Newly installed LinkNYC on Smith Street in front of Bar Great Harry
Just one block away, another one at Douglass and Smith
In front of Bird, also on Smith Street
Just a bit further down Smith Street, yet another.
And one of the newly installed ones on Court Street.
A map of all the LinkNYC kiosks recently installed in BoCoCa
During the summer, quite a few LinkNYC kiosks have been installed in and around Carroll Gardens. It is all part of an initiative to replace New York City's old payphone infrastructure with state of the art public communications network. Eventually, "at least 7,500 Link kiosks will be installed across all five boroughs over the next eight years," according to LinkNYC's web site.
The 9.5 ft tall kiosks offer the public "high-speed Wi-Fi, phone calls to anywhere in the U.S., device charging, a touch screen tablet for access to city services, maps and directions, and a 911 Emergency Call button."
The kiosk's side also feature two 55-inch high-definition displays, which will be used to display public service announcements and advertisement. The free service is paid for by the advertisement revenue. According to its web site: "LinkNYC’s advertising platform will also generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for New York City. The project is also expected to create 100 to 150 new full-time jobs in manufacturing, technology and advertising."
Obviously, the revenue is nothing to sneeze at, and the project is expected to create between 100 to 150 new full time jobs in technology, manufacturing and advertisement, according to the City.
The access to free wi-fi for those who can't afford it is also a huge benefit of this free service.
However, one wonders why it is necessary to have so many kiosks grouped together.
In our immediate area, 11 such stations have, or are ready to be activated along Court Street and Smith Street. They are so concentrated, that there is actually one on almost every block from Sackett to Warren Street along Smith Street.
Doesn't that seem a bit excessive?
Despite the benefits of the free services offered by LinkNYC, the system has already come under scrutiny regarding the risks of data collection and access to personal information.
In several neighborhoods, local residents have complained that people congregate at the kiosks to drink and do drugs, as well as deal drugs. Last year, the operators of the kiosks, CityBridge, L.L.C., had to shut down the browser capability on the kiosks, after some users started watching pornography right on the sidewalk.
“These kiosks are often monopolized by individuals creating personal spaces for themselves, engaging in activities that include playing loud explicit music, consuming drugs and alcohol, and the viewing of pornography," Councilman Corey Johnson, who represents Greenwich Village, Chelsea and part of Midtown, told the New York Times in 2016.
At the meeting, members of the Community Board received dvds featuring video clips documenting the criminal activity, littering and noise at this particular kiosk from one resident living right next to it. They were also presented with a letter that states, in part:
"We face becoming unwilling witnesses to a drug deals, meet‐ups and other illegal activities. Activities we, as law‐abiding citizens understandably want no part of. We encounter individuals under the influence of narcotics or, even worse, those who are mentally and emotionally volatile (often due to withdrawal from narcotics). To say we are living in “terror” may be an overstatement, but there is an element of truth to it nonetheless."
Nothing of the sort has been reported here in our neighborhoods in relation with these Link NY kiosks, as far as we know. We did want to start a conversation regarding their recent installation and want to hear from our neighbors:
How do you feel about them? Have you used one yet? Do you live near one? How about their location and numbers? Too many? Not Enough?
Leave a comment.
Not only are there too many of them, but at night they are so bright and tall I feel bad for anyone with an apartment facing the street. The esthetics of them are really annoying. I want to be open minded, but I think they're atrocious.
ReplyDeleteMeh. Kind of ugly, but fine.
ReplyDeleteThese seem to fill a need that isn't there. Has anyone missed payphones? They seem to cause more problems than they solve - I've followed the issues with the one on Manhattan Ave and it's pretty nuts. Not saying that will likely happen on Smith St, but all these do is generate ad revenue.
ReplyDeleteI've kept an eye on these things since they first appeared. I wanted them to be awesome but have come to regard them as rinky-dink eyesores. It seems like every single one of them has something about it that does not work, be it one or both of the ad panels, the tablet, or even the ability to make phone calls. In my usage I find that as frequently as half the time I try to make a phone call it simply does not work, and if the call does go through you have to SCREAM for the person you call to be able to hear you. I actually worry what these things will be good for in a blackout. I seem to remember a promise that battery power would keep these things turned on for up to 24 hours, but according to a recent Twitter posting from LinkNYC the only thing you'll be able to use LinkNYC for in a blackout is to call 911. If that's true then we won't see long lines at LinkNYC stations like we saw at payphones after Sandy or the earthquake because unlike the payphones they replaced LinkNYC won't be able to make ordinary phone calls under those circumstances. It was also promised that advertising-free units would be installed in purely residential areas but that's probably never going to happen. I don't know about anyone else but I found it distasteful how the company handled the encampments and lewd behavior that plagued these things for the 7 or 8 months that they had the web browser installed. I also think the revenue forecasts are suspect and not particularly impressive anyway (I think it was ½ a billion over 10 years?) considering the city's annual budget is north of 80 billion dollars. But the reality of the "Smart City" talk and the dollar signs that swirl around projects like this is that nothing will stop these things from going up, every 50 feet, as far as the eye can bleed. -mt
ReplyDeleteOpen question to anyone living near one of these....can you utilize it's wi-fi as a substitute for your in-home internet service? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering about that myself.
