NY is Close to Providing Free Wi-Fi to New Yorkers in Shelters. Governor Hochul Just Has to Act

Life in the modern world depends on internet access. Think about the last time your internet went out: suddenly even the simplest tasks can become insurmountable, grinding your day to a halt. Communication with your loved ones, scheduling a doctor’s appointment, fulfilling work duties, or submitting a homework assignment become impossible, anxiety-inducing challenges – until you’re finally reconnected.

Yet, for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers residing in temporary housing, this is their constant reality. That’s because right now, the overwhelming majority of unhoused New Yorkers do not have internet access.

Without this crucial resource, individuals in shelters cannot access essential, life-changing services like job application platforms, apartment listings, health care, and virtual court hearings. And to make matters worse, where Wi-Fi service exists, it is often accompanied by tight restrictions, slow speeds, unreliable service, blocked content, or invasive surveillance of one’s browsing behavior.

Thankfully, the New York State Legislature has acted. Last month, after a hard-fought campaign by a large coalition of directly impacted New Yorkers and legal and nonprofit organizations including the NYCLU, the State Legislature passed a landmark bill that would require all temporary housing facilities in the state to provide reliable, privacy-preserving, high-speed internet to their residents.

Governor Hochul must sign this transformative bill into law. Here’s why.

Inadequate Internet Access Hurts Shelter Residents

Because there is not a legal obligation, most shelters in New York state do not provide Wi-Fi to their residents, according to survey data from VOCAL-NY and TakeRoot Justice. Even fewer shelters provide Wi-Fi that is reliable and private: 80 percent of survey respondents report experiencing challenges with shelter internet, ranging from slow service and strict time limits to being monitored by shelter staff in computer rooms.

These problems often force residents to use their extremely limited financial resources to pay for prohibitively expensive private data plans. When residents attempt to avoid this burden by turning to free public Wi-Fi, they must endure long travel times to reach the place of service, limited hours, unreliable service, and environments that are not conducive to activities like job interviews or telehealth calls. They also lose any semblance of the security and privacy protections that are imperative for digital communications, particularly when dealing with health information, finances, or legal matters. Our browsing histories are highly revealing, and nobody should have to choose between their right to privacy and using the internet.

Without reliable internet access, people experiencing homelessness cannot apply for jobs, search for apartments, or access educational platforms — all tasks that are absolutely essential for building independent economic stability. By barring them from engaging in these critical tasks, shelters leave residents without exit options and dampen their hopes for a more secure future.

Providing internet service to those without housing is not just an issue of technology access – it is one of racial justice. The vast majority of homeless single adults and heads-of-household identify as Black or Hispanic. Closing the digital divide for these New Yorkers is an essential step to addressing racial disparities in the state.

For New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, this is personal. Frustrated at not being able to consistently apply for job and housing opportunities, Zion, a former shelter resident, reported feeling bullied and stuck in place, saying “People need internet access to get ahead…if you feel like you’re not required to [provide] it, then what is your mission?”

Due to these barriers, the same administrative tasks and daily necessities that financially secure New Yorkers can accomplish within seconds on their smart phones consume an entire day for people experiencing homelessness. The lack of internet access in temporary housing reinforces a system where the poorest people must spend the most time securing the bare minimum.

For many shelter residents, the inability to access high-quality internet also means falling behind on bill payments and missing health check-ups. Accumulating debt and degrading health is the inevitable result: Noam, a current shelter resident, put off scheduling an appointment to get a new pair of glasses due to inconsistent internet connection at his shelter.

Lack of high-speed internet — which is a basic requirement for videoconferencing platforms like Zoom — also means shelter residents involved in immigration cases or other litigation can’t attend court hearings or attorney calls.

How the Bill Fixes the Problem

Past attempts to provide internet in shelters made progress but proved ultimately insufficient. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the de Blasio Administration vowed to install Wi-Fi in every shelter housing children to ensure they could keep attending school virtually. After repeated delays, a class-action lawsuit eventually forced the Administration to deliver results, yet families report outages to this day — and the thousands of individuals living in single adult shelters still have an equally pressing need for internet access.

The new state bill takes an enormous step forward by creating a statewide mandate for every temporary housing facility to provide internet access that meets baseline standards for speed, net neutrality, and data privacy. It guarantees that shelter residents can connect to Wi-Fi that is consistent enough for regular permanent housing applications, fast enough for virtual health appointments, and secure enough for court hearings.

Why Hochul Must Sign the Bill Immediately

Governor Hochul has already shown her commitment to expanding internet connectivity for shelter residents. In fact, Empire State Development, the state’s umbrella organization for economic development, announced a $20 million investment in May for that explicit purpose.

By signing this bill, Hochul can ensure that the state’s investment delivers results that prioritize robust privacy and quality standards across every shelter in the state. It’s a golden opportunity to ensure New Yorkers’ tax dollars are well-spent on a transformative, life-changing service for shelter residents in every corner of New York.