Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises · Thursday, November 13, 2025

The one where the Link NYC kiosk company admitted it still owes the city ~$25 million while asking to extend its franchi

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A short two-matter zoning subcommittee turned pointed when City Bridge / Link NYC came asking to amend Resolution 1109 and extend its public-communications-structure franchise through 2035. Brett Saikoff touted $130 million in revenue and 19 million Wi-Fi users, but Chair Riley and Land Use Chair Salamanca pressed: how are kiosk sites chosen, what happens when a community board says no, and what's owed. Saikoff conceded the franchisee still owes roughly $24-25 million. Salamanca recounted a kiosk planted beside a homeowner's daycare that took nearly two months to switch off. The companion item

From the room

“We intend on negotiating more favorable terms for the city with respect to minimum annual guarantees, higher minimum annual guarantees”
— Brett Saikoff

“This resolution would extend by five years. The franchise agreement with City Bridge to install and operate Link NYC kiosk”
— Eric Polatnik

“the the current uh target is four thousand. The requirement is that they built four thousand over the life of their franchise”
— Brett Saikoff

“on behalf of the New York Electrical Contractors Association, New York City's leading trade association of Unionized Electrical contractors”
— Peter Rasingo

The decisions

01LU 0429-2025N 250189 ZRMZoning TextLaid over

1551 BROADWAY

Heard the 1551 Broadway text amendment, a special permit letting the applicant swap three existing Times Square advertising signs for two larger ones, including a custom anamorphic 3D sign replacing the outdated existing display. Applicant's counsel Eric Polatnik reported no opposition after meeting with the community board and the local council member in Councilmember Bottcher's district.

The deal

Site

1551 BROADWAY

District

District 3

Land-use review

CEQR: Other

Properties1551 BROADWAY

Legislation →ULURP case →

02Res 1109-2025RES 1109-2025Laid over

as amended

The hearing on the LinkNYC/CityBridge franchise extension drew a wall of union and tech support, from IBEW Local 3's Steve Murphy and NYECA's Peter Rasingo touting $1.3 billion in local economic activity, to Tech NYC's Alex Speropoulos citing that 55% of New Yorkers now use free public Wi-Fi monthly. CityBridge's Nick Colvin noted over 19 million users have connected to the network.

Legislation →ULURP case →

03LU 0430-2025C 250188 ZSMSpecial PermitLaid over

1551 Broadway MiD Signage Text Amendment and SP

Legislation →ULURP case →

Also in the record

Records not linked to a specific agenda item

Questions & answers

S8 (council member): Do these factors determine the location of where you guys want to put the kiosk?

The people

On the dais · 7

David M. CarrFrancisco P. MoyaKamillah Hanks Kevin C. Riley Lynn C. Schulman Shaun Abreu Yusef Salaam

Practitioners & applicants

Rafael Salamanca, Jr. · Steve Murphy · Thomas Terazuli · Peter Rasingo · Dirk McCall de Paloma

The intelligence

Every parcel, owner, and applicant in this meeting, cross-referenced against Zonable’s NYC ownership, enforcement & legislative graph — the record behind the record.

Sign in for the full graph

Owner portfolios, open OATH/ECB violations, 311 & DOB permits across every parcel discussed, developer track records, and an “ask this meeting” chat. For this meeting: 843 oath/ecb hearings across the 1 site discussed.

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Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises · Thursday, November 13, 2025

The one where the Link NYC kiosk company admitted it still owes the city ~$25 million while asking to extend its franchi

Contents & search

items

laid over

land-use items

CEQR: Other

Try

From the room

“We intend on negotiating more favorable terms for the city with respect to minimum annual guarantees, higher minimum annual guarantees”
— Brett Saikoff

“This resolution would extend by five years. The franchise agreement with City Bridge to install and operate Link NYC kiosk”
— Eric Polatnik

“the the current uh target is four thousand. The requirement is that they built four thousand over the life of their franchise”
— Brett Saikoff

“on behalf of the New York Electrical Contractors Association, New York City's leading trade association of Unionized Electrical contractors”
— Peter Rasingo

The decisions

01LU 0429-2025N 250189 ZRMZoning TextLaid over

1551 BROADWAY

The deal

Site

1551 BROADWAY

District

District 3

Land-use review

CEQR: Other

Properties1551 BROADWAY

Legislation →ULURP case →

02Res 1109-2025RES 1109-2025Laid over

as amended

Legislation →ULURP case →

03LU 0430-2025C 250188 ZSMSpecial PermitLaid over

1551 Broadway MiD Signage Text Amendment and SP

Legislation →ULURP case →

Also in the record

Records not linked to a specific agenda item

Questions & answers

S8 (council member): Do these factors determine the location of where you guys want to put the kiosk?

The people

On the dais · 7

David M. CarrFrancisco P. MoyaKamillah Hanks Kevin C. Riley Lynn C. Schulman Shaun Abreu Yusef Salaam

Practitioners & applicants

Rafael Salamanca, Jr. · Steve Murphy · Thomas Terazuli · Peter Rasingo · Dirk McCall de Paloma

The intelligence

Every parcel, owner, and applicant in this meeting, cross-referenced against Zonable’s NYC ownership, enforcement & legislative graph — the record behind the record.

Sign in for the full graph

Ask about this meeting

Chat with AI about this meeting. Free account required.