Image Credit: NYCHA.
On August 1, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams and Office of Technology and Innovation Commissioner Matthew Fraser announced the expansion of “Big Apple Connect” to 17 new public housing developments across Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The Big Apple Connect program provides NYCHA residents with a free bundle of high-speed internet, including equipment, basic cable TV service, and common area Wi-Fi hotspots. The program aims to enhance digital equity by enabling New Yorkers to have access to participate in a growing digital society and economy.
The program launched in September 2022. With the addition of these new sites, the program will reach over 330,000 residents in 150,000 households. The newest expansion will reach over 30,000 residents. The seventeen added developments are:
- 303 Vernon Avenue (Brooklyn)
- Atlantic Terminal Site 4B (Brooklyn)
- Baruch Houses (Manhattan)
- Baruch Houses Addition (Manhattan)
- De Hostos Apartments (Manhattan)
- Jefferson (Manhattan)
- Kingsborough Houses (Brooklyn)
- Kingsborough Extension (Brooklyn)
- Manhattanville Houses (Manhattan)
- Morrisania Air Rights (Bronx)
- Red Hook East (Brooklyn)
- Red Hook West (Brooklyn)
- Riis Houses (Manhattan)
- Riis Houses II (Manhattan)
- Saint Nicholas (Manhattan)
- Wald (Manhattan)
- Woodson (Brooklyn)
To view a full list of eligible NYCHA developments, click here.
Currently, the city is in a three-year agreement with Altice (Optimum) and Charter (Spectrum) through 2025, with an option to extend through 2027. The Office of Technology and Innovation is billed directly for the services. Existing Optimum and Spectrum customers in eligible NYCHA developments are automatically enrolled in the program and only pay for additional services they choose to purchase. Residents who are not current customers can sign up directly with Optimum or Spectrum or attend an on-site enrollment event.
Mayor Adams stated, “Access to broadband is not a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have to participate in a 21st-century society that bridges the digital divide. With today’s expansion of our ‘Big Apple Connect’ program, we have rapidly connected almost every NYCHA resident across the city to broadband in less than a year, helping them unlock economic, educational, and social opportunities that will lead to more productive, connected lives. We thank the tenant leaders and elected officials who worked with us on this expansion and look forward to building on this progress in the months ahead.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)
Mayor: Mayor Adams Expands ‘Big Apple Connect’ to 17 new Sites, Free Broadband now Available to 150,000 NYCHA Households (August 1, 2023).