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New York City Council Adopts Resolution Supporting High-Speed Internet in Low Income Housing



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Feb 28, 2005, News Report

Last Friday, the New York City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to provide low- or no-cost high-speed Internet access to affordable housing residents.

Res. No. 669, introduced by Council Member Gale A. Brewer, the chairperson of the New York City Council's Committee on Technology in Government, calls upon city agencies to use their funding and regulatory power to support and encourage the provision of affordable high-speed Internet service and computer purchases for the benefit of residents of affordable housing.

Res. No. 669 states that:
  • All future publicly financed or subsidized housing properties for residents earning less than 80 percent of the median area income should provide a high-speed Internet connection in the living area of every unit to residents for free or at a cost of less than $10 per month;
  • The development of programs that benefit of low-income residents' utilization of technology, such as the affordable purchase of computers, should be encouraged; and
  • All relevant City agencies should use their funding and regulatory power to support and encourage the provision of affordable high-speed Internet service and computer purchases for the benefit of residents of affordable housing.
"This resolution will help us bridge the digital divide -- lack of access to the economic, educational and financial tools that the Internet provides," said Council Member Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan). "By encouraging new affordable housing developments to be built with high-speed Internet access, we can accelerate the entry of low-income people into the economic mainstream. At a cost as low as $175 a unit, this is an investment New York can't afford not to make."

This resolution represents a major accomplishment for One Economy Corporation, a national nonprofit that utilizes technology to help low-income people improve their lives. One Economy's Bring IT Home campaign, a public policy initiative to bring high-speed Internet access into all new and rehabilitated affordable housing, has affected policy change in 29 states and two cities since its launch in February 2004. According to Mark Levine, One Economy vice president, northeast region, New York has set the bar for other cities to consider similar action for the benefit of their communities.

"We congratulate the New York City Council on its leadership and vision in unanimously passing Res. No. 669," said Levine, who helped draft the resolution. "One of the most debilitating aspects of poverty is isolation ... whether based on geography, education level or discrimination. We believe that technology and the Internet have the potential to help low-income people leap over each of these barriers. New York can set an example for other municipalities in helping our nation's low-income families to tap the transformative potential of technology."

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