718-625-9476 36th street D/N/R Coney Island Bound "the number you have dialed is NIS"

718-625-9476
D N R front platform Coney Island bound
The # you have dialed is NIS

HOLY SHIT!! Another post to this blog after how long? Don't spend as much time as before on the subways, and when I do I haven't come across a payphone in a while, they have been removing them all over the place. Not sure why. Underground there is no cell phone reception, and payphones become that much more of a public safety issue, especially at night in stations that do not have a full time agent.

Some stations are so lucky to get an emergency/information speaker phone with a hotdial button. Don't know who thought a speakerphone in such a noisy environment was a good idea, that guy should get fired.

While other stations are beginning to see touch screen information booths. These seem just now to show subway maps, delays and related information, but these are not very interactive, and not very helpful when you are underground out of range of cellular reception and in need of emergency assistance.

Working payphones becoming a rare sight.

While I thought that subway payphones would be able to hold onto their useful life for quite some time due to the lack of cell phone coverage in underground stations, it appears that they are quickly disappearing from even these locations. Luckily some stations are adding emergency and information speaker phones. The problem I have with these speaker phones is background noise. While maintenance costs would be reduced because there is no handset or armored handset cord to get vandalized the compromise is the reduced ability to hear the person at the other end, or for them to be able to hear you with the added background noise of trains exiting and entering the station.

In future updates to the site I will begin to document/catalog these new emergency speaker phones and their locations. As for providing telephone numbers for these phones I do not yet know if it would be possible for me to find that information out. I have noticed that some of them are labeled with extension numbers, but I do not know if those are dialable extensions or just for internal use, such as to locate the phone. I also am unsure if they have PTSN access, or are strictly connected to the MTAs PBX.

More to come soon....

Payphones slowly disappearing from subway platforms as well

Payphone and pedestal laying under stairs @ mezzanine D train
by stairs going up to Manhattan bound platform. 

Gutted payphone

COCOT found in the subway system

The first COCOT that I have seen in the NYC subway system.
Guess there must be more out there.
718-788-9050 - phone had no dial tone.
"The # you have dialed has been disconnected"
D N R 36th street CI bound front of platform. 

This phone, if you can still call it that
was only a few pillars away from the one in the above image
I did not clip on to the cross connect to ANI the number
so I have no Idea if it is a COCOT or Verizon phone,
and no idea on what it's number is 

non-updates

Sorry about the lack of recent updates. When you travel the same subway lines every day to the same stops there is not much new stuff that you are able to come across to add to the content of the site.

I am hoping that I will have some free time to take a trip around various stations in the system strictly to provide updates to this site within the next few weeks, or months to come.

7182324620 d ci bound mid platform

Busted phone borough hall 4/5 mid platform