Tag Archives: NY City Council

Events, News, Policy

Diamond Consultants to publicly brief Broadband Advisory Committee regarding the Bloomberg Administration's plans for bridging the digital divide

I just received this notice from a contact at the City Council. Everyone should attend if they can (unfortunately I won’t be able to go) and report back.

Very curious too that:

(a) The report from Diamond Consultants is only about the digital divide, since I was under the impression that the research was supposed to be about a lot more than just the digital divide, and

(b) This is being presented as “the Bloomberg Administration’s plans”, because I would think that the Bloomberg Administration would present their own plans and not have a consultant present for them, and further their “plans” should be based in part on the findings of the Broadband Advisory Committee, who’s whole point of existing is to bring a different perspective and set of expertise to any “plans” that are created.

Overall, I’m not too hopeful for what will be presented. I suspect it will be much too little, and frankly at least 6 months too late. This administration inexplicably has shown no spine for dealing with internet and network access issues and tends to kowtow to Verizon and Time Warner Cable. But, maybe, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

CITY HALL – On Wednesday, July 30th at 11:00am there will be a briefing from the Mayor’s Office and Diamond Consultants for the Broadband Advisory Committee regarding the Bloomberg Administration’s plans for bridging the digital divide in New York City.

The Broadband Advisory Committee was established in 2005 with the passage of Introduction 625-A creating a joint public broadband commission to advise the Mayor and the City Council of New York on how the resources of City government can be used to stimulate the private market so that residents and businesses of New York City have more options in terms of high-speed Internet access. The goal of the committee is to educate the general public about broadband and the newest communication technologies, and to give New York City residents the opportunity to comment on how the digital divide in New York City can be closed. To support these efforts the Broadband Advisory Committee has held public Broadband Hearings in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. The Committee will hold its fifth and final hearing in Staten Island this fall.

Diamond Consultants was hired by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to determine the breadth of the digital divide in New York City and develop programs and initiatives to provide greater digital inclusion for all residents. Chris O’Brien, a Partner in Diamond’s Public Sector practice, will be detailing Diamond’s findings and its recommendations for the City’s next steps.

The meeting will take place in the Committee of the Whole Room, City Hall, New York, NY on Wednesday, July 30th at 11:00 am. This is a public meeting and all are welcome to attend. For further information please contact Kunal Malhotra, Director of Legislation & Budget, 212-788-6975 or Kunal.Malhotra@council.nyc.gov.

Events, Policy

NYC Broadband Advisory Committee Public Hearing in Manhattan

On Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 from 1-4pm, the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee will be holding a meeting at the Manhattan School of Music, Greenfield Hall, 120 Claremont Avenue at 122 Street, New York, NY 10027 If you live or work in Manhattan, you should attend this meeting. NYCwireless will be there, representing our work building free, public Wi-Fi.

From Kunal Malhotra, Director of Legislation & Budget, Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer:

Coming on the heels of successful public hearings in the Bronx and Brooklyn where hundreds of people attended, the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee will hear from policy experts and Manhattan residents and business people in a Public Meeting of the Broadband Advisory Committee in Manhattan. During this official hearing on the borough’s Broadband status, the City Council seeks to answer the following questions: How important is affordable Broadband to businesses and to under-served communities? How will high-speed Internet connections improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers and their families?

“New York is the most dynamic city in the world. But when it comes to the Internet, we’re working to catch up to other jurisdictions,” said Council Member Brewer, Chair of the New York City Council’s Committee on Technology in Government. Brewer sponsored Local Law 126, which created the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee. “I am excited to work with the Mayor’s Office in making New York a place where you don’t have to pay to go slow. We need affordable high-speed Internet connections to bring in jobs, help schools, and make the city safer.”

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 27% of American households are still not using the Internet at all and “those with less education, those with lower household incomes, and Americans age 65 and older are less likely to have embraced broadband than those who are younger and have higher socio-economic status.” Seeking to address these same imbalances, Broadband Advisory Committee Chairperson, Shaun Belle, and CEO of Mount Hope Housing Company said, “Understanding the challenges to Broadband connectivity for the average New Yorker is a primary focus of the Broadband Advisory Committee; exploring and potentially implementing solutions to address these challenges will be the basis of our future planning.”

Andrew Rasiej, an Advisory Committee Member and the Founder of the Personal Democracy Forum and MOUSE said, “These hearings are critical to focusing broad political attention and building consensus for the need to guarantee all New Yorkers an opportunity to participate in the 21st Century economy.”

The New York Broadband Advisory Committee was created by Local Law 126, a bill sponsored by Council Member Gale Brewer. The purpose of the Committee is to advise the Mayor and the City Council on how to bring affordable high-speed Internet connection to all New York City residents, nonprofit organizations and businesses. The public hearing in Manhattan is the third in a series of five being convened in every borough. Queens and Staten Island hearings are scheduled for early 2008.

