NYC LOCAL: Monday 3 March 2008 New York City Broadband Committee Hearing

[secretary]

<blockquote
  what="official New York City Broadband Committee announcement"
  edits="some odd characters removed, spacing changed"
  place-of-hearing="LaGuardia Community College in Queens"
  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";
  and-more="http://isoc-ny.org/wiki/NYC_Broadband_Advisory_Committee";
  
reports="http://breitbart.wordpress.com/2008/02/29/queens-public-hearing-of-the-nyc-broadband-advisory-committee";
  Gale-Brewer-on-Net-Neutrality="http://odeo.com/show/17201363/view";>

 From: "Kunal Malhotra" <m06malho@council.nyc.gov>
 Subject: Broadband Advisory Hearing in Queens

 Please contact me with any questions or if you would like to testify.

 NEED FOR SPEED!
 BREWER BRINGS BROADBAND COMMISSION TO QUEENS

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

 WHEN:  Monday, March 3, 2008, from 1pm to 4pm

 WHERE: LaGuardia Community College
        31-10 Thomson Avenue
        Long Island City, NY 11101

 Coming on the heels of successful public hearings in the Bronx,
 Brooklyn, and most recently Manhattan where more than 200 people,
 including more than 30 members of the public testified, the New
 York City Broadband Advisory Committee will hear testimony from
 elected officials, policy experts, and Queens residents about the
 affordability of broadband in Queens and how they see an
 affordable high-speed Internet connection improving the quality
 of life for themselves and their families.

 New York is the most dynamic city in the world. But when it comes
 to the Internet, were stuck in the slow lane catching up, said
 Council Member Brewer, Chair of the New York City Councils
 Committee on Technology in Government and sponsor of Local Law
 126, which created the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee.  I want
 to figure out ways to change that and to use an affordable
 high-speed Internet connection to bring in jobs, help schools,
 and make the city safer.

 Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein responded
 to a recent U.S. Department of Commerces National
 Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
 regarding broadband connectivity nationwide saying, We need a
 national strategy for delivering affordable, truly-high speed
 Internet connections to all Americans, no matter where they live,
 Adelstein continued. Each day we fail to take realistic account
 of our successes and failures and rise to the broadband challenge
 means lost opportunities for our communities and our country's
 productivity, health, public safety, environment, and economic
 future.

 Currently, the United States ranks only 15th in the world for
 the number of broadband users per capita.  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.

 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, said
 Andrew Rasiej, an Advisory Committee Member and the Founder of
 the Personal Democracy Forum and MOUSE.

 The New York Broadband Advisory Committee was created by
 Local Law 126

 http://nyccouncil.info/issues/intros_act.cfm?intro=Int%200625%2D2005

 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
 hearing in the Queens is the fourth in a series of five public
 hearings that will be convened in every borough of the City.  The
 remaining hearing is scheduled to be held in Staten Island during
 the spring.

 Thanks,

 Kunal Malhotra
 Director of Legislation & Budget
 Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer
 Council District 6: Upper West Side Manhattan
 250 Broadway, Suite 1744
 New York, NY 10007
 Kunal.Malhotra@council.nyc.gov
 212.788.6975 (phone)
 212.513.7717 (fax)

</blockquote>


Distributed poC TINC:

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