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In cities such as New York the payphones are not really used for placing calls. Their primary function is as a substrate for advertising. No amount of money can
by jzwinck 7y ago
In cities such as New York the payphones are not really used for placing calls. Their primary function is as a substrate for advertising. No amount of money can buy ad space in some of the best payphone locations.
- mlrtime 7y agoand urinals...
- chasd00 7y agoand for drunks to beat on. There use to be a handful in an art/music neighborhood here in Dallas (Deep Ellum) and they were always bent and beat to hell.
- technothrasher 7y agoIn New York, most of the pay phones have been replaced with "LinkNYC" kiosks, which provide free WiFi, charging, tourist info, and yes... actual phone calls. (As well as still providing advertising space. Always with the advertising.)
- Terretta 7y agoIn other words, they provide basecamps for panhandlers. Installations up and down 7th Ave or Broadway, for instance, are typically abutted by a kind of cardboard picnic blanket spread, covered with makeshift bags of belongings along with the pan handler’s signage and pan. The mendicant roosts there with tablet and phone plugged in for juice, watching YouTube played over the WiFi. Some stores have taken to piling the day’s trash bags around the base instead, before someone posts up. I’m curious who thought these wouldn’t turn out co-opted by panhandlers camping or as a pole to pile refuse around — I’m not sure which setup is a less appetizing context for advertising!