One Brooklyn
November 12, 2015
BOROUGH PRESIDENT DISCUSSES IMPORTANCE OF EXPANDING HIGH-SPEED TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE IN BROOKLYN, HOLDING CITY FRANCHISEES ACCOUNTABLE TO AGREEMENTS
BROOKLYN, NY, November 12, 2015: Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams announced that he will host a public forum on the rollout of Verizon FiOS in Brooklyn, allowing residents and businesses to discuss their concerns with the service. Representatives from Verizon will be present at the meeting, which will take place on Tuesday, November 17th from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM in the community room of Brooklyn Borough Hall. Borough President Adams, a member of the Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC), discussed the importance of expanding high-speed telecommunications service in Brooklyn as well as holding City franchisees accountable to agreements.
“High-speed access is a prerequisite to progress in 21st century Brooklyn, and we cannot accept roadblocks to progress in any of our communities,” said Borough President Adams. “It is important that we hear from Brooklynites about their experiences with the rollout of Verizon FiOS in an effort to see the results that residents and businesses expect.”
Under a franchise agreement signed with the City of New York in 2008, Verizon FiOS is guaranteed to all New Yorkers, though an audit by the New York City Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DOITT) in June noted that the company has failed to live up to its obligations; under the deal, a complete fiber-optic buildout of the city was supposed to have been accomplished by November of 2014.
Borough President Adams is co-hosting the forum with Waiting4FiOS, a coalition made up of advocacy groups Consumers Union and Common Cause/NY; the group has collected testimonials at waiting4fios.nyc and launched a petition to urge Verizon to complete the buildout of FiOS under the terms of its franchise agreement.
“Common Cause/NY is dedicated to the principle of universal telecommunications service and takes consumers’ rights to reliable service extremely seriously,” said Josh Mumm, outreach manager for Common Cause/NY. “High speed internet is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Verizon is obligated to provide FiOS to all New York City residents, and its violation of the franchise agreement is unacceptable. Many of our members complained that they have been told their neighborhoods, blocks or buildings simply aren’t going to be getting FiOS and that there is nothing they can do about this. We want Verizon to fulfill its promises and obligations to New Yorkers by completing the work they are contractually obligated to perform.”
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