Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bike/Ped

Are Phone Booths on Ninth Avenue a Pedestrian Menace?

10:03 AM EDT on April 18, 2007

phone_booths.jpg

As reported in Sunday's City section of the Times (Times Select required), residents of Hell's Kitchen are concerned that the placement of a double phone booth at the corner of 45th St. and Ninth Ave. may have been a contributing factor in two pedestrian fatalities at that intersection.

On May 22, 2000, a tour bus struck and killed Randolph Walker, a 71-year-old actor, as he crossed 45th Street on the west side of Ninth Avenue. The tour guide later testified that he and the driver had been looking ahead as they turned onto the side street, yet saw no one in the crosswalk.

On Feb. 23, Nina Petrow, 55, was killed in the same spot by another tour bus turning off the avenue.

The second death has revived neighbors' long-held suspicions about a pair of phone booths, joined into a single roofed cabin, that sit perhaps 12 feet north of the intersection. They say the double booths can briefly block pedestrians from the view of drivers turning onto the street.

"After this second instance, we all went, 'Well, duh,' " said Renée Stanley, a stage manager who lives on 44th Street near Ninth Avenue and saw Mr. Walker get hit. "Once is an accident. Twice, there's a direct line."

Lee Compton, chairman of Community Board 4, has asked the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to remove the phone booths, calling it "troubling" that "an 8-foot-tall-by-6-foot-wide visual barrier was placed so close to this dangerous intersection."

According to Nicholas Sbordone, a spokesman for the technology department, the phone booths' placement complies with city rules and the booths' operator, Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation, has disputed the contention that they are "a nuisance."

Walker's death prompted marches of protest against tour buses operating in the theater district, actions that led to the eventual shutdown of Apple Tours, the company operating the bus that killed him.

Note that in the Times photo accompanying the latest story, at least one of the phones appears to be off the hook. Perhaps it is, like so many of the city's pay phones, out of order, even if the advertising on the oversize booth is still bringing in revenue.

Hell's Kitchen residents and businesses have been engaged in a long-running process to improve traffic and public space conditions in their neighborhood. Just last night they held another community workshop

Photo: Hiroko Masuike for the New York Times

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Monday’s Headlines Are Open for Business

Monday will be just another Monday for federal employees, as Congress avoided a government shutdown. Plus, declining gas tax revenue provides an opportunity to rethink transportation funding.

October 2, 2023

Why Connecticut is Investing in New Regional Rail

Gov. Ned Lamont will spend $315 million investment on new rail cars — but they're not going anywhere near Grand Central. Here's why.

October 2, 2023

To Help Save the Planet, Take the ‘Week Without Driving’ Challenge

Former Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz is urging Americans to give up driving for seven days — and support policies to make it optional for everyone.

September 29, 2023

Labor Gains: NYC Judge Tosses App Giants’ Suit to Stop Deliverista Minimum Wage

Justice Nicholas Moyne cleared the way for a long-delayed wage hike for workers who brave dangerous roads to bring food directly to New Yorkers.

September 29, 2023

Friday’s Headlines Are Charged Up

Expect a lot fewer ordinary gas stations and a few more Buc-ee's in your area as the electric vehicle transition continues.

September 29, 2023
See all posts