Torres, Bronx families fi ght for Wi-Fi
Group pressures mayor to give Wi-Fi to low-income students amid COVID-19
BY JASON COHEN
COVID-19 has exposed the digital
divide in the educational system in
NYC. As the Department of Education
(DOE) handed out 300,000 laptops to
students this past school year, many
still do not have access to Wi-Fi.
In the spring, companies like Altice
gave free internet for 60 days to
any household in its service area that
has a student in kindergarten through
12th grade and/or college. But now
with school starting this month, those
same families need Wi-Fi again.
On Aug. 27, Councilman Ritchie
Torres was joined by Bronx families
and educators as they demanded
Mayor Bill de Blasio develop a plan to
grant free Wi-Fi access to low-income
students. According to the Mayor’s
Offi ce, 18 percent of all households in
NYC do not have access to internet and
46 percent of the city’s households in
poverty lack broadband.
“America’s largest school system
will no longer guarantee an education
for our children,” Torres said. “That
is a profound betrayal of the 1 million
students who call NYC home. The educators
are doing the right thing; it’s
the policy makers who are failing.”
In August, Torres sent a letter to de
Blasio calling on him to put pressure
on Spectrum and Optimum to provide
Wi-Fi services to low-income families
with school-aged children who cannot
afford to pay through August 2021.
As hybrid and remote learning are
about to begin, he questioned how students
would get a proper education if
they cannot access the Internet. Furthermore,
many of these families, primarily
those living in the Bronx, are
in impoverished neighborhoods.
The councilman said the city has
the power to leverage an agreement
with the providers, so he is confused
as to why it is dragging its feet.
“The denial of internet access
means in practice the denial of an education,”
Torres stated. “Requiring remote
learning without bridging the
digital divide is a cruel joke.”
Torres was joined by residents
Gloria Alfi nez and Lakisha Cooley,
M.S. 45 principal Annamaria Giordano
and Zeta Charter Schools Manager
of Community and Advocacy
Jessenia Espinal.
Alfi nez said with three children
at home, her family needs Wi-Fi. She
noted it is not fair that wealthy families
hire private tutors while those in
the Bronx do not even have Wi-Fi.
“We cannot allow education equality
to get worse,” she said. “The truth
is parents should not have to choose
between paying rent and getting
their kids online for remote learning.
We need Mayor de Blasio to help us.
Help our children get the education
they deserve.”
With school around the corner,
Giordano is quite worried about her
students. She recalled during the peak
of COVID-19 she received numerous
emails and phone calls from frantic
parents saying they did not have Wi-Fi
or could no longer afford it.
She added that the city must fi nd a
way to make the companies give free
Wi-Fi again.
“My kids, my families and my students
deserve to have the education
that everyone else in this world has,”
Giordano remarked. “We cannot wait.
School is opening in two short weeks
and students must be prepared. They
have the right to learn regardless of
their fi nancial position. Mayor de Blasio,
we are begging you to provide this
paradigm service for all families.”
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,24 SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2020 BTR
On Aug. 27, Councilman Ritchie Torres was joined by Bronx families and educators as they
demanded Mayor Bill de Blasio develop a plan to grant free Wi-Fi access to low-income
students. Photo by Jason Cohen
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