One saving grace is the High Line. I think it works well to serve public WiFi in places where tourists are going to be- they're likely not using their (expensive, international) data connections but need to get access to info.
WiFi like this already exists in Union Square and Times Square.
SoHo and TriBeCa are next.
Public WiFi is useful when you're on-the-go.
This was my reaction as well. I'd rather see them put it in a poor neighborhood.