Verizon is stupid too. Okay, not stupid but greedy, probably.

tripping over Verizon's waste (cityrag)

I was thinking the same thing - who the hell uses the yellow pages anyway? For one thing, with so many frickin' businesses in NYC (and hundreds within walking distance for most Manhattanites), these bigass directories aren't all that helpful, with or without the internet.

The reason for printing so many copies is simple - it's all about selling advertising space. And by printing a huge fucking number of them, they can inflate the circulation figures and charge more per sq in. Bastards.

It wouldn't be the first time. NYC is removing public phones after realizing they're getting installed for the ad revenue, not because anyone needs it.