Even as New York City’s technology sector grows (Amazon HQ2 notwithstanding), a survey of Manhattan public schools by my office shows that city students are lagging behind in the most basic tech currency: broadband wifi access.
My staff and interns surveyed a sample of multi-school “campuses” across the borough and conducted measurements of wifi upload and download speeds at three points during the school day: 20 minutes before classes start,… Read more
NEW YORK – Tomorrow, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and New York City Council Member James Vacca will bring Intro 1707, a bill upgrading the City’s first-in-the-nation Open Data Law, to the City Council for a public hearing. Council Member Vacca, who chairs the Technology Committee, will lead the hearing and sponsors the legislation in partnership with Borough President Brewer, who authored the city’s original Open Data Law.… Read more
Today, all five borough presidents cast a yes vote together at the city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee for the LinkNYC plan to create a system of free public WiFi kiosks, after we secured an agreement on improvements to the plan. Specifically, today’s agreement meets the goals that I and the other Borough Presidents were fighting for by requiring community input on the siting of WiFi kiosks, and introducing more… Read more
NEW YORK, NY – Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and education and technology advocates today called for reforms to city schools’ technology curriculum and purchasing policies to better prepare them for a tech-driven world, in advance of next week’s statewide vote on Proposal 3, a $2 billion school bond authorization.
“There’s no other way to put it: our public schools are behind in almost all aspects of technology,” said… Read more
When I first introduced a resolution in support of the .nyc domain name as a City Council Member in 2008, I had high hopes for what the domain could become. After all, Paris, Berlin, and othe global cities already had their own top-level domains. Today, after years of hard work and determination from the City, and the approval of ICANN, the web-governing body, anyone in New York City can establish… Read more
Government transparency and open data have remained an important concern during my years of public service. As a City Council member, I was proud to sponsor NYC’s Open Data Law, which unlocked a treasure trove of data about our streets, crime, restaurant inspections, and other information gathered by city agencies.
But that law was only the first step, as “open” data doesn’t automatically mean “useful” data. More work needs… Read more
In comments submitted to the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday, August 8, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer continued her strong advocacy on behalf of New York consumers in the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. In her comments, Brewer expressed concern about the potential size and scale of the newly created telecom giant, and urged the PSC to demand concessions from Comcast in… Read more
Applications are still being accepted for my office’s annual capital funding awards. Nonprofit organizations should apply here. Schools and other city entities may apply through the Grants Portal page. The deadline for nonprofit organizations to apply is February 20 and the deadline for city projects is February 25. Awards will be announced in July. For more information, contact Vanessa Díaz-López at vdiaz-lopez@manhattanbp.nyc.gov.
My Northern Manhattan Office and Manhattan Legal Services will host a free legal housing clinic featuring a “Know Your Rights” presentation that includes information about obtaining repairs, succession rights, eviction proceedings and how much rent can be charged. The presentation will be followed by a limited number of appointments for individual consultation on housing issues. Please bring documents related to your housing problems (court papers, leases, rent receipts, letters from landlords, DHCR rent history, etc.) Thursday, February 21, 4 – 6 pm, Northern Manhattan Office, 431 W. 125th St.
I’m kicking off NYC Open Data Week at the @NYCSoData conference on Sat, Mar 2 at @galvanize with @BetaNYC and @NYCAnalytics. Hear from me and attend 21 other talks/workshops on #civictech, #design & #opendata! https://t.co/dZaToG855a
We showed this rendering of beach/kayak launch to PS34 5th graders a few years ago & they jumped out of their seats w/excitement, and then it disappeared. Thanks @galeabrewer et al for bringing it back! We can’t wait to take our students there to collect data https://t.co/Tdh0cTuzTK