WEINER UNVEILS “HIGH TECH NYC” INITIATIVE

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CITYWIDE “WI-FI” TO GET EVERYONE IN THE CITY ON THE INTERNET

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CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES,

BETTER SCHOOLS, AND SUBWAYS

New York City – Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens & Brooklyn) unveiled his “High Tech NYC” initiative, a plan designed to get every New Yorker on the Internet and bring our schools, subways, and small businesses fully into the digital age.

WEINER’S “HIGH TECH NYC” INITIATIVE:

Build Citywide “Wi-Fi” – If you live in New York and you have a computer you should be able to access the Internet from anywhere in the City. Residents of Seoul and Tokyo can because their cities are “Wi-Fi”--or wireless Internet--ready, meaning that anyone with a properly equipped computer can log on to the Internet without being connected to an outlet. Soon, residents of Boston and Philadelphia will be able to do the same. Public Advocate candidate Andrew Rasiej has brought needed attention to this issue. As Mayor, Weiner will initiate a citywide “Wi-Fi” plan so that everyone who wants to access the Internet in the five boroughs can.

Establish ShopNYC.com – The City should use the Internet to get more small businesses into the regional and global marketplace. As Mayor, Weiner will establish ShopNYC.com, a website that will act like an Internet yellow pages for local small businesses. ShopNYC.com will link consumers to local businesses and will help local business utilize the Internet for marketing purposes.

Streamline Small Business Applications Online – The Department of Consumer Affairs webpage lists 38 different permits that businesses may have to apply for, warns that some applications may take up to 8 weeks to process, and requires some applicants to go the Department’s headquarters to pick up some forms. As Mayor, Weiner will streamline all of the applications, licenses and permits into one online master application form.

Create Parental Involvement Computer Terminals – The City spends $43 million a year for “parent coordinators” selected by the City to serve as liaisons to parents. As Mayor, Weiner will invest that funding in “Centers of Parental Involvement” in every school equipped with “Parent Access Computer Terminals” where parents will be able to access detailed information about their children’s assignments, grades and extracurricular activities at any time, at the touch of a keyboard.

Give New Yorkers Real-Time Traffic Updates via Email and Text Messaging -- New York City has cameras installed at major roadways to provide the Department of Transportation (DOT) with up to the minute data on traffic flow. New Yorkers about to take their daily commute to work or home or who are out running errands should be able to benefit from this information. As Mayor, Weiner will establish a program under which New Yorkers will be able to go to the Department of Transportation website and sign up for real-time email and text message traffic updates generated from the DOT.

Wire Subways for Emergency Cell Phone Service – Other world class cities like Washington, Berlin, Moscow, Hong Kong, and Paris already provide wireless service to transit riders, but New York has no such plan. As Mayor, Weiner will initiate a program to bring emergency 9-1-1 cell phone service to subway platforms at an estimated cost of $200,000 per platform and will leverage New York City buying power to push wireless companies to do the work at no cost to the public.

“New York City is a world class city, but we’ve got to keep moving forward, and that takes forward thinking leadership,” said Rep. Weiner. “How we make use of new technologies has enormous long term implications for our economy and quality of life. The next four years will be critical in determining whether we lead, just keep up or fall behind. New York City should always be the leader.”