Disappearing Pay Phones

Sidewalk pay phones are joining mailboxes on their way to becoming obsolete, thanks to cellphones and the Internet, authorities said.

The Gazette reported in 2006 that U.S. Postal officials were removing mailboxes from a number of Queens locations after it was determined they were underused due to e-mail and other systems of cyber messaging. Now it appears sidewalk pay phones may be headed for the same fate.

Communications giant AT&T announced last year it was removing its pay phones from shops and streets, while Verizon confirmed recently that use of their sidewalk pay phones had dropped by one-third in the last decade as the sale of Verizon cellphones has skyrocketed.

A Verizon spokesperson said the sidewalk pay phone will most likely never disappear. The familiar booths and pole phones will stick around for use by people without cellphones or Internet access and by cellphone owners who fail to recharge their phones.- Liz Goff