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More LinkNYC Kiosks Smashed In Midtown
By
Claire Lampen
Published Sep 30, 2019
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Jake Dobkin/Gothamist
By
Claire Lampen
Published Sep 30, 2019
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Another string of LinkNYC kiosks have been vandalized in Manhattan, this time in Hell's Kitchen. A company spokesperson confirmed that someone — or someones — smashed three screens on sidewalk WiFi stations along 10th Avenue, between 49th and 52nd Streets.
A police spokesperson could find no record of "criminal mischief" fitting this description, so we don't yet know what the timeframe for the mini-spree might have been. LinkNYC indicated that it happened "over the weekend," but did not specify specific dates or times. "LinkNYC provides a valuable public service to many of the city's most vulnerable," the spokesperson said. "When people vandalize Links, they impede on its ability to fund and deliver these services. We are working to repair the small number of Links damaged over the weekend as quickly as possible."
Still, these data-sponging slabs have suffered a number of indignities in recent weeks and months. On Monday, Gothamist learned that a whimsical prankster, possibly in the grip of powerful '90s nostalgia fit, had outfitted a number of Williamsburg Link posts in Teletubby suits — cozy, yes, but also frightening, due to their empty staring eyes. For a time, the kiosks were made to spew a chilling version of the Mister Softee jingle, the music slowed to a haunted-carnival pace. And then, they have also been the target of at least one brick-wielding vandal: In April, police arrested 41-year-old Juan Rodriguez and charged him with multiple counts of criminal mischief for allegedly having hurled blunt objects at 42 LinkNYC screens located between the West Village and Midtown.
That serial smashing alerted New Yorkers to a fun and often-overlooked feature of these free wireless hubs, which is that they're camera equipped and watching you. That, in combination with a LinkNYC code that reportedly enables the kiosks to soak up a bunch of your data once you connect to WiFi, made some people feel uncomfortable, as if they were being discreetly monitored by an all-seeing digital eye. A LinkNYC spokesperson told us at the time, and reiterated last week, that the company "will not store your browsing history or track the websites you visit when you use your personal device to access the Services," and that it will "not collect information about your precise location."
At any rate, we don't know who hit the Hell's Kitchen WiFi stations this time around, nor if they were all targeted by the same person. We will update as we learn more.
Tagged
hell's kitchen
nypd
linknyc
wifi
wifi kiosk
Claire Lampen
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