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A city initiative has expanded the delivery of free in-home internet and basic cable TV to NYCHA residents living on the Upper West Side.
The initiative, “Big Apple Connect,” spearheaded by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser, announced the expansion of the program, which now includes 17 developments across all five boroughs, including the De Hostos Apartments at 201 West 93rd Street (between Amsterdam and Broadway).
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“Big Apple Connect” prioritizes New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments with limited or no subsidized broadband options and offers a comprehensive connectivity package. Residents will now receive in-home high-speed internet, a modem, a router, basic cable TV service with a cable box and remote control, and access to Wi-Fi hotspots in common areas. With the expansion, NYCHA residents will now be connected to high-speed internet within a year, offering them greater opportunities in education, work, and social interactions.
“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,” Mayor Adams said in a news release. The program expansion, including the De Hostos Apartments, reaches nine developments in Manhattan, seven in Brooklyn, and one in the Bronx, with around 30,000 additional city residents benefitting from free internet and cable.
The administration launched “Big Apple Connect” in September 2022, reaching over 90,000 households across 135 NYCHA developments with a promise to serve 200 sites by the end of 2023. The administration expanded eligibility for the program in March, making it available to an additional 40,000 households at 67 new locations, surpassing 100,000 household enrollments in June.
Why not? They get food stamps, SNAP, NYC I.D. cards started by DeBlasio to get into every museum and other cultural places for free so add this to the list. My grandparents came here through Ellis Island and there was no government support.
Wow! That’s horrible Sara Rose- when my grandparents came over via Ellis Island- 1921- they got free WiFi as soon as they stepped on dry land! Maybe your Grandparent’s application got lost in the mail? I think you should call someone to right this wrong. Horrible!
Free Wi-Fi in 1921?
Wtf Are you talking about? What an ignorant comment,i f you even tired to reach it not everyone qualifies. Not everyone is on snap or qualify- people in NYCHA also, work. The internet is pretty low and if your streaming, a family would need to get higher internet speed and would need to pay out of pocket. The cable is basic just clear channels like 2,5,7,11, 13, 42,47 etc. Nothing special..
Some people that receive snap get get less then $30 a month or nothing. If working or disabled. Not everyone in NYCHA pays cheap rent some pay higher – over $1300 depending on your familes income situation.
Stop being jealous
for something you don’t need to be. Good day!
Sounds like a sweet deal for these leaches! Only $1300/mo? And now cable plus internet?
Rent is based on yearly income so only 1300 is a lot for someone who lives paycheck to paycheck. If someone offered you free internet you wouldn’t jump on it. The channels that are offered are basic channels. Anything else you have to pay.
Don’t worry Sara. You’re not alone. It’s okay to question government largesse. If no one pushes back it will simply continue to increase with no opposition. Each and every government handout should absolutely be questioned and politicians forced to justify it on its merits – and ideally the programs shouldn’t automatically be ongoing. It should be required that they be renewed on a regular basis to enable an opportunity to evaluate whether the situation no longer merits these programs. We all pay taxes (well many of us) and have a right to question how that money is spent.
BD:
So you’ll be out at Walmart and the likes of Goldman Sacks, Amazon, and Citi protesting all of the welfare given out to those companies?
Doubt it.
You’re the type that wouldn’t even protest the low pay of 90%+ of Walmart (Target if you like) workers that qualifies them for things like SNAP.
NYC ID cards do NOT get one into NYC museums for free.
What any one can do is sign up for free museum days weeks in advance. Those tickets go very fast.
Are you saying the poor or working poor shouldn’t get food stamps, (SNAP is redundant)
One more question Sara Rose. Would you trade your life now with a person living in NYCHA housing? Count your blessings Sara Rose.
What an ignorant comment to say. If you don’t know what you’re talking about you should shut up.There are many working people living in NYCHA who don’t get food stamps because their yearly income is too high and I am one of them
And how much do you pay a month for rent???
I think the first poster is a “pull yourself by your bootstraps” person–how sad. The USA is supposed to be a “We the people” government. Maybe she should get a copy of “How the Other Half Lives” by the great photo/ journalist Jacob Riis. Riis was a Danish immigrant who also suffered during the times where no one was helped by the government. His book helped to change that. Teddy Roosevelt called him, “The greatest American he had ever known” My goodness, it wasnt until the 1930s that people got unemployment after they lost a job. Basic cable/ wifi is as needed as electricity. Kids need wifi to study. SNAP? People need food to survive. Most people who live in NYCHA housing or have Section 8 are working people. Many are seniors or disabled. Does the poster want folks moved to the streets? Well we have that as well. Half a million homeless in this country. The poster is ignorant and a bitter, vengeful person.
So how does having cable help them with their lives? It’s a luxury, not a necessity. Free internet I understand, but realistically, how many will be taking on-line classes to get them out of public housing?
So taking on line classes is going to get them out of public housing. These classes is going to increase so much that the will be able to buy a house condo or move into a better neighborhood with high rent.
Ironic how many citizens are leaning towards disconnecting right now, while NYCHA is getting free internet AND TV.