When did the phone both start to slowly be removed from the streets in New York?

Answer by  Allstar (2071)

Payphone use has declined in recent years because of the spread of the mobile phone. People aren't using them, so the phone companies have begun removing them.

Answer by  mike98 (19)

In the 1990's cell phones became more affordable than ever. Most people in New York were able to carry them. That was the beginning of the end for phone booths.

Answer by  rhonda515 (607)

During the late 1990's thw New York City phone booths slowly started to be phased out. They are almost never seen now. As more people got cell phones , less needed pay phones.

Answer by  diva25 (4016)

I would imagine that it has to be tied to the popularity of cell phones. They were not being used as much. They probably starting removing them because they had to pay more for having them on the street than they were making from people using them. Pay phones everywhere are not as easy to come by anymore.

Answer by  Viv (136)

I am thinking in the mid 70's. It was as if someone came and just up and took them away. Try to find one now, its impossible! When i see a public phone, i stop now to look at it, it just looks funny and i think the cost is 50 cents per call.

Answer by  Latin4 (11170)

The telephone company started to take the booths off the streets of New York and other cities when people started to use the phones for drug related calls. Drug dealers used the phone because they could not be traced by phone number since this was a public phone.