NYC announces free, online digital learning hub for public housing residents
New York City Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser on Friday announced the launch of a free, online digital learning hub for residents of the city’s public housing developments, providing resources for those residents to boost their digital skills.
The hub is available through the city’s broadband subsidy program Big Apple Connect, which launched in 2022 and is the nation’s largest municipal broadband assistance program. It provides access to free internet and basic cable to 330,000 New Yorkers across 220 New York City Housing Authority sites. According to the city, almost 40% of city public housing residents did not have access to in-home internet before the program.
Fraser announced in September that the Big Apple Connect program had been extended for another three years. As part of that extension, the city’s corporate partners, the internet service providers Optimum and Spectrum, made a reported $1.2 million investment in the online hub. The city’s digital literacy programming was created in partnership with Neighborhood Tech Help, a program offered across New York’s three main library branches that offers free, easy-to-access, one-on-one tech support. The program is designed to help New Yorkers become more comfortable using digital devices, connecting to the internet, setting up online accounts and improving their overall technology skills.
On Friday, the hub released its first pre-recorded learning session, called “Getting to Know Your Computer,” available in English. Free live trainings are scheduled to begin this week, with an English session offered on Tuesday and another in Spanish on Thursday. Eligible public housing residents can register for an account on the hub’s website; attendance requires registration. Instructional materials, including class recordings and learning documents, will be posted online, according to the city.
Future classes will be taught in additional languages, including Russian and traditional and simplified Chinese, to reflect the diversity of residents, a news release said.
“New York City is more connected than ever thanks to the actions the Adams administration took over the past four years to meet the immediate needs of underconnected communities,” Fraser said in the release. “This Digital Learning Resource Hub demonstrates our lasting commitment to expand upon the landmark success of Big Apple Connect to ensure public housing residents can get the most out of their free internet access. Thanks to our corporate partners, Optimum and Spectrum, for their commitment to building a more connected, equitable city for New Yorkers.”
