NYC LOCAL: Wednesday 12 December 2007 New York City Broadband Committee Hearing

secretary@lxny.org

<blockquote
what="official New York City Broadband Committee announcement"
exhortation="Read the notice. Come to the hearing."
information="If you want to testify contact Kunal.Malhotra@council.nyc.gov."
main-issue="Network Neutrality"
opportunity="We can help keep the Net free."
more="http://nycbroadband.blogspot.com">

TEL: 212-788-6975

FAX: 212-513-7717

www.nyccouncil.info

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

NEED FOR SPEED!

BREWER BRINGS BROADBAND COMMITTEE TO MANHATTAN

Contact: Kunal Malhotra

Office: (212) 788 6975

Cell: (571) 212 0425

Kunal.Malhotra@council.nyc.gov

WHAT: Broadband Committee holds Public Meeting on Manhattan's Broadband
Connectivity

WHO: New York City Council Member Gale A. Brewer, the Broadband
Advisory Committee, Manhattan public school students, parents,
nonprofit leaders, small business owners and senior centers

WHEN: Wednesday, December 12^th, 2007, 1pm - 4pm

WHERE: Manhattan School of Music, Greenfield Hall, 120 Claremont Avenue
at 122 Street, New York, NY 10027

BLOG: [1]http://nycbroadband.blogspot.com/

Coming on the heels of successful public hearings in the Bronx and
Brooklyn where hundreds of people attended, the New York City Broadband
Advisory Committee will hear from policy experts and Manhattan
residents and business people in a Public Meeting of the Broadband
Advisory Committee in Manhattan. During this official hearing on the
borough's Broadband status, the City Council seeks to answer the
following questions: How important is affordable Broadband to
businesses and to under-served communities? How will high-speed
Internet connections improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers
and their families?

"New York is the most dynamic city in the world. But when it comes to
the Internet, we're working to catch up to other jurisdictions," said
Council Member Brewer, Chair of the New York City Council's Committee
on Technology in Government. Brewer sponsored Local Law 126, which
created the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee. "I am excited to work
with the Mayor's Office in making New York a place where you don't have
to pay to go slow. We need affordable high-speed Internet connections
to bring in jobs, help schools, and make the city safer."

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 27% of
American households are still not using the Internet at all and "those
with less education, those with lower household incomes, and Americans
age 65 and older are less likely to have embraced broadband than those
who are younger and have higher socio-economic status." Seeking to
address these same imbalances, Broadband Advisory Committee
Chairperson, Shaun Belle, and CEO of Mount Hope Housing Company said,
"Understanding the challenges to Broadband connectivity for the average
New Yorker is a primary focus of the Broadband Advisory Committee;
exploring and potentially implementing solutions to address these
challenges will be the basis of our future planning."

Andrew Rasiej, an Advisory Committee Member and the Founder of the
Personal Democracy Forum and MOUSE said, "These hearings are critical
to focusing broad political attention and building consensus for the
need to guarantee all New Yorkers an opportunity to participate in the
21^st Century economy."

The New York Broadband Advisory Committee was created by [2]Local Law
126, a bill sponsored by Council Member Gale Brewer. The purpose of the
Committee is to advise the Mayor and the City Council on how to bring
affordable high-speed Internet connection to all New York City
residents, nonprofit organizations and businesses. The public hearing
in Manhattan is the third in a series of five being convened in every
borough. Queens and Staten Island hearings are scheduled for early
2008.

TECHNOLGOY IN GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Chair, Manhattan, District 6

Council Member Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn, District 39

Council Member Letitia James, Brooklyn, District 35

Council Member Oliver Koppell, Bronx, District 11

Council Member James Sanders, Jr., Brooklyn, District 31

BROADBAND ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Mayoral Representatives

Shaun M. Belle, Broadband Advisory Committee Chair - President and CEO,
Mount Hope Housing Company

Mitchel Ahlbaum - General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for
Telecommunications Services, DoITT

Thomas Dunne - Vice President of Public Affairs, Policy and
Communications, Verizon New York

Avi Duvdevani - Chief Information Officer/Deputy General Manager, NYCHA

John J. Gilbert III - Executive Vice President/ Chief Operating
Officer, Rudin Management Company

Wendy Lader, - Vice President, Telecommunications Policy, NYCEDC

Howard Szarfarc - President, Time Warner Cable of New York and New
Jersey

Anthony Townsend - Research Director, Institute for the Future

City Council Representatives

David Birdsell - Dean, Graduate School of Public Affairs, Baruch
College, City University of New York

Neil Pariser - Senior Vice President, South Bronx Overall Economic
Development Corp.

Andrew Rasiej - Founder of MOUSE, Former candidate for Public Advocate
of New York City

Jose Rodriguez - President and Founder, Hispanic Information and
Telecommunications Network

Elisabeth Stock - President and Co-Founder, Computers for Youth

Nicholas Thompson - Senior Editor, WIRED Magazine

David Wicks - Founding Partner, Alwyn Group, Former Cablevision
executive, Wall Street Investment Banker

References

1. http://nycbroadband.blogspot.com/
2. http://nyccouncil.info/issues/intros...%200625%2D2005

</blockquote>


Distributed poC TINC:

Jay Sulzberger <secretary@lxny.org>
Corresponding Secretary LXNY
LXNY is New York's Free Computing Organization.
http://www.lxny.org