Far Rockaway Businesses Get Special Wi-Fi To Stay Online in Future Storms
Blog Post
March 29, 2017
Resilient Communities is excited to share this NY1 report featuring the work of our partners at the Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation (RDRC). Featured in the report, RDRC’s Community Coordinator Junor Barnett is currently training young adults as Digital Stewards to build and maintain their own local network in Far Rockaway. The Stewards are also learning how to organize the community and teach local residents how to use the network for preparedness and resilience. Far Rockaway is one of six communities in which Resilient Communities is co-designing and developing resilient local wireless network to keep businesses and residents online even if major communications systems fail.
To implement this work, Resilient Communities is working through the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Resilience Innovations for a Stronger Economy (RISE: NYC) program. In addition to Far Rockaway, there are Digital Stewards in East Harlem, Hunts Point, Sheepshead Bay, Gowanus, and Midland Beach Staten Island, all of whom are all teaching people in their communities to build their own local wireless networks. To find out more contact Katherine Ortiz at ortiz@newamerica.org or 646-518-6839.