Hey, we’d like free Wi-Fi, too!
Southern Brooklyn officials are hopping mad that their more affluent neighbors to the north and wealthy sections of Manhattan are hogging much of the city’s free Internet service at parks and public spaces.
“Many here feel that the city often caters to the needs of the few and privileged elsewhere and leaves us stranded,” Assemblyman William Colton (D-Brooklyn) said in a letter fired off to city Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “We pay our taxes like everyone else, and we are entitled to the same level of services just like everyone else.”
Through a deal with AT&T, the city provides free Wi-Fi in 20 parks, most in tourist-heavy neighborhoods.
Dozens of other parks and public spaces in lower Manhattan and sections of DUMBO have free Wi-Fi through public-private partnerships.
But there’s a glimmer of hope for residents of southern Brooklyn. The Parks Department said it’s in the process of adding free Wi-Fi to the Coney Island beach and boardwalk, as well as MCU Park there, plus for Manhattan Beach and Marine Park’s Nature Center. Owl’s Head Park in Bay Ridge may also get free Wi-Fi.