The city announced Wednesday it’s pulling the plug on the kiosk’s web browsing capabilities after a slew of complaints about people using them to check out smut sites.
The kiosks, which replaced outdated pay phones, will continue to grant users free phone calls, and access to maps and 311 services. And people can still use the hundreds of kiosks — sprinkled throughout Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens — as a hot spot for Wi-Fi for their own devices.
“There were concerns about loitering and extended use of LinkNYC kiosks, so the mayor is addressing these quality-of-life complaints head on,” said Natalie Grybauskas, a spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio.
Some predicted that they would be a problem even before the first kiosk went up earlier this year.
Raymond Sanchez, the general counsel for Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. who was involved in the franchise deal, said worries about “misconduct” were brought up in the contract talks.
At the time, he said City Bridge, the private company that partnered with the city to turn old pay phones into high-tech kiosks, said they could add firewalls to block inappropriate sites, and would have timers so people couldn’t sit all day and watch videos.
The company did install safeguards to try to block porn, but it appeared that many users found ways to get around them.
18 comments:
Who really cares, considering the larger problems that exist.
Use your smart phone apps instead.
We also used to have phone booths, which were often used as toilets among other things.
Nice things are for nice people.
This is not Europe where standards of behavior appear to be better.
This is FUCKIN' NEW YAWK CITY! We don't deserve nice!
Not until it's people get a little more civilized.
Sometimes you just can't get no relief...
And soon hackers will have a field day with them, stealing personal data. Who's monitoring this?
How come they just can't block those sites? However, I do think it was a dumb idea to set them up in the first place. You have Internet on your phone for a reason.
These giant corner eyesores that you have to squat and sit on postal crates to use properly don't really qualify as nice things.
Tragedy of the commons.
Those economics classes were good for something!
Huh? No one is yanking these things. They still remain and will look like shit for decades, just like phone booths, cluttering our sidewalks. Also, we could have nice things if people were arrested and thrown in Rikers for this shit.
The screens are located very low so that wheelchair bound residents can use them
Remember the Declaration of Independence guarantees our rights to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and access to pornography!
this is what happens when u close all the rub-n-tugs
NYC is an embarrasment!
A complete waste of money and just more shit to clutter up already cluttered up sidewalks.
NYC SUCKS.
Isn't this the company that's spying on all of us? The Village Voice did an article on it.
the best was a guy on the nod/OD lying on the pavement still connected to the machine by his earphones.
the comment that asks if these spy devices are classified as "nice things" is my favorite one. Touche.
Stupid libs,what did you expect?
this is what happens when u close all the rub-n-tugs
Then I guess if Flushing gets any Internet kiosks, we won't have to worry about pervs using them to look at porn, since our "rub-n-tug" shops are open and plentiful. Give the people what they want ... and give the local precinct a freebie once in a while and a percentage of the profits, and they have no problems.
I have yet to see a handicap person use them. I have yet to see an able person that is not a derelict or a deviant use them. Linknyc is a fucking colossol failure. It's only purpose and intent is to show rotating advertisement, waste energy and be hideous obstructions.
Our electeds are so obsessed with all this ubiquitous useless technology, social networking and the sharing economy that inspired these obelisks. Whoever got this contract to build and install these things are probably laughing their hipshit asses off, partying on a roof somewhere in goddamn brooklyn, ridgewood or LIC.
Back to the drawing board, time for Release 2.0. They should be at eye level so no sitting is required. Then, there should be a small spot where you can park your netbook, the way you could park your pocket secretary on the old doorless phone booths. They should more resemble exactly those old booths they replaced.
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