Mamdani Administration, Rep. Torres Announce $2 Million to Expand Free Broadband Internet Access

Funding will expand the Neighborhood Internet program to give low-income New Yorkers access to high-speed internet NEW YORK – Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres, The New York Public Library (NYPL) President Anthony W. Marx and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Dina Levy celebrated a $2 million expansion of the Neighborhood Internet program at an affordable housing development in the Bronx. Neighborhood Internet is a groundbreaking partnership between the City and NYPL that extends free, high-speed broadband to low-income New Yorkers. The initial pilot of the program, funded by HPD, will serve over 700 low-income households in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan by this summer, with the federally-funded expansion supporting thousands more across the Bronx over the next two years. Neighborhood Internet, which is the first program of its kind in the country, serves low-income New Yorkers in the South Bronx and Upper Manhattan, which have among the lowest rates of broadband access in the five boroughs. Eligible households receive free, high-speed Internet access managed by The Library as part of its mission to provide free access to knowledge and information to all. The expansion is funded by $2 million secured by Rep. Torres in Fiscal Year 2026 Community Project Funding. The funding will cover microtrenching, rooftop network equipment installation, dedicated internet access infrastructure and in-unit connectivity for thousands of homes across 50 buildings. The New York Public Library is a key implementation partner in installing and managing the high-speed internet. Mayor Mamdani, Rep. Torres, NYPL, and HPD celebrated the additional funding at St. John’s House II, an affordable housing development near Melrose Library, where Neighborhood Internet was recently installed. May 4, 2026