New York City creates digital equity officer role, roadmap

New York City officials on revealed a $2.4 million project to advance digital equity. Mayor Eric Adams and city Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser announced the NYC Digital Equity Roadmap, a document containing 11 initiatives the city says it will undertake in the coming months to continue closing the gap in access to broadband service across the five boroughs. The initiatives include expanding access to devices and digital literacy skills education and renovating computer labs in libraries and older adult centers. The city is also creating a new chief digital equity officer role and an interagency Digital Equity Working Group to guide the efforts. The efforts build on the Adams administration’s work to close the digital divide since 2022, through programs such as Big Apple Connect and Gigabit Centers, which provide free high-speed internet access in the five boroughs.