1001 Smart Cities
🇺🇸 New York City

LinkNYC

🤖 AI-generated summary of the sources below · 🔎 Last verified · ◆ 14 sourced claims, none individually verified yet

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

✎ Corrected 27 Aug 2026 Publication date recorded for 11 sources. What changed →

Since 2016 LinkNYC has replaced New York's payphones with sidewalk kiosks offering free high-speed Wi-Fi, free calls anywhere in the U.S., device charging and 911 and 311 access, paid for by on-screen advertising rather than by taxpayers. Taller Link5G towers have gone up since 2022, though a 2023 council hearing heard that no carrier was using them to run 5G.

Live 📅 since 2016
Outcome📉 Scaled back
Evidence📊 Independent
what does this mean?The strongest source is an independent non-academic evaluation: an audit office, a government or EU review, or an NGO. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byCityBridge (LinkNYC franchisee)
Scale🏙️ City-wide

📊 Impact

New York State Comptroller audit, July 2021: of the 3,153 structures due by 20 July 2020 only 1,869 were installed, 50 of those never activated, reaching 86 of the city's 185 zip codes. The consortium owed the city $68.93 million in revenue and interest, and 172 of 227 sampled kiosks had cleanliness or operating faults. A 2023 follow-up found seven of the eighteen recommendations implemented, six partially and five not.

🎓 Lesson

An advertising-funded network gets built where the advertising sells, which is the inverse of where a digital divide sits: the audit found large sections of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens without a single kiosk, and 75% of Staten Island's zip codes uncovered against 26% of Manhattan's. Installing at no cost to the city left little leverage when the ad revenue fell short - the more than $500 million the city expected over twelve years became a renegotiated minimum of $3 million a year.

📡 Data & IoTConnectivity & 5GDigital government

Sources

↗ NYC OTI (authority)Official NYC Office of Technology and Innovation page for the programme. A standing page with no publication date.
↗ LinkNYC (operator)Official project site operated by franchisee CityBridge. A standing site with no publication date.
↗ CityBridge, about the programme (operator)The consortium's own description of the services each kiosk offers, and its usage figures, which the page itself footnotes as estimated data as of February 2025. The page carries no publication date.
↗ New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)Published 30 July 2021The audit's findings in detail: installation shortfall, zip-code coverage by borough, money owed and maintenance sampling.
↗ New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC Program Revenues and Monitoring, report 2019-N-5 (oversight)Published 30 July 2021Landing page for the audit report itself, covering February 2015 to May 2020.
Show 6 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ New York State Comptroller, follow-up audit 2022-F-25 (oversight)Published 26 September 2023Follow-up audit measuring how many of the eighteen original recommendations the city acted on.
↗ New York City Council, Link5G oversight hearing (authority)Published 8 June 2023Council committee summary of the oversight hearing: renegotiated payment terms, and that no carrier was yet using the towers for 5G.
↗ West Side Rag (press)Published 1 April 2025Local reporting on the Link5G rollout: start year and the count installed citywide by April 2025.
↗ THE CITY (press)Published 27 April 2022 · updated 12 October 2023Coverage of the Link5G pivot and the consortium's own account of the digital divide it was meant to close.
↗ GovTech (trade)Published 9 February 2016Reporting from the launch: the first kiosks, the advertising-funded model and the revenue the city was promised.
↗ Forbes (press)Published 19 November 2014Coverage of the 2014 announcement of the programme.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2016. 8 of 11 sources carry a publication date, from 19 November 2014 to 1 April 2025.

When the sources were published

  1. Forbes · pressForbes (press)
  2. Government Technology (e.Republic) · pressGovTech (trade)
  3. Office of the New York State Comptroller · oversight bodyNew York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
  4. Office of the New York State Comptroller · oversight bodyNew York State Comptroller, LinkNYC Program Revenues and Monitoring, report 2019-N-5 (oversight)
  5. THE CITY · pressTHE CITY (press) · updated 12 October 2023
  6. New York City Council · city councilNew York City Council, Link5G oversight hearing (authority)
  7. Office of the New York State Comptroller · oversight bodyNew York State Comptroller, follow-up audit 2022-F-25 (oversight)
  8. West Side Rag · pressWest Side Rag (press)

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Entered the record
  2. Sources last read
  3. Publication date recorded for 11 sources

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 14 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence Passport · public beta 14 addressable claims, 11 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The passport is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 14

