Upcoming hearings by the Committee on Technology in Government of the New York City Council (as of 2.7.05).

Subject: Upcoming hearings by the Committee on Technology in Government of the New York City Council (as of 2.7.05).
Date: 2/7/2005 7:11:34 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: bruce.lai@council.nyc.ny.us
Sent from the Internet (Details)


Hello All,

Here's an update on some of the recent activities of the Committee on Technology in Government of the New York City Council:

Broadband Gap / Digital Divide: As most of you already know, the Committee held a hearing on the "broadband gap" in Brooklyn on January 10. Since the last e-mail, we received more press on the hearing. For all of you who could not make the hearing, I am attaching links to the hearing briefing paper as well as the additional press that the hearing received.
The hearing briefing paper: http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/attachments/64367.htm.

This briefing paper talks about the reasons why the broadband gap in New York City exists, compares various broadband technologies in terms of price, speed and feasibility, and lays out possible policies that the City of New York could adopt to close the broadband gap. Please feel free to distribute.

Gotham Gazette: http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/tech/20050121/19/1293. (Thanks to Laura Forlano for writing about our hearings.)

Ben Smith's Blog, the Politicker, on the New York Observer website: http://www.observer.com/thepoliticker/politicker.html. Use the find command in your browser and go to the post entitled "E-Credit Where Credit is Due." In particular, read the first comment to the post. (Thanks to Ben Smith for blogging about this subject.)

Government Technology: http://www.govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.php?channel=7&id=92807.

Wiring New Affordable Housing for Broadband: The Committee passed Reso. No. 669 (http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Res%200669-2004.htm) 4-0 at the Jan. 28 hearing. On Feb. 2, the New York City Council unanimously passed Reso. No. 669. Reso. No. 669 calls “upon all relevant City agencies to use their funding and regulatory power to support and encourage the provision of affordable high-speed Internet service and computer purchases for the benefit of residents of affordable housing.”

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The following is a list of our upcoming hearings. Please note that all Committee hearings are open to the general public. No RSVP is necessary.

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On Monday, February 14, 2005 at 1 PM, Committee Room, City Hall, the Committee on Technology in Government will hold an oversight hearing on NYC-TV (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nyctv/html/home/home.shtml), entitled Oversight: Improving Participatory Democracy Through Municipal Cable Television.

The goal of the hearing is to gather ideas for improving the government-related programming on NYC-TV, particularly Council 51 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nyctv/html/shows/council51.shtml), which broadcasts New York City Council hearings. At the hearing, we hope to discuss the following the questions:

How could the actual TV broadcast of Council 51 be changed to make it more informative and interesting for viewers?

How could Council 51 be made more interactive? How could City websites (e.g., NYC.gov (www.nyc.gov) and the New York City Council website (www.nyccouncil.info)) be used in conjunction with Council 51 to make city government proceedings more accessible to the residents of NYC?

What other kinds of government-related programming could be added to NYC-TV to make New York City government more transparent and open?
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On Monday, February 28, 2005 at 10 AM, 14th Floor Hearing Room, 250 Broadway, the Committee on Technology in Government will hold a second hearing on Int. No. 422. For more information, go to the attached link: http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/attachments/63115.htm.

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The Committee has a web page now. Go to:
http://www.nyccouncil.info/issues/committee.cfm?committee_id=106
All briefing papers from the current session (beginning in January 2004) are available.

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If you know of people who would be interested in the Committee on Technology in Government’s activities, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them. If you know of anyone who would like to receive these e-mails, just have them e-mail me, and I will be put them on the list. Finally, feel free to post this information on any listserve you may belong to or on any website you are affiliated with.

Thank you. I look forward to seeing you at one of our hearings.

Regards,
Bruce Lai
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Bruce Lai
Legislative Policy Analyst, Committee on Technology in Government
New York City Council
250 Broadway, 14th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Work: 212.788.9109
Fax: 212.788.9168
E-mail: bruce.lai@council.nyc.ny.us