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What’s New in NYC Civic Tech – April 17, 2025

Gabby Langston

Friends,

We are still basking in the epic work demonstrated by a record-shattering Open Data Week. Thank you again for coming out, sharing, and learning. We did a preliminary write-up here. Second, kudos to Aisha Bowe and Amanda Ngọc Nguyễn for finally reaching the stars this week. If you don’t know about these two activists and scientists, you should. Now, let us turn our telescope to our democracy…

As we have stated before, Public Interest Technology is not just about bits and bytes; it is about the relationships we have with each other, ourselves, and the policies we choose. About 10 years ago, “build with, not for” became a rallying cry for civic tech. Today, that mantra is hard to cry out when we see systemic injustices carried out by elected officials and their administrators.  Yet, we can not stop. Every day is an opportunity to build with.

As we approach the final state budget, we have a unique fight on our hands. When a sitting Speaker of the City Council challenges a Mayor for reelection, we always get an interesting exploration of municipal power. Here are two interesting stories to note.

First and foremost, we have written about the importance of freedom of information laws (FOIL). This past week, Reinvent Albany reviewed the current Administration’s FOIL responses and noted how they are failing. FOIL is at the core of the City’s Open Data law. In short, if you can FOIL it, it should be on the Open Data portal. Which is why we need better FOIL oversight, and CM Gale Brewer has a solution to that. Note, this bill will work its way to the Technology Committee later this year.

Second, we are squarely in the 21st century, yet we know the future is unequally distributed. Almost 30% of New York City households (2.5 million people) lack mobile and home broadband access. Low-income households in The Bronx face higher rates of inaccessibility. Yet, when the current administration took power, they canceled the Internet Master Plan and replaced it with a hodgepodge of programs. The most recent one was announced at the start of March with $2.4 million dedicated to hardware, not literacy.

When we look at the State’s Digital Equity Plan, we see a need for infrastructure, literacy, and workforce development. It is hard to imagine infrastructure sitting independently from literacy. Yet, that continues to be the direction from the current administration. Many of us grew up learning alongside technological developments, and we know that literacy and infrastructure must work together. This is why we host Open Data Week, offer Open Data classes, conduct research on community boards using technology, and are committed to building a future government workforce that knows how to use and cite AI appropriately in policy briefs.

As of this week, several Council Members seek to revive the Internet Master Plan. While we support these efforts, we once again see that digital equity and literacy are missing.

On April 29, we hope you can join us and testify (in person or remotely) and tell the City Council the following:

  • Literacy is as important as infrastructure.
  • The Internet Master Plan should adopt Digital literacy and digital equity, as defined by the State’s Digital Equity Plan and the Federal Digital Equity Act, so we’re all working off the same set of goals.
  • Digital Literacy is needed across English language learners and language minorities, including users of American Sign Language. (NYS Digital Equity Plan, p 100)
  • Locating NYC government information on the internet is a noted challenge in the State’s Digital Equity Plan. (NYS Digital Equity Plan, p 100)
  • Affordable high-speed internet access is a common need across all five boroughs, and if the City is to invest in public institutions, like libraries, parks, and gigabit centers, they need to be open when people need them.
  • Lastly, New York City needs digital equity goals and an Internet Master Plan that are accountable to the Council and not corporations.

Register to testify via the City Council’s website. Plan on the hearing being a few hours. If you don’t have time to wait, written testimony can be submitted up to 72 hours AFTER a hearing has been adjourned.

When testifying, please identify whether you’re a resident of the City of New York. If you’re a BetaNYC community member, please include that in your comments!

See you on the 29th!!!

— Noel Hidalgo

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