Serial LinkNYC Vandal With Brick Terrorizes Manhattan
A vandal smashed dozens of LinkNYC kiosks in Manhattan throughout Manhattan, police said as they raised the total of damaged screens Wednesday.
Cops said the bearded vandal was caught on surveillance camera throwing bricks or other blunt objects at 42 of the kiosks over a week-long spree, from April 16 thgouh April 23. They released surveillance video of one case in which the man is clearly seen holding a brick, winding up his arm and smashing the screen.
Earlier this week, a LinkNYC spokesperson had said only 30 were damaged.
The vandal damaged a total of 30 kiosks, the spokesperson said.
All of the damaged kiosks are located in Chelsea and the West Village, according to Gothamist.
The NYPD is aware of the vandalism and investigating, LinkNYC’s spokesperson said.
“LinkNYC provides a valuable public service to many of the city’s most vulnerable,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “When people vandalize Links, they impede on its ability to fund and deliver these services.”
The number people call the most using the kiosks’ tablet phone app is the EBT — Electronic Benefits Transfer — customer service line, according to the spokesperson.
When LinkNYC surveyed kiosk users recently, 15 percent of people who responded said the kiosks were “their only high speed internet connection,” according to the spokesperson.
“That number goes up to 29 percent in some areas of the city,” the spokesperson added.
It wasn't immediately clear how many users were surveyed.
Photo Credit: Handout
from NBC New York - Top Stories http://bit.ly/2XHGhqX
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