Below is an announcement about our 2nd Broadband hearing, May 22 in
Brooklyn. (Some of you may have received this via the Committee on
Technology's e-mail list). Best, Gale
BROOKLYN BROADBAND HEARING: On Tuesday, May 22nd from Noon to 3
pm, in the Courtroom hearing room, on the 2nd floor of Brooklyn
Borough Hall, the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee will
convene itssecond public hearing to hear testimony from Brooklyn
residents, nonprofit organizations and businesses. The Committtee
would like to get feedback on the following questions:
Why is a fast affordable Internet connection important to you?
What do you consider an "affordable" fee to pay for an high-speed
connection to the Internet?
If you have a broadband connection, what do you use it for (e.g.,
help your child do his/her homework)?
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)?
We thank the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President Marty
Markowitz for assistance in securing this beautiful space. Brooklyn
Borough Hall is located at 209 Joralemon Street in downtown
Brooklyn. Here is a link to a Google map of where the hearing
location, including where the closest subway stops are:
http://www.google.com/maps?q=209+Joralemon+St,+Brooklyn,+New+York
+11201,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title
WITNESSES: If you or anyone you know would like to testify at
this hearing (and put on the official witness list), please contact
Jeff Baker ([EMAIL PROTECTED] / 212-788-9193), Counsel
to the Committee on Technology in Government. Brooklyn parents of
schoolchildren, schoolchildren, nonprofit leaders, small business
owners and senior citizens are particularly encouraged to testify.
Anyone who attends the hearing is also free -- and encouraged -- to
testify with no advance notice required.
RATIONALE FOR THE BROADBAND ADVISORY COMMTITEE: Thanks to Bruce
Lai, chief of Staff in our office, we recently published a blog post
in the Huffington Post regarding our championing of the New York City
Broadband Advisory Committee and the issue of universal, affordable
access to broadband in New York City:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-lai/the-future-of-digital-
new_b_46221.html
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Here is a list of the members of the
Advisory Committee along with their bios:http://
nycbroadband.blogspot.com/2007/03/list-of-members-of-committee.html.
RECAP OF THE MARCH 30TH BRONX BROADBAND HEARING: On Friday,
March 30th, more than 200 peoplejoined us on at Bronx Community
College for the first-ever public hearing on broadband in New York
City. Over 30 membersof the public testified, including Bronx
residents, public school students, leaders of nonprofit organizations
and small business owners.
The following are links to articles about the hearing in the
Bronx on March 30th:
NY Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/bronx/
2007/03/27/20070327_air_your_views_at_wifi_public_hearing.html
Newsday: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-
nybroa305151459mar30,0,4224312.story
Metro: http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/
Bridging_the_digital_divide/7717.html
NY1 http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?
&aid=68237&search_result=1&stid=12
Informationweek: http://www.informationweek.com/news/
showArticle.jhtml?articleID=198100613&subSection=Breaking+News
Norwood News: http://www.bronxmall.com/norwoodnews/news/
N70419page3.html
Chelsea Now: http://www.chelseanow.com/cn_27/chelseahighschool.html
Civil Defense: http://breitbart.wordpress.com/2007/04/03/bac-audio
A really good audio 3 minute recap (or podcast) of the Bronx
hearing is available at:http://odeo.com/audio/11062793/view. (Thanks
Kat Aaron of WBAI!)
The entire video of the enture Bronx hearing is available
at:http://www.bronxnet.org/c_program/whats_new/whats_new.htm. (Thank
you BronxNet!)
BROADBAND BRIEFING PAPER: Here is a briefing paper (by the
Committee on Technology in Government, not the NYC Broadband Advisory
Committee) on the subject of broadband: http://
nycbroadband.blogspot.com/2007/04/broadband-briefing-paper-type-here-
full.html. (Thank you Colleen Pagter, Policy Analyst of the
Committee on Technology in Government!)
QUESTIONS: If you have any questions about the NYC Broadband
Advisory Committee, please contact me, Bruce Lai
[EMAIL PROTECTED] / 212-788-6975 or Ryan Merola at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] / 212-788-6975.
NYC BROADBAND ADVISORY COMMITTEE WEBSITE: We have set up a
website --http://nycbroadband.blogspot.com/ -- with the latest
information re: the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee.
*****
Here's a recent article about the NYC Broadband Advisory
Committee (as viewed by Gale and I, not the NYC Broadband Advisory
Committee) and the Bronx hearing in March.
http://www.idgns.com/news.nsf/0/002570DE00740E18002572D4005F4738
WORLDBEAT : Committee tackles NYC's digital divide
By Elizabeth Montalbano
IDG News Service (New York Bureau)
NEW YORK (05/07/2007) - Providing affordable or free broadband access
to a city of more than 8 million is a daunting task. But a movement
spearheaded by New York Councilwoman Gail Brewer aims to do just
that, and taking a different tack from other U.S. cities trying to
build metropolitan Wi-Fi networks.
While cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles have
decided that Wi-Fi is the way to provide broadband Internet access to
residents, New York's plans have moved at a glacial pace. Providing
access to such a large metropolitan area, across five boroughs, is a
tricky business without a one-size-fits-all solution, government
officials have said.
Brewer, a councilwoman for the Upper West Side neighborhood of
Manhattan, has for several years promoted a strategy to close what
she views as a "digital divide" between residents who can afford
hefty fees for broadband access in the city, and those who can't.
Small businesses and nonprofits also can't compete effectively
because of the high cost of broadband, she said.
Local Law 126, sponsored by Brewer and approved in December 2005,
formed the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee. As other
cities are in final stages of either building (Philadelphia) or
planning (San Francisco) their Wi-Fi networks, New York's committee
means to deliver proof to the mayor that there is, in fact, a major
disparity between who in New York has Internet access, broadband or
otherwise, and who does not.
The committee plans to deliver findings to the mayor later this year,
and then officials will figure out how best to offer broadband.
"What we hope to get out of it ... is a combined approach [to
broadband]," Brewer said. "We want to discover innovative ways in
which technology can be used, and want to expand it so that everyone
in [New York] has inexpensive, fast Internet access. It's not about
technology for technology's sake, but how can nonprofits improve
their businesses, how can small businesses get more profits, etcetera."
Bruce Lai, Brewer's chief of staff and co-author of Local Law 126,
thinks it's fairly obvious that there is a digital divide in New
York. "Just because there is no official study does not mean there is
no digital divide." However, he reasoned that New York's measured
approach to figuring out how to provide broadband access is the best
way for the city to deliver it successfully.
"The key issue is not just the network itself," he said. "A lot of
cities think it's great just building networks. But it's more about
how they conceive the network and how to improve quality of life for
residents."
The committee held its first meeting recently in the Bronx.
Representatives from local schools, including high-school and middle-
school students, and businesses told the committee about their access
to the Internet and gave examples of how affordable broadband access
can be made available on a more widespread basis.
Miguel, who attends middle school in the Bronx, testified that kids
who have access to the Internet have an edge over students who don't
because they can do research to help them finish homework and
projects faster. Of the 50 children in his class, he said only about
10 own computers. Those who don't must go to local libraries to use
the Internet, often standing in long lines to have only a little time
to use the Web, he said.
Stuart Reid, co-chairman of Urban Communications Transport Corp.,
sharply criticized the scenario Miguel described.
"Children shouldn't have to stand on line to go online," Reid said.
He described how Urban Communications Transport, a private broadband
franchise, teamed with the South Bronx Overall Economic Development
Corporation to provide 1,200 families in the Bronx with free Internet
access.
The project provided families living in the Diego Beekman Houses, a
housing project in the South Bronx, with Pentium 3 computers and Wi-
Fi access. It also provided computer training, which Reid said is
more important than simply handing out computers and Wi-Fi access.
Jose, another Bronx middle schooler, said that his generation is used
to getting information quickly and easily from the Internet. Because
there is not fast, reliable access to it in his school or in his home
or those of his friends, they can easily lose interest in school and
learning, he said.
Jose also bluntly noted a difference between adults who grew up
without the Internet, such as some of his teachers, and the current
generation of students who are Web-savvy.
"Some of the older generation [will tell us], go get a book and start
reading," he said. "But that is something that bores these kids."
The hope is that public meetings will prove to skeptical city
officials that New York needs to solve its digital divide, Lai said.
After that, it's key that policy makers and other leaders in New York
"get as many people online as possible" in short order, he added.
*****
NET NEUTRALITY HEARING
On Monday, April 30 at 1 PM in the Council Chambers of City Hall,
Committee on Technology in Government held an oversight hearing on
the topic of "Establishing Strong Network Neutrality Principles in
Order to Protect the Internet.” The hearing focused on Resolution
No. 712 (http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Res%
200712-2007.htm), which was introduced in the City Council in
February 2007. Sponsored by Council Member Gale Brewer, Res. 712
calls upon the United States Congress "to codify strong network
neutrality principles in order to insure that the Internet will
continue to foster innovation, increase competition, and spur
economic growth as well as making the Internet faster and more
affordable for all." We would like to thank Tim Wu and Henning
Schulrzinne of Columbia University, Tim Karr of the Free Press and
Craig Newmark of Craigslist (via written testimony) for testifying.
Gale A. Brewer
29 West 95 Street
New York, NY 10025
h. 212-749-0330
f. 212-749-0340
cell 917-881-3375
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.galebrewer.com
DISTRICT OFFICE
Hon. Gale A. Brewer
City Council, 6th District
563 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 10024
tel 212-873-0282
fax 212-873-0279
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
CITY HALL OFFICE
Hon. Gale A. Brewer
City Council, 6th District
250 Broadway, Room 1744
New York, NY 10007
tel 212-788-6975
fax 212-513-7717
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
Dana Spiegel
Executive Director
NYCwireless
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.NYCwireless.net
+1 917 402 0422
Read the Wireless Community blog: http://www.wirelesscommunity.info
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