Mayor Eric Adams announced the citywide launch Monday of Big Apple Connect – a digital equity program that will make free high-speed internet and basic cable television available to thousands of NYCHA residents.

"The internet isn't a luxury. It’s a necessity – just like electricity and gas,” said the mayor during remarks outside the Langston Hughes Houses in Brooklyn. “We saw during COVID absence of internet service. Young people were not able to do their remote learning. We saw our elders were unable to do telemedicine."

The mayor's office says the internet and cable services will be available to 300,000 NYCHA residents by 2023.

There are currently eight NYCHA developments eligible to connect. They include the Mott Haven Houses and Patterson Houses in the Bronx and the Brownsville and Langston Hughes Houses in Brooklyn.

The city is partnering with Optimum and Spectrum to make Big Apple Connect possible. They are also in negotiations with Verizon. Residents who already subscribe to these companies will be transferred to the free plan.

During the pandemic, hundreds of NYCHA residents weren’t able to attend online school or telemedicine appointments due to the lack of access to broadband, which highlights the ongoing inequalities in public housing.

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