Provides internet access to all individuals residing in temporary housing

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Kristen Gonzalez says this is needed

According to the New York City Department of Social Services, most of the 450 homeless shelters in New York City do not provide WiFi for resi- dents. In a 2019 survey of shelter residents by the City Bar Justice Association, residents detailed their frustrations. Most were either unable to access the Internet regularly or had to spend their limited resources on phone plans with data. For residents looking for a job or housing, or trying to access city resources, being unable to access the internet is costly. Residents reported that they lost out on jobs or had to use limited funds to pay for Internet access instead of food or other essential items. For the estimated 114,000 children who live in shelters in New York City, being unable to access the Internet has made remote learning inaccessible. There are countless accounts of students who received laptops from the New York City Department of Education, but had no access to WiFi. In some cases, students received WiFi-enabled devices, but still could not access the Internet for school because of spotty cell reception in their shelter. This legislation would require all temporary housing facilities to provide Internet access to all individuals residing in temporary housing in their district. That includes, but is not limited to, family shel- ters, shelters for adults, domestic violence shelters, runaway and home- less youth shelters, and safe houses for refugees. The costs will be reimbursed by the Stat through the ConnectAll program.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.