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-6622df4cea247eb0 quantitative
Since 2016 LinkNYC has replaced New York's payphones with sidewalk kiosks
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
GovTech reported on 9 February 2016 that LinkNYC 'has debuted its first two payphone-turned-tech kiosks in Manhattan', and describes the programme as replacing payphones with hotspots.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. GovTech (trade)
Claim 2 clm-3000ad23259baf8f quantitative
free high-speed Wi-Fi, free calls anywhere in the U.S., device charging and 911 and 311 access
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The consortium's own programme page lists exactly these services: 'High-speed, public Wi-Fi throughout NYC', 'Nationwide phone calling', '911 and 311 access' and 'USB ports for mobile device charging'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. CityBridge, about the programme (operator)
Claim 3 clm-1025c32a62a847d1 descriptive
paid for by on-screen advertising rather than by taxpayers
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
GovTech: 'In the case of LinkNYC, that revenue comes from advertisements that light up 55-inch HD screens on each side of the kiosks'. The comptroller's account confirms the kiosks were to be 'installed at no cost to the city'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. GovTech (trade)
  2. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
Claim 4 clm-5b79da079de43ead quantitative
Taller Link5G towers have gone up since 2022
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
West Side Rag, April 2025: the city technology office 'began installing the towers throughout the five boroughs in 2022', and 'more than 160 of the 5G towers have been installed throughout the city so far'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. West Side Rag (press)
Claim 5 clm-3fe9f67aded44557 quantitative
a 2023 council hearing heard that no carrier was using them to run 5G
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The council committee's summary of the 8 June 2023 oversight hearing states verbatim that 'no telecommunications companies currently use the towers to operationalize the 5G network in New York City'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York City Council, Link5G oversight hearing (authority)
Claim 6 clm-77ace9e1e03a1475 quantitative
of the 3,153 structures due by 20 July 2020 only 1,869 were installed, 50 of those never activated
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The comptroller states: '3,153 LinkNYC structures were supposed to be installed by July 20, 2020. As of May 2020, only 1,869 (59%) were installed, with 50 never activated.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
Claim 7 clm-98deae97a61cb8db quantitative
reaching 86 of the city's 185 zip codes
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The comptroller states: 'LinkNYC installed kiosks in just 86 (46%) of NYC's 185 zip codes.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
Claim 8 clm-40370ece0965902a quantitative
The consortium owed the city $68.93 million in revenue and interest
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The comptroller found the city 'was owed almost $70 million by the consortium', itemised as of March 2020 as '$68.93 million in revenue and interest'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
Claim 9 clm-22b3f850e5ab0f7b quantitative
172 of 227 sampled kiosks had cleanliness or operating faults
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The comptroller states: 'Of 227 kiosks sampled by auditors, 172 (76%) had cleanliness or operation issues: grimy screens, physical damage, and defective screens, icons, telephones and charging ports.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
Claim 10 clm-c2cb4300f75b4740 quantitative
A 2023 follow-up found seven of the eighteen recommendations implemented, six partially and five not
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The follow-up audit of 26 September 2023 states: 'Of the initial report's 18 recommendations, seven were implemented, six were partially implemented, and five were not implemented.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, follow-up audit 2022-F-25 (oversight)
Claim 11 clm-0ff3372a3ae3b08a descriptive
the audit found large sections of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens without a single kiosk
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The comptroller states the programme 'did not distribute them equitably, leaving large sections in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens without a single kiosk'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
Claim 12 clm-d13b854fff74a8b7 quantitative
75% of Staten Island's zip codes uncovered against 26% of Manhattan's
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The comptroller lists the 'Percentage of zip codes without kiosks, by borough: Manhattan, 26%; Brooklyn, 50%; The Bronx, 60%; Queens, 70%; Staten Island, 75%.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
Claim 13 clm-0a88aa9df24caba6 descriptive
Installing at no cost to the city left little leverage when the ad revenue fell short
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The comptroller describes the agreement as for kiosks 'installed at no cost to the city over eight years' and finds the city 'did little to collect' the money owed; the council hearing records that CityBridge 'stopped making payments to the City in 2018, citing financial distress' and the terms were then renegotiated.
Caveat
That the lack of upfront public money is what cost the city leverage is this entry's reading of the two findings, not a conclusion either source states in those words.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
  2. New York City Council, Link5G oversight hearing (authority)
Claim 14 clm-503b517e62bf2e42 quantitative
the more than $500 million the city expected over twelve years became a renegotiated minimum of $3 million a year
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The comptroller: advertising revenue 'the city initially estimated would bring in more than $500 million over the first 12 years'. The council hearing: 'The agreement was renegotiated to a minimum guaranteed payment of $3 million per year, plus 8% of gross revenue if the revenue exceeds $100 million ... down from a 50% revenue-sharing agreement.'
Caveat
The two figures come from different instruments: the $500 million was the city's own revenue estimate for the original agreement, the $3 million a contractual minimum in the renegotiated one.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight)
  2. New York City Council, Link5G oversight hearing (authority)
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-27-correction-run effective 2026-08-26 · created 2026-08-27

