SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                              Washington, DC 20549


                        _________________________________


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


           Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 1, 1997


                        PEOPLES TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC. 
             ------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

           NEW YORK                     0-16479             13-2626435   
  -------------------------        ----------------        -------------    
  (State or other juris-          (Commission File         (IRS Employer
  diction of incorporation)             Number)               I.D. No.)


               2300 N.W. 89th Place, Miami, Florida           33172     
              ---------------------------------------       ---------
              (Address of principal executive offices)       (Zip Code)


Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (305) 593-9667



Item 5.           Other Events

     On July 1, 1997 the United  States  Court of Appeals  for the  District  of
Columbia   rendered  its  decision  (the  "Court  Order")  in  Illinois   Public
Telecommunications   Association,  v.  Federal  Communications  Commission  (the
"FCC"),  et al., on  petitions  for review of the FCC  Payphone  Orders,  issued
pursuant to Section 276 of the  Telecommunications  Act of 1996 (the "Act"). The
Court Order represents a disposition of 20 consolidated petitions seeking review
of various  aspects of the FCC's  plan to revamp the  regulatory  regime for the
payphone industry, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

     The Court Order grants in part and denies in part the petitions for review,
and makes the following relevant findings:

     1. The  deregulation  and  institution  of "market based" pricing for local
coin calls, as ordered by the FCC to be effective on October 7, 1997, was 
upheld by the Court as within the authorized jurisdiction of the Commission.

     2. The Court  reversed  and  remanded  for  further  proceedings  the FCC's
decisions regarding:

          A.  The  interim  ($45.85/phone/month)  and prospective  ($0.35/call)
     payment  systems  established  to provide  "fair compensation"  to Payphone
     Service Providers ("PSPs") for access code and subscriber 800 calls 
     (so called "dial-around compensation").

          B.  The  failure  to  provide  any  interim  compensation  to PSPs for
     so-called "0+" calls and calls from inmate payphones.

          C.  Prescription of "fair market value" for payphone assets 
     transferred from the Bell Operating  Companies to their respective  
     separate affiliates.

     Although  the  Company is still  reviewing  the Court  Order,  the  Company
believes  that the Court  Order is on balance  favorable  because it affirms the
majority  of  key  features  contained  in the  FCC's  Payphone  Orders,  and in
particular the local coin call rate deregulation.  However, because the FCC will
be  required  to  consider   further  its  order  with  respect  to  dial-around
compensation,  the Company  cannot predict with any certainty the effect of such
further  consideration  on the Company's  previously  disclosed  estimate of the
impact of such compensation upon the Company's annual financial  results.  While
the  Company,  based upon its best  current  information  and  belief,  does not
currently  anticipate that  ultimately a material  adverse effect on the Company
will  ensue  as a  result  of the  Court  Order  or the  reasonably  anticipated
disposition  of the issues  remanded to the FCC for further  consideration,  the
Company cannot  definitively  predict the final outcome of these  proceedings at
this time and therefore cannot determine with any certainty  whether and to what
degree the final  impact  upon the  Company  will be positive or negative in the
aggregate.


     The  foregoing   contains  forward  looking  statements  which,  given  the
uncertainties  of the regulatory  process and the potential for court challenges
to any further FCC rulemaking, may not ultimately be realized.



                                   SIGNATURES


     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.



                                      PEOPLES TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC.



Date: July 10, 1997                   /s/ Bonnie S. Biumi
                                     ------------------------------------
                                     Bonnie S. Biumi
                                     Chief Financial Officer