NYC LOCAL: Thursday 16 November 2006 NYC Committee on Technology in Government: Communications for First Responders

[secretary]

<blockquote
  what="official Committee on Technology in Government of the New York City 
Council announcement">

 Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:06:11 -0500
 From: Bruce Lai <bruce.lai@council.nyc.ny.us>
 Subject: E-Update for the Committee on Technology in Government of the New 
York City Council (Nov. 10th, 2006).

 Hello All, 

     The following are upcoming hearings to be convened by the Committee 
 on Technology in Government of the New York City Council.  The Committee 
 is chaired by Council Member Gale A. Brewer (Manhattan, Council District 
 6).  If you have any questions about the Committee's hearing schedule, 
 please contact Jeff Baker (jeffrey.baker@council.nyc.ny.us / 
 212-788-9193), Counsel to the Committee on Technology in Government, or 
 Colleen Pagter (colleen.pagter@council.nyc.ny.us / 212-788-9085), Policy 
 Analyst to the Committee on Technology in Government.  Feel free to 
 suggest potential hearing topics to Jeff and Colleen as well.

    Hope to see you at one of our upcoming hearings!

 *****

     On Thursday, November 16 at 10 AM in the Council Chambers, City 
 Hall, a joint oversight hearing will be held with the Committee on 
 Technology in Government, the Committee on Public Safety, chaired by 
 Council Member Peter Vallone Jr., and the Committee on Fire & Criminal 
 Justice Services, chaired by Council Member Miguel Martinez, on the 
 topic of "Improvements in Communication Technology Among First 
 Responders."  The Department of Information Technology & 
 Telecommunications (DoITT) and the New York Police Department have been 
 invited to testify.

    On Thursday, November 30 at 10 AM in the Committee Room, City Hall, a 
 joint oversight hearing will be held with the Committee on Technology in 
 Government and the Committee on Governmental Operations regarding the 
 City Board of Elections' efforts to become fully HAVA compliant.  (Note: 
 HAVA refers to the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
 (http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm).)  The hearing will focus on the 
 selection of permanent voting systems and security concerns raised by 
 the advocacy community about current voting technology. 

     If you are interested in learning more about these hearings, or if 
 you or your organization is interested in testifying at either of these 
 hearings, please contact Colleen Pagter at 
 colleen.pagter@council.nyc.ny.us or 212-788-9085.

     As always, the public is welcome at all hearings.  No RSVP is necessary.

 *****
  
     BREWER SPONSORS ELECTRONICS RECYCLING DAY

     WHAT:      Electronics recycling day, including computer recycling
     WHO:        New York City Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Manhattan 
 Borough President Scott Stringer, and Christine Datz-Romero from the 
 Lower East Side Ecology Center
    WHEN:      Sunday, November 12, 2006, press conference at 11:00 AM, 
 collection event from 8 AM to 12:30 PM
     WHERE:    Lincoln Center - Service Road, just west of Columbus Ave 
 and 65th street

     On Sunday, November 12, Council Member Gale Brewer will join 
 Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and environmental groups at a 
 free electronics recycling event in Lincoln Center, where New Yorkers 
 will be able to drop their unused electronic equipments (from computers 
 to TV's, cell phones or fax machines) and learn more about recycling in 
 the City.  CM Brewer and Borough President Stringer will also speak out 
 in favor of Intro. 104, sponsored by Council Member Bill De Blasio, 
 which would require manufacturers to collect discarded electronic 
 products.  Intro. 104, the Electronics Recycling and Reuse Act, would 
 remove many of these products from landfills and incinerators currently 
 used by the City of New York, as these products pose an environmental 
 risk when burned, buried or recycled improperly.

     Contact Christine Datz-Romero, Lower East Side Ecology Center, 
 917-405-0288, for more information.

 *****

     The following is a link to a Gotham Gazette article on NYC-TV.    

     Municipal Television - A Clash Of Vision
     http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/tech/20061018/19/2003

 *****

    The following is a link to a New York Post article regarding Wi-Fi 
 Internet access in New York City parks.

     'NET LOSS IN PARKS, CITY IS BUNGLING WI-FI PLAN: CRITICS
     
 
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10232006/news/regionalnews/net_loss_in_parks_regionalnews_sam_gustin.htm
 


 *****
    
 Wi-Fi Hotspot Survey
   
     Laura Forlano, a graduate student in Communications at Columbia 
 University, is conducting a survey on the use of wireless Internet at 
 cafes, parks and other public places in New York in order to better 
 understand how these networks are being used.  It is hoped that the 
 survey will help to inform public policy on the deployment of municipal 
 wireless networks nationwide as well as contribute to the dialogue about 
 a comprehensive broadband strategy for New York.  The survey takes about 
 ten minutes to complete.  Participants will be entered into a drawing 
 for an iPod, iTunes or a $300 donation to a charity of your choice.  
 Take the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=735302651119.  
 If you have questions about the survey, please contact Laura Forlano at 
 wirelessinternetsurvey@yahoo.com.

