{"id":220268,"date":"2026-05-05T03:59:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T03:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/220268\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T03:59:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T03:59:11","slug":"mamdani-announces-2-million-to-expand-free-broadband-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/220268\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani Announces $2 Million to Expand Free Broadband Access"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>May 4, 2026 \u2013 A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/program\/news-conference\/new-york-city-mayor-mamdani-makes-announcement-on-internet-access\/678576?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">$2 million expansion<\/a> of New York City\u2019s Neighborhood Internet program, announced Monday by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, will provide free high-speed broadband to low-income residents in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.<\/p>\n<p>City officials said the program will serve more than 700 households by this summer and expand to thousands more homes across the Bronx over the next two years.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative, a partnership between the city and the New York Public Library, delivers free broadband to underserved communities with low internet adoption rates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInternet access allows New Yorkers to access jobs, find no-cost child care and explore the city they love,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cWith this $2 million investment\u2026 this administration is taking a major step towards closing the digital gap.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The expansion is funded through federal Community Project Funding secured by Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and will support infrastructure including rooftop equipment, microtrenching, and in-unit connectivity across roughly 50 buildings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe digital divide is not abstract, it is a daily barrier for so many families in the South Bronx,\u201d Torres said. \u201cIn 2026, being offline means being locked out of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 20 percent of families in the Bronx lack internet access at home, and in the South Bronx that number rises to 40 percent, Torres said.<\/p>\n<p>Torres said the investment will bring high-speed internet into thousands of apartments, calling connectivity essential for participation in the modern economy.<\/p>\n<p>The program is part of a broader digital equity strategy to expand access to economic, educational, and social opportunities, city officials said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen affordable housing gets built in the city, residents should be connected to the internet,\u201d said Dina Levy, commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Neighborhood Internet initiative will help bridge the digital divide,\u201d Levy said.<\/p>\n<p>Anthony Marx, president of the New York Public Library, said the program supports access to jobs, healthcare, and communication.<\/p>\n<p>The New York Public Library will install and manage the high-speed internet service for participating households.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, analysts said New York City\u2019s reliance on private internet providers has <a href=\"https:\/\/broadbandbreakfast.com\/analysts-call-for-public-broadband-as-thousands-remain-offline-in-nyc\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">failed to deliver affordable or universal service<\/a>, urging greater investment in public broadband infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Expanding programs like Neighborhood Internet is intended to address those gaps by delivering free, reliable broadband directly to residents, officials said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"May 4, 2026 \u2013 A $2 million expansion of New York City\u2019s Neighborhood Internet program, announced Monday by&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-220268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}