Federal stimulus dollars will provide web access to low-income New Yorkers
New York has received $20 million in federal stimulus money intended to expand residents’ access to the Internet. The money will go to programs that aim to increase access to affordable broadband service in underserved communities and among low-income public school students.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the funding — targeted at the city’s NYC Connected Communities and NYC Connected Foundations — a “major advance in our efforts to bridge the digital divide for low-income New Yorkers.” NYC Connected Communities will receive $14 million, which will be used to expand the availability of public computer centers in high poverty areas, Bloomberg said in a statement. “Investing in libraries, public housing facilities, senior centers and community centers across the five boroughs, the program will serve 40,000 new users weekly, provide 1,047 new work stations, and offer an array of new resources for digital literacy, employment support, and other critical services,” Bloomberg said.
NYC Connected Foundations will receive $6 million that will provide over-age, under-credited students at 43 of the city’s public high schools with access to free computers, broadband subsidies and digital literacy training. Connected Foundations also includes a credit-bearing course aimed at facilitating sustainable adoption of broadband, and students who take the course will be able to apply the knowledge to post-secondary careers, Bloomberg said.
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