city replaced 7,500 payphones with LinkNYC kiosks in 2016. Most of the old payphones were sent to the scrapyard by 2020.

New Yorkers can visit the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibit, “Analog City: NYC B.C. (Before Computers),” to remember the days before cellphones became widely used.

Find out more about this transition into the digital era by checking out the news outlets listed below:

  1. End of an era as New York removes last public payphone  The Guardian US
  2. New York City removes the last payphone from service  CNBC
  3. NYC’s last public pay phone removed from streets  Eyewitness News ABC7NY
  4. City removes last-standing public payphone from NYC street  New York Post
  5. Extra Extra: Inflation comes for ‘nutcrackers’  Gothamist
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News