Events, Policy

NYC Broadband Advisory Committee Meeting on March 30 in The Bronx

On March 30, the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee will meet in the Bronx for the “first of five public hearings to both educate the public on broadband and learn from the public about their experiences, or lack of, with broadband and Internet technology in New York City.” Over the past couple of years, NYC Council Member Gale A. Brewer, based on the testimony of a number of New Yorkers, including NYCwireless, helped create the Broadband Advisory Committee to try to move New York City to the forefront of broadband accessibility and affordability.

NYCwireless will be there to help represent the interests of free public Wi-Fi, which hasn’t had as extensive distribution as midtown and downtown Manhattan. We’ve heard from a number of people and organizations in the Bronx that there’s a tremendous interest in free public Wi-Fi. We’ve been working with Professor John McMullen and his students at Monroe College to build more free hotspots in local businesses.

If you have any interest in helping New York City get affordable, universal, ubiquitous high-speed internet access, you should join us at this meeting.

The public hearing will be on March 30, from 10am-12pm at the Gould Memorial Library Auditorium, Bronx Community College, University Ave. at W. 181st Street. Council Member Brewer and Borough President Carrion invite all Bronx residents, nonprofit organizations and businesses to testify about the availability and affordability — or lack of — of broadband (that is, a high-speed connection to the Internet) in their neighborhoods.

Some questions that the Committee has are:

  1. Why is a fast affordable Internet connection important to you?
  2. What do you consider an “affordable” fee to pay for an high-speed connection to the Internet?
  3. If you have a broadband connection, what do you use it for (e.g., help your child do his/her homework)?
  4. If don’t have broadband or if you had a faster connection to the Internet, what would you use it for (e.g., market your business on-line or look for a job)?

The hearing in the Bronx will kick-off a series of five public hearings that will be convened in every borough of New York City. Based on these hearings and with the help of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Advisory Committee will report their findings and recommendations to the Mayor and City Council.

News

News Stories from about NYC Council Hearing on Parks-based Wi-Fi

Here are some news stories from yesterday’s hearing on the NYC Parks Department and their plans for hotspots.

New York Times: Deadline Set for Wireless Internet in Parks

NYCwireless, a nonprofit group that did the technical work for those projects, has also set up networks at Union Square, Tompkins Square and Stuyvesant Cove Parks, and is building a network at Brooklyn Bridge Park this year.

So far, the city’s own efforts have paled compared with those achievements by private groups.

New York Sun: New York Parks To Offer Free Web Access

For the many New Yorkers seemingly locked to their laptops, the expansion of wireless access cannot come fast enough. But one suggestion at yesterday’s hearing – taking Wi-Fi to the city’s beaches – had even a leading wireless advocate issuing words of caution: “I think it’s a wonderful idea, but you have to be careful about getting sand in your laptop,” the executive director of NYCwireless, Dana Spiegel, said.

Newsday: Wireless Internet access urged for NYC parks

We believe that free Internet is an amenity and should be provided to all New Yorkers just as grass, trees and benches are,” said Dana Spiegel, executive director of NYCwireless, a nonprofit organization that has worked with business groups and park boosters to set up wireless Internet access in several parks and open spaces.

More Headlines

New York Post: CENTRAL PK. TO BECOME A WEB SITE
WNBC: Techies Urge Wireless Web Access In NYC Park
WCBS: Wi-Fi Internet Access In NYC Parks?
SILive: Wireless Internet access urged for NYC parks
Spotlighting News: New York Central Park With WiFi
All Headline News: Deadline Set For Wireless Internet In Parks
Technology Review: Wi-Fi Coming to Parks in New York City

News, Policy

New York City Council Approves Public Broadband Commission

Many thanks to Council Member Gale A. Brewer for gaining approval of this important commission. NYCw looks forward to participating as a independent voice on broadband issues in NYC.

http://muniwireless.com/municipal/watch/955

The New York City Council has moved one step closer to bringing more competition into the market for high-speed Internet access to city residents and businesses. On Wednesday, December 21, 2005, the Council voted to pass Intro 625-A, sponsored by Council Member Gale A. Brewer (D-Manhattan), the Chair of the Committee on Technology in Government. This piece of legislation passed the Committee on Technology in Government unanimously on Tuesday, December 20, 2005. Int. No. 625-A creates a joint public broadband commission to advise the Mayor and the City Council of New York on how the resources of City government can be used to stimulate the private market so that residents and businesses of New York City have more options in terms of high-speed Internet access. The goal of the commission is to educate the general public about broadband and the newest communication technologies, and to give New York City residents the opportunity to comment on how the digital divide in New York City can be closed.