 *****

 Computer Recycling/Reuse Survey
   
     As part of a national effort Computers for Youth are trying to 
 measure the impact, and awareness of, ewaste (computers and peripherals) 
 recycling within the corporate community and the effect that legislative 
 mandates would have, should they be put in place.  Please look over the 
 following survey and help Computers for Youth get a better idea of how 
 new legislation to monitor ewaste would have on the tri-state corporate 
 community. This survey is modeled after an existing survey that has been 
 administered in California by CompuMentor/TechSoup.  It should take no 
 more than 3 minutes.   The link: 
 http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=367441873636

 *****

 Nokia's Park Wifi Website

     Nokia is helping to bring free Park WiFi networks to 10 major parks 
 in New York City.  Central Park and Battery Park launched in August 
 followed by several other parks, including Union Square Park, Prospect 
 Park and Corona Flushing Meadows, to be launched in Fall 2006.  Access 
 to the Park WiFi network and services is possible with Nokia Nseries 
 products that have Wireless LAN capabilities built in.  To learn more go 
 to www.parkwifi.nokia.com.

 *****

 Broadband Advisory Committee
   
     With Council Member Gale Brewer the prime sponsor, the New York City 
 Council passed Int. No. 625-2005, now Local Law 126 
 (http://nyccouncil.info/issues/intros_act.cfm?intro=Int%200625%2D2005), 
 in December 2005 to establish a Broadband Advisory Committee.  The 
 committee will review the ways and methods of using municipal resources 
 to accelerate the build-out of current, emerging and any newly developed 
 broadband technologies and other advanced telecommunications and 
 information services, such as cable, broadband over power lines, or 
 wireless technologies within the city of New York.  The Committee will 
 report its findings and recommendations to the Mayor and the Speaker of 
 the Council as well as hold public hearings in each borough to educate 
 the public.  Council Member Brewer and I have been working diligently 
 with the Speaker's office to appoint a diverse group of qualified 
 individuals to this Committee.  We are working closely with the Office 
 of the Bronx Borough President to hold the first Advisory Committee 
 hearing in the Bronx.  The first meeting of the Broadband Advisory 
 Committee has been tentatively set for mid-December.

 *****

  The following is a resource that might interest you, particularly those 
 of you who are in the nonprofit sector.

     Tech News: Enhancing Human Services Through Technology, a free 
 online newsletter designed specifically for the nonprofit community, 
 offers valuable and up to date information on technology issues facing 
 the nonprofit sector (http://www.uwnyc.org/technews).  Published by 
 United Way of New York City every month and supported by IBM, Tech News 
 conveys how technology can best enhance the management and delivery of 
 client focused services, assist organizations with technology questions, 
 and provide agencies with concrete answers to connect and exchange 
 information about technology needs and interests.  Tech News provides 
 subscribers the opportunity to learn more about upcoming technology 
 events, search the Link Library, view an online compilation of direct 
 links to technology resources for nonprofits, and conduct additional 
 research by browsing past articles of Tech News.  Visit Tech News at 
 http://www.uwnyc.org/technews.

 *****

     About the New York City Council's Committee on Technology in 
 Government The primary goals of the Committee on Technology in 
 Government are (1) to expand digital equality by increasing access to 
 broadband in underserved communities of New York City (2) to increase 
 the strategic use of technology in government, thereby, increasing 
 efficiency in government and enhancing the quality of public services, 
 and (3) to promote the openness and transparency of government by making 
 sure that public information is accessible to every New York City 
 resident.  Through its ability to hold oversight hearings over City 
 agencies and introduce and hear legislation, the Committee on Technology 
 in Government works to achieve its goals in partnership with the 
 private, public and nonprofit sectors. More information about the 
 Committee and the Chair of the Committee, Council Member Gale A. Brewer, 
 can be found at the following link:

     * 
 http://nyccouncil.info/issues/committee.cfm?committee_id=106&ltsbdkey=5121

     All Committee briefing papers from the current session (beginning in 
 January 2004) are also available at this link. If you know of people who 
 would be interested in the Committee on Technology in Government's 
 activities, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them.  If you 
 know of anyone who would like to receive these e-mails, just have them 
 e-mail me.  I will put them on the list.  Finally, feel free to post 
 this information on any listserve you may belong to or on any website 
 you are affiliated with.  If you do not want to receive these e-mails 
 anymore, please e-mail me, and I will take you off the list immediately.

     Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at one of our hearings!

 Regards,
 Bruce Lai

 -- 
 Bruce Lai
 Chief of Staff
 Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer
 New York City Council 
 250 Broadway, 17th Floor
 New York, NY 10007
 E-mail: bruce.lai@council.nyc.ny.us
 --
 PLEASE NOTE THE NEW PHONE NUMBERS
 --
 City Hall: 212.788.6975
 Cell: 347.563.1295
 Blackberry: bruce.lai@council.nyc.gov
 --
 District Office: 212.873.0282
 Fax: 212.513.7717
  
</blockquote>


Distributed poC TINC:

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