This weekend, we received a photo of pay phones on 37th St in New York City.
For those who don’t know, we collect these images around here.. those vestiges of the past are actually quite amazing..
Well, it just so happens that only hours after receiving this image, news broke in the city that these, and all other pay phones across Gotham, will become a distant memory!
It’s over..
According to ABC News and its WABC affiliate in the Big Apple, 30 payphones will be removed from Hell’s Kitchen by the end of this month.
As the year continues, the last 3,000 units will be dug up and removed from all five boroughs.
Just last Friday, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson explained why the city wants to remove the obsolete equipment.
He said, “My office has received numerous community complaints from local residents about these antiquated pay phones, which present public safety and quality of life issues. Additionally, they take up sorely needed sidewalk space that could better serve people with disabilities, families with strollers and ease sidewalk congestion.”
So much for nostalgia.. Nostalgia coupled with germs and grime.
And quite honestly, they are an historical landmark.. why not preserve them.
Because when they are gone for good, where will Clark Kent change into his Superman costume!?
