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Artist Unveils Public Prayer Booths In NYC

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Nov 12, 2008 7:31 am US/Pacific

Artist Unveils Public Prayer Booths In NYC

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Call it art for the masses that's literally bringing some who see it ... to their knees.

They kind of look like phone booths, though they serve a much higher calling.

"I'm trying to figure out what kind of booth is this," Jyoti Bhatnager said.

They are actually public prayer booths, reports CBS station WCBS-TV in New York City.

It's place where people can pray publicly, if and when the spirit moves them.

"I love to pray. I'll pray anywhere. I don't care what it is," said Maria Leon of Woodside, Queens.

"It looks like it used to be a phone booth."

Call it faith on the fly.

The prayer booths come complete with a flip-down kneeling pad, providing on-the-go folks religious sanctuary away from the sanctuary.

"You kneel on here," said Lisa Abrams of Westchester. "They have instructions on how to pray."

It is the brainchild of the City Parks Department -- which is billing this as a public art installation project, not quite as grand as, say, The Gates, but one with mass appeal.

"Pretty, uh ... intriguing," said one New Yorker.

"A little bit weird," added another.

The booth does come with instructions you'll be happy to know and warnings about improper use ...whatever that may be.

The public prayer booths will be around through early December. Call it salvation in the city.

The public prayer booth was conceived by Dylan Mortimer, a recent graduate of New York's School of Visual Arts who lives in Kansas City.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.