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:c8f8079e06d0bf48ce69ae193e5cb08e83c5b5a5dd2456105c185d7e3fb2a6cf
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
14
of 14 claims mapped
11
source dossiers
8
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
CityBridge (LinkNYC franchisee)
Actor types
private
Funding model
private
Funding description
Not recorded
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

11 source dossiers

NYC OTI (authority) nyc.gov · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-73b2ffc74685134d
Publisher
Name not classified · nyc.gov
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Official NYC Office of Technology and Innovation page for the programme. A standing page with no publication date.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
LinkNYC (operator) link.nyc · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-9cb9a8c1f7887f44
Publisher
Name not classified · link.nyc
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Official project site operated by franchisee CityBridge. A standing site with no publication date.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
CityBridge, about the programme (operator) link.nyc · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-72e0c89ca01ddec3
Publisher
Name not classified · link.nyc
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The consortium's own description of the services each kiosk offers, and its usage figures, which the page itself footnotes as estimated data as of February 2025. The page carries no publication date.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC audit findings (oversight) osc.ny.gov · 9 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-327314a88365fb80
Publisher
Name not classified · osc.ny.gov
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2021-07-30
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The audit's findings in detail: installation shortfall, zip-code coverage by borough, money owed and maintenance sampling.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
New York State Comptroller, LinkNYC Program Revenues and Monitoring, report 2019-N-5 (oversight) osc.ny.gov · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-eff1f9fbbd6e2417
Publisher
Name not classified · osc.ny.gov
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2021-07-30
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Landing page for the audit report itself, covering February 2015 to May 2020.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
New York State Comptroller, follow-up audit 2022-F-25 (oversight) osc.ny.gov · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-c09924a43e49bc17
Publisher
Name not classified · osc.ny.gov
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-09-26
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Follow-up audit measuring how many of the eighteen original recommendations the city acted on.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
New York City Council, Link5G oversight hearing (authority) council.nyc.gov · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-77decb54a12f2a58
Publisher
Name not classified · council.nyc.gov
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-06-08
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Council committee summary of the oversight hearing: renegotiated payment terms, and that no carrier was yet using the towers for 5G.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
West Side Rag (press) westsiderag.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-88991fc221b1d126
Publisher
Name not classified · westsiderag.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-04-01
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Local reporting on the Link5G rollout: start year and the count installed citywide by April 2025.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
THE CITY (press) thecity.nyc · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-127ed4797479f113
Publisher
Name not classified · thecity.nyc
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-04-27
Updated
2023-10-12
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Coverage of the Link5G pivot and the consortium's own account of the digital divide it was meant to close.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
GovTech (trade) govtech.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-eee902c8e163321c
Publisher
Name not classified · govtech.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2016-02-09
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reporting from the launch: the first kiosks, the advertising-funded model and the revenue the city was promised.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Forbes (press) forbes.com · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-fe33c7e6147705df
Publisher
Name not classified · forbes.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2014-11-19
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-26
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Coverage of the 2014 announcement of the programme.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇺🇸 Citi Bike Docked Bike Share & Open Trip Data · New York City Two franchises the city does not pay for: bikes funded by sponsorship, kiosks by advertising — and no price control either way. 🇨🇳 Citywide Standalone (SA) 5G Network Coverage · Shenzhen Two takes on municipal connectivity: NYC repurposed phone booths for public WiFi; Shenzhen coordinated carriers to full 5G coverage.

Explore the wider context

🗺️ Your City's Problem Map Is Really a Map of Who Complains📶 Connectivity & 5G guide🏙️ New York City city profile📡 Data & IoT projects📖 Evidence grade📖 Port community system📖 Terminal operating system (TOS)
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “LinkNYC” — New York City, United States. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/nyc-linknyc/ (last verified 2026-08-26). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

🚩 Report an error · 🔔 Follow changes to this entry (RSS)

✉️ Get the next source-checked smart-city project in your inbox

One short email a week: the Landmark, one Insight, the new cities. No spam, one-click unsubscribe. About the newsletter · RSS