ReplyDeleteGarbage.
ReplyDeleteDid not mean to make my "I've kept an eye on these things since they first appeared" post Anonymous. Whatevs... I've tested download/upload speeds of LinkNYC Wi-Fi on my devices and never got anything close to the propagandized speeds. I think that to get the promised speeds of LinkNYC one needs to spend over a thousand dollars on the latest bleeding edge device. Not a cost savings unless one looks at pissing away monthly finance charges as an investment. It has been a while since last I attempted but I think a 600k mp3 took a couple of minutes to download to my Galaxy Tab 12.2 and Netflix streamed with bits and chunks as if these were the dialup days. I do not intend to test LinkNYC's Wi-Fi again because I simply do not trust Google's self-declared good intentions anymore.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't the city utilize this money to run our pathetic train system . I would rather the subway actually run properly . Our transit system is in a crisis but they have money for things that are unnecessary !!! Unbelievable !
ReplyDeleteI think they are spaced this way in order to have continuous wi-fi as you move down the street. And I have to say the super fast free wi-fi is pretty incredible, I've been using it quite a bit. And people who live next to the kiosks can use the wi-fi in their homes (I've done it). I do like the slick and unobtrusive design and that they barely take up any sidewalk space. The 911 option is very handy too. I did think that the browser option was not necessary and I am glad it was discontinued. Same kiosks are all over London now too.
ReplyDeleteBklynldy, Did you read the post? "LinkNYC’s advertising platform will also generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for New York City. The project is also expected to create 100 to 150 new full-time jobs in manufacturing, technology, and advertising."
ReplyDeleteThe 911 button is placed in the perfect spot for little ones. No kid can resist pushing a big red button at eye level.
ReplyDeleteA very bad omen for the neighborhood and NYC. Signaling crisis-addicted capitalism with the not so subtle warning of apocalypse - and need for emergency services. Emergency wifi pfft. The boxes are TOO BIG and SO UGLY - TOO BRIGHT. They are visual pollution. We need more TREES! Our visual landscape and view is ruined by these monstrosities. Di Blasio making monster deals with the manufacturer and advertisers. Do we really need more bank ads? NO! Citi bikes everywhere with too much branding already.
ReplyDeleteI think the idea has some merit, but the execution is completely geared towards the installer getting most of the gains. These are too big for the scale of Smith and Court streets, the screens are extremely bright, and there seems to be little thought put into what kinds of ads run on these. These will start to break and won't be serviced, and will quickly end up as even bigger eyesores than the payphones were.
ReplyDeleteWay too many and agree that the unit size is out of scale to the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteAlso, unless they dim at night, they may cause sleep problems for residents like the LED streetlights do.
Surely there are other Brooklyn neighborhoods that need the services way more than Smith Street.
I would not use a free unsecured wifi network for anything.
ReplyDeleteMy main concern regarding these kiosks is that the one-size-fits-all design does not work in our neighborhood given the scale of the adjacent buildings. These obelisks may fit in locations with tall buildings, but they simply look out of scale and in our 'hood. Also, we don't need more visual clutter on the streets.
I trust that the contract calls for the vendor to maintain, and the ads will pay for the services and maintenance, but thats a lot of ads.
I wish they were trees.
ReplyDeleteGiven the size we should suspect they are more than what we have been told, perhaps surveillance devices?
ReplyDeleteThere is also a new monolith down at Hamilton Ave at the battery tunnel the. It is similar in proportion only larger. The was a TV news report last week on that thing, asking if it was a surveillance contraption. Maybe we could ask that they scan for anyone carrying guns so we can believe they are for our own good.
There are several within a few blocks of me here in Brooklyn Heights, but I almost never see anyone using them. The one installed in front of the old BH library on Cadman Plaza West is now behind the construction fence, hence won;t be availalble to anyone during the several years of construction.
ReplyDeleteOn top of that, they fit in so well with the buildings in this Landmarked neighborhood. Not.
This is for the people who need. For the city, 7500 arent too many.
ReplyDeleteAt first there were just a few, now they are on almost every street corner. I have never seen anyone using one, have you? The other day, out of curiosity, I tried to look up where to vote in primaries, but the station did not work. They are also massive eyesores. And the last thing we need is to have more screens flashing the 24/7 news cycle at us while we are walking down the street. I would think it is also extremely expensive to build and install them, and then you need people to program for them, maintenance, etc. Aren't there much better ways to spend our NYC tax dollars?
ReplyDeleteAgree with Andew Porter. It is a crime to put them in historic, landmarked areas in particular.
ReplyDelete