NYC LOCAL: Thursday 5 March 2009 Staten Island Broadband Advisory Committee Hearing

[secretary]

<blockquote
  what="official NYC Broadband Advisory Committee announcement"
  main-issue="network neutrality^W^WFreedom of the Net"
  implicit-error="The word 'broadband' is ambiguous.
           Cable TV is not the Net.
           To confuse these two different things,
           risks the Net we have built, and build today,
           and use for public, business, tribal, and private things, 
           our free Net."
  edits="white space squeezed, one date corrected">

 Subject: **Staten Island Broadband Advisory Committee Hearing
 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:26:00 -0500
 From: "Malhotra, Kunal" <KMalhotra@council.nyc.gov>

 Hello,

 Below is information regarding an upcoming hearing of the Technology in
 Government Committee that might be of interest to you.

 WHAT: Broadband Committee holds Public Meeting on Staten Island's
 Broadband Connectivity

 WHO: New York City Council Member Gale A. Brewer, the Broadband
 Advisory Committee, Staten Island public school students, CUNY
 College of Staten Island professors and their classes, parents,
 nonprofit leaders, small business owners and senior centers

 WHEN: Thursday, March 5, 2009, 11 AM - 3 PM

 WHERE: CUNY College of Staten Island (Building 1P)
 Recital Hall, The Center for the Arts
 2800 Victory Boulevard
 Staten Island, NY  10314

 BLOG: http://nycbroadband.blogspot.com/

 Coming on the heels of successful public hearings in the Bronx,
 Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens where hundreds of people
 attended, the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee will
 hear from policy experts, Staten Island residents and business
 people in a Public Meeting of the Broadband Advisory Committee in
 Staten Island. 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 in May
 2008 Survey, 32% 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 21st Century economy."  As of
 February 2009, President Obama's stimulus plan includes $7
 billion in broadband infrastructure development to ensure the
 American economy is competitive in the long run.

 The New York Broadband Advisory Committee was created by 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 Staten Island is the final in
 a series of five being convened in every borough.  The Committee
 will compile their recommendations to the Mayor at the conclusion
 of this hearing.


 NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL TECHNOLOGY 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 A. Dunne - Vice President of Government Relations, Fordham
 University, Former Vice President of Public Affairs at Verizon

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

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

 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

 David Wicks - Founding Partner, Alwyn Group, Former Cablevision
 executive, Wall Street investment banker

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

 Nicholas Thompson - Senior Editor, WIRED Magazine

 ###

 For more information or to testify please contact Kunal Malhotra with
 the Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer at 212-788-6975 or
 Kunal.Malhotra@council.nyc.gov

 Kunal Malhotra

 Director of Legislation & Budget

 Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer

 250 Broadway, Room 1744

 New York, NY 10007

 Kunal.Malhotra@council.nyc.gov

 Office: (212) 788-6975

 Cell: (347) 461-4329
  
</blockquote>


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