Display advertising is the lifeblood of New York City’s remaining payphones. Most phones earn negligible revenue from coin or credit card calls, and are essentially subsidized by the display advertising, which historically have made decent money for both CityBridge, the owner of most NYC phones, and New York City, which takes a cut of the ad sales. On that basis, this phone enclosure serves no purpose whatsoever. The shattered plexiglass on the sidewalk is what’s left of the protective cover behind which the ads resided.