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LinkNYC kiosks, offering wifi and phone charging, about to go live in Long Island City

NYCLink in Sunnyside

March 20, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan

Kiosks providing free Wi-Fi and cellphone charging will soon be live in Long Island City.

As part of a program replacing old payphones, new LinkNYC kiosks have started going up in LIC, and will be activated in the coming weeks, according to a spokesperson for the program.

The city began installing 11 new LinkNYC stations earlier this month, stretching along Jackson Avenue from 51st Avenue to 44th Drive. The new kiosks will provide free public Wi-Fi, phone calls, device charging and a tablet with access to maps and public city information.

Mayor Bill de Blasio commissioned the LinkNYC program in 2014, and since then about 800 of kiosks have been installed throughout the city. Once the project is complete, there will be over 7,500 kiosks throughout the city, though it is slated to take several more years to complete.

The new kiosks aim to replace now-outdated payphones completely, and are being funded entirely through advertising revenue.

About a dozen Links were installed in Sunnyside in November, marking the first in Western Queens. The spokesperson said that the program would expand throughout the city over the coming years, using the map of current payphone locations as a general guide for where to install new Links.

To see a map of current LinkNYC locations visit https://link.nyc/find-a-link.html.

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12 Comments

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MRLIC

I am sorry I meant the previous comment for Really not HB. Using offensive language Really makes you look bad and yes Trollish.

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MRLIC

HB–You just don;t get it. I did not use the word Pr**k and I know what it means. I also am by no means a Troll. I guess you condone Offensive Language. I have nothing against homeless people really. I feel sorry that they have come on hard times. Many do become violent, some may steal a charging phone or other device. Not everyone is a GOOD person as you seem to think. Criminals still steal these electronic devices on the subways,buses and streets by the way. My original comment was just to keep a few old school phones around in case of a 9-11 type attack where most cell phones did not function. What if advertising $$$$ gets cut fir these free phones, will they convert them to coin internet phones? Yes most people have cells but a regular phone could not hurt here and there.

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MRLIC

continued.–Yes most people have cells. It is not ridiculous to go low tech once in a while. With all the technology and people/companies being hacked, off the grid for a while sounds good to me. A less digital marker helps stop ID theft. People who bank online have to watch out. Hackers improve by he day. Hope it don’t happen to you.

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MRLIC

HB-Sure homeless people use pay phones, I still would worry after a 9-11 type attack or a big storm as someone else said. It will not make certain homeless people less aggressive. I worry about abuse of the system as happened in the city. As I said not a terrible idea, but sometimes low tech is better in certain instances.The person who called me a Pr**k, you either don’t understand or you are a TROLL.

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Really?

“Do you want to use the phone after a homeless person has used it?” Do YOU understand how dick-ish of a statement that is? That is just across the board disrespectful, ignorant and stereotypical. And BTW, according to Oxford, prick, n., slang, A stupid or contemptible man. Troll, n., A person who makes a deliberately offensive or provocative online post. I would argue that you, in fact, are the troll given that comment.

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MRLIC

HB — Many cells did not work after the 9-11 attacks, in fact I would say the majority did NOT. There are some positives. I hope they time limit those FREE phone calls. People homeless or not abuse everything after it debuts, especially FREE calls. One of the most favorite words in the American Language is FREE. Do you want to use the phone after a homeless person has used it? Many people especially germ o phobes would not. Homeless people if mentally deranged or off their Meds will be aggressive anyway. While this is not a terrible idea.A regular phone here or there would not hurt.

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HB

First of all, homeless people already use payphones. Second of all, these things don’t have “phones” you press against your face, so they’re very hygienic. It’s not actually FREE, it’s supported by advertising. And the only people who would need to touch the screen either don’t already have phones or need to charge them. It’s a convenience.

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HB

Who are you going to call? No one uses a landline anymore. If you have one, use that instead of a payphone. Ridiculous.

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MRLIC

I know everyone uses cell phones. Keep in mind after 9-11 attacks cell phones did not work. Just saying maybe they should keep a few of these around just in case. I know during the Manhattan roll out of these Kiosks they had people setting up chairs and watching movies and Porn, even the homeless. I heard they had blocked the Porn and were time limiting the amount you could watch. I hope this is the case.

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HB

I used my cell phone after 9/11. And these Links provide free phone calls. Homeless people on phones are more likely to be able to communicate with people, less likely to aggressively beg or feel isolated, so that’s a positive.

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