April 18, 2023

28 percent of NYC immigrant households completely lack internet access

City now has launched Gigabit Centers in all five boroughs since 2022

NEW YORK— New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Matthew Fraser, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) Commissioner Manuel Castro, and LinkNYC CEO Nick Colvin today announced the launch of the Staten Island Gigabit Center, the borough’s first and the city’s fifth overall, as part of the administration’s continuing efforts to bridge the digital divide for underserved communities. Located in La Colmena Community Job Center in the Stapleton Heights neighborhood, the Staten Island Gigabit Center provides day laborers, domestic workers, and other low-wage immigrant workers with access to free high-speed internet necessary to pursue employment opportunities, participate in training workshops and ESL classes, and stay connected with friends and family. The center is the result of a partnership between the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI), LinkNYC, and La Colmena.

“For centuries, the hard work of immigrants has served as the backbone of our city, and providing them with necessary services like broadband is the absolute least we can do to pay it forward,” said Mayor Adams. “In today’s digital age, reliable, high-speed internet is as essential as water and heat, and, as a city of immigrants, it is crucial that workers and families new to our city and country have that access to help them pursue their American Dream. Thank you to La Colmena for being an outstanding partner to our administration on efforts to serve immigrant workers and families in Staten Island.” 

“For our immigrant workers and families, New York City’s promise of a better life depends upon access to reliable, high-speed internet to secure job opportunities, stay socially connected, and learn new skills,” said Chief Technology Officer Fraser. “Today’s Gigabit Center opening ensures this underserved population in Staten Island receives this important resource – and also demonstrates this administration’s ongoing commitment to serving our broader immigrant community. I thank Mayor Adams for his unwavering commitment to bridging the digital divide and our partners at LinkNYC and La Colmena for delivering life-changing opportunities to Staten Island.”

“As the ultimate city of immigrants, this administration is constantly thinking of ways to bridge the digital divide - especially with underserved communities,” said MOIA Commissioner Castro. “I am proud to see the City partner with on the ground community organizations like La Colmena to serve immigrant New Yorkers with access to high speed Wi-Fi access and digital literacy programming.”

“People who do not have access to the internet do not have equal access to opportunity — it’s that simple, and it’s a disparity we must fix. The solution is straightforward: give our communities the resources needed to level the playing field, which is exactly what we do at LinkNYC,” said Nick Colvin, CEO, LinkNYC.  “Opening this Gigabit Center on Staten Island is a major milestone in our efforts to ensure all New Yorkers have access to the reliable, high-speed, quality internet service they deserve — and we are especially proud it will serve some of the newest New Yorkers.”

“La Colmena is excited to partner up with NYC OTI, LinkNYC, ZenFi Networks, and the City, in launching the 5th Gigabit Center to provide internet connectivity to the community,” said Yesenia Mata, Executive Director, La Colmena. “We are proud to represent Staten Island, as we understand the needs of communities that have been underserved. Together we are creating change and bringing resources to communities in need.”

The newly launched Staten Island Gigabit Center is part of OTI’s ongoing partnership with LinkNYC to provide free high-speed Wi-Fi access and digital literacy programming to New Yorkers. In 2022, similar Gigabit Centers opened at Silicon Harlem in Manhattan, Andrew Freedman Home in the Bronx, and the Allen Community Senior Citizens Center in Queens. The Brooklyn Gigabit Center launched in March 2023.

Currently, two-in-five New York City households lack either a home broadband connection or mobile broadband through cell service, and 1.8 million households lack both. Approximately 28 percent of immigrant households in the city lack internet access. On Staten Island alone, 18 percent of households do not have immediate access to reliable Wi-Fi and 12 percent of public school students do not have access to adequate broadband outside school.

The Staten Island Gigabit Center is part of the City’s broader efforts to bridge the digital divide, including the citywide network of LinkNYC kiosks, which has provided more than 12 million New Yorkers and visitors with free high-speed Wi-Fi since 2016. In July 2022, OTI, in partnership with LinkNYC, began deploying 2,000 next-generation Link5G kiosks that provide New Yorkers in more neighborhoods with free high-speed Wi-Fi and even faster, more reliable 5G mobile broadband service. In addition, installing the fiber optic “backbone” infrastructure everywhere LinkNYC kiosks are deployed makes it easier and cheaper for New Yorkers to get high-speed broadband internet access at home.

About NYC Office of Technology and Innovation
The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) is the leading voice of technology in the City of New York. Technology underpins everything the City does, from policing to benefits screening, and with the combined power of technology expertise across the City, OTI is agile, efficient, and laser-focused on revolutionizing technology and government with an aim at increasing the quality of service for all New Yorkers. We “Get Stuff Done” by streamlining every facet of the City’s technology management into a single cohesive work stream with one common purpose: to enhance the lives of New Yorkers through technology.

About LinkNYC
LinkNYC is the world’s largest and fastest free public Wi-Fi network. Each Link kiosk provides free superfast Wi-Fi, phone calls, device charging, access to social services, and displays content such as real-time weather, transit info, public art, and local information. The city-wide network has more than 11 million Wi-Fi users and has connected more than 25 million free phone calls. All of LinkNYC’s services are completely free to users and taxpayers, provided by CityBridge, a partnership led by Intersection and ZenFi Networks. The second generation offering will deploy thousands of new kiosks, called Link5G, enabled with 5G wireless technology across the city. For more information about LinkNYC or to find a Link near you, visit www.link.nyc. 

About ZenFi Networks
ZenFi Networks, a BAI Communications company, is an innovative digital infrastructure company focused on delivering wireless siting, network edge colocation and fiber optic network solutions that enable smart communities. ZenFi is a member of the joint venture CityBridge, which deploys and operates LinkNYC, the largest and fastest free public Wi-Fi network in the world. As a leading digital infrastructure provider in the tri-state area, ZenFi is responsible for deployment and management of the LinkNYC Wi-Fi and kiosk network.