9.17.22 - City to Announce Free Internet and Cable for Thousands of NYCHA Residents
' Mayor Eric Adams is expected to announce a new program on Monday to provide free high-speed internet and basic cable TV to thousands of public housing residents.
The program, called Big Apple Connect, is a partnership between the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation and internet service providers that serve the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), which is home to more than 400,000 New Yorkers. Though the plan has yet to be made public by the mayor’s office, one of the providers, Optimum, has already publicly posted details of its collaboration with the city.
A City Hall spokesperson declined to provide further information but confirmed that the mayor will make an announcement on Monday.
Optimum is one of several providers in the city that supply services to NYCHA residents. According to Optimum’s website, under the new initiative, thousands of residents will receive free internet and basic cable services without having to bear the costs for equipment, installation, taxes, or fees. It’s unclear what the terms of the deal are and what it will cost the city to run the program.
The program will be available to Optimum customers at the Mott Haven Houses and Patterson Houses in the Bronx and the Langston Hughes Houses and Brownsville Houses in Brooklyn. According to Optimum’s website, the program will last three years, “after which the city may extend the program on a yearly basis.” '