Payphones of Elizabeth, New Jersey
Some photos, payphone numbers, and pithy comments about payphones in Elizabeth, NJ, and elsewhere.
I Found the Pollock Payphone
I think someone has something by splattering white paint on this payphones in Woodside, Queens.
Checking in on the Old Rotary Dial Payphone at Cadman Plaza
Old rotary dialers occupy a distinct space in the pantheon of abandoned payphones. The calming sound and texture of the dialer spinning as I dialed a number reminded me of how many hours people must have spent simply dialing telephone numbers before touchtone phones came along.
Payphones at the St. George Terminal, Staten Island Ferry
A trip to Staten Island turned up a surprising quantity of working payphones at the St. George Terminal. I found 11 phones in all, and at some point in the past there would have been as many as 24. I imagine the ferry boats themselves may have had payphones on board at some point.
A Response to the “WE NEED MORE PAYPHONES” Vandal
The "WE NEED MORE PAY PHONES" vandal is not alone in feeling the absence of traditional public telephones. Once in a while the vandal gets affirmative feedback, demonstrating that others among us feel the wholesale routing of all public telephones is a step too far.
Payphones on the Water? Also, the Nicasio Reservoir Payphone Mystery Solved.
A photo of an unusually-located payphone on a Florida lake inspired me to verify its authenticity, and to follow up on another payphone-on-the-water question I raised a few years ago.
Abandoned Northeast Telephone Inc. Payphone at 97-15 64th Avenue in Queens
A decayed, dilapidated, hunk of telephonic irrelevance greets straphangers entering or exiting the 63rd Drive-Rego Park M/R subway station off of Queens Boulevard.
At the NYPL, Where Payphones Don’t Work But the Booths are Cozy
A woman in one of the NYPL Schwartzman branch phone booths. May, 2017.
Found a Rotary-Dial Payphone From When All of NYC Was Still (212)
I got over my fear of being ridiculed for asking about such things. I staked out an old rotary dial payphone at an NYC eatery, asking permission first of a cashier, then of the store's manager, to enter into a strcture marked "Employees Only". . The cashier responded with the predicted dismissive "No." She was overruled. The manager had no problem with it.
Corner Office Payphone With a Window View. 718-476-8903
Originally listed at 718-476-8903, this payphone has dial tone at the 90th Street/Elmhurst Avenue 7 train station. I got bumped into by a bunch of people yesterday while trying to use this payphone. Nobody paid me no mind.
The Slow Demise of the Last Payphone at Grand Central
A look back, in pictures and paean, at the last payphone in Grand Central subway station.
Payphone at Christina’s Restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Just a couple of pictures of another abandoned Verizon payphone. This one's on Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn.
Still Cannot Find an NYC WELL Phone on the RFK/Triborough
Maybe I should just give up. But I continue to question the MTA about the presence of an NYC WELL hotline phone on the RFK/Triborough Bridge. I simply cannot locate this phone.
Abandoned Payphone Beautification on Fresh Pond Road
This abandoned payphone enclosure got some beauty treatment from unknown parties. And also, an old telephone exchange name phone number nearby provided another vestige of old telephony.
The Sex Offender Payphone: Rogue No More
Give credit when due to CityBridge, the company with a monopoly franchise on New York City's outdoor payphones. They do take care of their payphones.
Phone Booth Hunting in Old School Yearbooks
Phone booth hunting in publicly posted college and high school yearbooks turned up some interesting stuff. Until the mid-2000s, if not beyond, most high school and college campuses had payphones of some sort, so their appearance in yearbooks seemed like a sure thing.
Arted-up Payphone at the Taco Dumbo Midtown
There is, as anyone would expect, an arted-up defunct payphone in a midtown Taco shop, positioned such that all visitors will encounter it. Its thick coat of pink paint matches the color of the shop's logo, but not much else about the phone seems to fit in to the décor.
PRAY at Beyond the Streets
It may not have been authentic PRAY, but I appreciated seeing one of my all-time New York City heroes get some respect at a Brooklyn street art exhibit.
Dear MTA: Please Put Phones on the RFK/Triborough
I decided that getting emergency phones on the RFK/Triborough might be a cause worth pursuing after all. So i contacted the MTA and also upped the ante, if you will, by sending similar inquiries to NYCWELL, the city agency identified as responsible for the RFK's phantom 24 hour hotline phone.
Payphone Wisdom: Big Fat Balls Destroy Bathroom Stalls
Payphone wisdom seldom goes viral. The confusing substance of this declamation goes a long way to demonstrating why.
Payphone Yellow Pages, 2000
Bell Atlantic Yellow Page column for what was left of NYC's payphone business in 2000. One of these payphones service providers still exists. Guess which one..,
No Dial Tone, Just Stickers, Stickers, and More Stickers
Graffiti artist CEEK 333 brought his "I LOVE GREY GOOSE" stylings to this payphone enclosure at Delancey and Forsyth Streets in Manhattan. It's from September, 2012.
Still No Hotline Support Phone on the RFK/Triborough
For years a sign on the RFK/Triborough Bridge has promised that a 24-Hour crisis prevention telephone awaits those who might need it the most. No such phone has ever existed.
The iSpectrum Internet Payphone Did, in Fact, Exist.
Complete with a full QWERTY keyboard and trackball the iSpectrum "payphone of the future" did, in fact, inhabit at least one airport, at Chicago's O'Hare.
718-505-9550: Jackson Heights Roosevelt Avenue Station Payphone/TTY
I have a fondness for this payphone on account of my picture from 2013, showing a young woman whose profile so closely resembled that of my then-current girlfriend... save for the way she spread her feet.
Happy Payphone, Sad Payphone
Someone spray-painted happy and sad faces on two adjacent payphones. This is your chance to see them. Hero, I am.
The “WE NEED MORE PAY PHONES” Vandal(s) Never Stop(s)
Whatever I might think of the means I have to respect the determination and hand-crafted work of whoever keeps placing "WE NEED MORE PAY PHONES" stickers on NYC's payphones hither and yon.
Rogue-Looking Payphone in a Sketchy Part of Town
With its placards missing I thought this payphone had gone rogue. But despite its sketchy appearance it appears this phone lies under the stewardship of CityBridge, the company with a monopoly franchise on New York's curbside payphones.