New Yorkers have mixed feelings for Wi-Fi kiosks

New York

WHEN it comes to acceptance of New York City's rapidly growing network of pavement kiosks offering "free super fast Wi-Fi", some people are Nekeya Browns and some are Alex Padillas.

As soon as the LinkNYC booths were activated in their Washington Heights neighbourhood this month, Ms Brown celebrated by plugging in her headphones and swaying to some Marvin Gaye tunes; Mr Padilla, in his Yankees jersey, stood a few feet back, reluctant even to touch the keyboard for fear of having his pocket of personal data picked.

Mr Padilla, 60, said his primary concern was "having to give them information", not that he was certain who "they" were.

Ms Brown, a young woman in brightly patterned tights, was practically giddy as she appraised a glowing kiosk in Manhattan. "Whoever thought of this was a great person," she said, listing all of the benefits of the kiosks. "I told a homeless lady that whe…