NYC LOCAL: Monday 3 March 2008 New York City Broadband Com..

<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 RemoveThis @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"
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 RemoveThis @council.nyc.gov
212.788.6975 (phone)
212.513.7717 (fax)

</blockquote>


Distributed poC TINC:

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