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De Blasio Disables Free WiFi At Kiosks After Hobos Caught Masturbating To Porn

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Eric Lieberman Managing Editor
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is shutting down Internet access for new WiFi kiosks stationed around the city after a homeless man was seen masturbating to porn in one of the booths.

“I have noticed this kind of thing at charging stations, before, but just not this incredibly out in the open at a time when people were out,” Stephanie Pederson posted on a neighborhood Facebook group, according to the New York Post.

Pederson, who resides in the Murray Hill neighborhood, was walking her dog on a Sunday morning.

Other city residents have complained that they have seen vagrants playing with their genitals while watching porn, often with minors nearby.

There have also been reports of people making the booths into their own personal living rooms. One couple used it for a date night, and a man set up a couch with a makeshift ottoman to watch the available content on the screen.

The booths offer other features besides free public WiFi, including “device charging and a tables for access to city services, maps and directions,” according to the technology project’s website.

Anyone can also, “make free phone calls to anywhere in the U.S. using the Vonage app on the tablet or the tactile keypad and microphone.” The site advises users to “plug in your personal headphones for more privacy,” but that likely won’t deter any porn watching.

“After learning about the inappropriate and over-extended usage of LinkNYC kiosks throughout the city, in particular in Manhattan, it is time to make adjustments that will allow all of our city residents to use this service safely and comfortably,” Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. said, according to PIX11.

The initiative, called LinkNYC, was spearheaded by de Blasio and his administration in 2014 and is managed by the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. The actual technology is administered by a consortium called CityBridge, which includes Qualcomm, Control Group, Titan and Comark.

“There were concerns about loitering and extended use of LinkNYC kiosks, so the mayor is addressing these quality-of-life complaints head-on,” said City Hall spokeswoman Natalie Grybauskas.

De Blasio signed a package of eight bills called the Criminal Justice Reform Act in June, which effectively turned lower-level offenses like littering, public urination and public drinking into civil infractions.

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