At the end of the era, New York disconnected its last telephone kiosk

End of an era: New York City unplugged its last coin-operated telephone kiosk on Monday, replacing the famous “Payphone Booth”, with free WiFi terminals for a few years.

But let’s reassure Superman fans: Manhattan will close four telephone booths, with journalist Clark Kent becoming a superhero.

New York ended Monday morning with a legend that has been popular in popular culture for decades in comics, photography, film and television.

In front of the press, municipal officials and the president of Manhattan Mark Levine Borough (equivalent to the mayor) tore down two telephones and placed the last “booth” on a truck, which was placed in the corner of the throne. 7^And Avenue and 50^And The street in the middle of New York Island is marked with the Blue Bell logo of the telecommunications company Bell System.

“I’m here today for a final farewell to celebrities – or celebrities? – NYC payphone. I’m not going to miss the lack of dial tone, but I have to admit I have a pinch of nostalgia in my heart to see him,” Mark Levine wrote on Twitter.

The elected Democrat said he was really worried about the days when these phones worked half the time, when you had to dig into your pocket to find a piece of coin. Quarterly (25 cents) or line up to make a call in the middle of the street in full view of passersby.

With the appearance of cell phones in the early 2000s, and then the explosion of smartphones in the 2010s, wired phones disappeared from the streets of New York.

Since 2015, Manhattan has accelerated the installation of thousands of LinkNYC hotspots offering WiFi and free local calls. These new kiosks need to be connected to the 5G network regularly.

“This is truly the end of the age, but we hope to usher in a new era with more equal access to technology,” Mr. Levine boasted, referring to the northern neighborhoods of Manhattan, Harlem, especially low-coverage telephone and Internet networks.

According to the local press, Manhattan keeps four old-fashioned phone booths (with or without hinged doors) on West End Avenue.^And90^And100^And And 101^And Streets.