CWA Partners with NYC Elected Leaders to Bring Free WiFi to Low Income Housing

One of the biggest lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic has been that affordable, high quality broadband is a utility as essential to our communities as electricity. While many of our communities have been left behind in the digital divide - a problem even more stark within low income housing communities such as NYC’s New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residences - CWAers are working to bridge that gap and expand broadband access.

On Saturday, August 27th, CWA District 1 Broadband Brigade member Nick Hoh (Local 1104) joined New York City Councilmember Julie Won for a huge free home wifi registration event at a New York City Housing Authority Complex in Queens, NY.

A big component of President Biden’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021 was the creation of the “Affordable Connectivity Program” (ACP) which provides eligible households with $30 per month off their internet bill. Many of our employers across the country are participating in the program - including Verizon in New York City. CWA members have been signing up many new households, and as part of CWA’s Broadband For All program, Broadband Brigade activists in District 1 have partnered with elected officials in New York City to bridge the digital divide by bringing free internet to residents in public housing in New York City. Nearly one-third of New Yorkers currently lack access to broadband, and expanding broadband to underserved populations is a critical goal of the City.

In the next several weeks CWA will be launching more events in New York City and throughout the country to promote the ACP.

“I was proud to launch a scalable pilot program in my New York City Council District with CWA to target broadband adoption for public housing residents,” said Julie Menin, who launched the pilot for this initiative, “and I am thrilled that CWA is continuing this work with housing authorities, elected officials, and local officials across the country.”