![[VIDEO] Checking in from Yet Another “Last Payphone of New York City”](https://i0.wp.com/www.payphone-project.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/vlcsnap-2022-06-22-18h10m53s635.png?resize=250%2C180&ssl=1)
[VIDEO] Checking in from Yet Another “Last Payphone of New York City”
I have more triggers than I thought. Others to come?
VIDEO: What Happens When Trying to Make a Call Through CityBridge’s Last “Official” Street Payphones?
I brought out my boss field recorder to get all the audio of what happens when one tries to make phone calls through CityBridge’s West End Avenue phone booths. I’ve done this before but only with partial audio recorded through my camera’s mic. This time I brought a field recorder and a Radio Shack suction-cup thingy used to record phone calls.
Something Strange at the Old 718-729-9331
Why would a public pay telephone connect to a recorded message saying my call could not be completed because I don't have enough account credits?
Queensbridge Payphones: 718-784-8935, 718-729-9638
These back-to-back payphones at the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City have some special meaning to me, on account of the circumstances under which I found them.
The Last Working Payphone in Central Park is No More
Of about a dozen or so payphones scattered throughout Central Park this one, at the Model Boat Sailing place, was the last one that worked.
Penn Station Payphones Disappearing
Development work at Penn Station has forced removal of about a ½ dozen working payphones. One of these phones was among my most-used devices to record sounds of nearby subway buskers, like Shobo Kubo and others.
Payphone Room at NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital
The payphone room at NYU Langone's Tisch Hospital today functions as more of a broom closet than a place to make a phone call. Not only did one of these phones actually work, but its volume control button did as well. That's rare.
Shogo Kubo, Guitarist at Penn Station, Heard Through a Payphone
I picked up a payphone and let it listen to the sweet sounds of Shogo Kubo, whose guitar stylings frequently grace New York's Penn Station.
Trumpet Music Heard Through the Broadway/Lafayette Subway Station Payphone
I canvassed the Broadway/Lafayette BDFM and Bleecker Street 6 subway stations for payphones. This is what I saw. This is what I heard.
Best Payphone Audio Capture In Months
Live music sounds different when funneled through the crackly, rugged sound world of a landline payphone.
Union Square Mandolin Player, Heard Through A Payphone
It's the sound of someone playing what I am reasonably certain is a mandolin, as heard through a Union Square payphone.
This Times Square Payphone Still Works
You wouldn't think it from the looks of this old thing but a beaten-up payphone at the Times Square subway station actually works. I used it to make a one-way call. Listen in.
What Does a Payphone Call Sound Like?
My voice sounds mighty different through this payphone when compared to being captured by decent audio gear. Listen in.
Drumming Up the Links
Call quality on LinkNYC kiosks is generally very bad, and has actually gotten worse in recent months since CityBridge, the company that owns the kiosks, has decided to set a majority of the devices so the volume can only be turned up half way. I tried making calls from kiosks in noisy spots and found…
Street Mule — And The Howler — Heard Through a Times Square Payphone
Listen in as a payphone call goes horribly wrong, blasting The Howler into a call which should have been free of such noise.
Times Square Busker Heard Through a LinkNYC Device
This is the first decent quality recording I've made of a New York City street musician as heard through a LinkNYC device.
Strange Beeps From Rockefeller Center’s Last Payphone
Strange beeps coming from a Rockefeller Center payphone might have some meaning, or they might not. Anyone with knowledge of the matter is welcome to inform us all.
Zong Li Lu: Single String Lute Music Heard Through a Payphone
The somewhat harsh timbre of the single string lute seems to suit the scratchy, monochrome texture of the landline telephone.
Sacred Harp Singers, Heard Through a Port Authority Payphone
Listen in on the somber sounds of a Sacred Harp ensemble singing at the Port Authority subway station on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 massacre.
Sounds of Jackhammers and Street Noise Heard Through a Third Avenue Payphone, NYC
Penn Station Musician Heard Through a Nearby Payphone
Any endeavor which depends on the reliability of the public telephone is imperiled from the start. I was glad to catch at least this one segment today, from a musician who is unnamed because no identifying information was to be seen at his performance space.
Grand Central Subway Station – No Working Payphones
There are only two payphones left on the upper level of the Grand Central subway station. Neither one works.
Grupo Wayne. Music of the Andes. NYC Subway Buskers Heard Through a Nearby Payphone.
This one starts out a little rough but ends up being among the best quality recordings I've gotten of musicians recorded through NYC's subway payphones.
A Mile of Sound: 20 LinkNYC VOIP Phones Heard All At Once
Up to twenty VOIP phones along a Manhattan Avenue were connected one by one, creating a snapshot of sound comprising all that the phones could capture over the distance of about a mile. City noises and car horns mix with occasionally intelligible words spoken by passers by. It forms a lightly organized cacophony that actually…
Maestro Moses Josiah on the Musical Saw, Heard Through a Times Square Payphone
Maestro Moses Josiah's Musical Saw sounds mysterious and strange when heard through a public pay telephone. Listen through the crackle of the landline as he plays John Lennon's "Imagine" at the Times Square subway station.
LinkNYC. The Word on the Street: “It’s Amazing!”
The best way to be heard and clearly understood when placing a call through a Link is to yell. That appears to be what happened in this audio capture, where a LinkNYC enthusiast encountered one of the devices.
Subway Buskers Heard Through a Payphone. August 27, 2015. 4:26pm. Times Square Subway Station
The Saw Lady Heard Through a Payphone
The Payphone Project caught up with Natalia Paruz, the New York City street musician known as The Saw Lady, as she was performing in the Times Square subway station a couple of months ago. For over a decade Ms. Paruz has championed the revival of the musical saw, an ancient instrument which enjoyed popularity from…