PostedMay 23, 2022, 10:34 p.m.
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Manhattan’s last “booth” housing two telephones was removed on Tuesday, marking the end of an era in New York City.
Wired payphones began disappearing from the streets of New York City in the early 2000s as cell phones appeared.
–AFP
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New York City on Monday unplugged its last coin-operated telephone kiosk, the famous payphone boothreplaced a few years ago by free wi-fi hotspots.
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But let Superman fans be reassured: Manhattan will keep four telephone booths closed, those in which journalist Clark Kent turns into a superhero. On Monday morning, New York put an end to a myth popularized in popular culture over decades of comics, photography, film and television.
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“Famous or infamous”
In front of the press, the municipal authorities and the president (the equivalent of the mayor) of the borough of Manhattan, Mark Levine, had the last booth housing two telephones, which sat on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 50e Street in the center of New York Island, marked with the blue bell logo of the telecommunications company Bell System.
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“I was there today for a final goodbye to the famous – or infamous? – NYC payphone. I will not miss the lack of dial tone, but I must admit that I had a pinch in the heart of nostalgia to see him go,” wrote Mark Levine on Twitter.
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The elected Democrat said he does not really regret the days when these phones worked half the time, when you had to dig into your pockets to find a one-piece coin. quarter (25 cents) or queuing to call in the middle of the street in full view of passers-by.
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“End of an Era”
Wired payphones began disappearing from the streets of New York City in the early 2000s, as cell phones appeared, and then in the 2010s, with the explosion of smartphones. Starting in 2015, Manhattan accelerated the installation of thousands of LinkNYC hotspots offering free wi-fi and local calls. These new kiosks should gradually be connected to the 5G network.
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“It’s really the end of an era, but also, we hope, the beginning of a new era with more equal access to technology,” boasted Mark Levine, referring to the neighborhoods of northern Manhattan. , Harlem in particular, less well covered by telephone and internet networks.
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According to the local press, Manhattan will keep four old-fashioned phone booths (with or without hinged doors) on the more upscale Upper West Side, on West End Avenue at 66e90e100e et 101e Streets.
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(AFP)
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