A LinkNYC kiosk in Manhattan.
Photograph courtesy of LinkNYC
In a metropolis as vibrant and sophisticated as New York, it may really feel all too simple to fall by way of the cracks. For numerous neighbors, the trail to important sources—like reasonably priced housing, web, or medical health insurance—can appear out of attain. But it surely doesn’t must be this fashion. On the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU), we’re rewriting the foundations of presidency outreach—assembly New Yorkers the place they’re, utilizing instruments that bridge divides, construct belief, and ship outcomes.
Take Carmen, a senior from The Bronx, who has lived in the identical house for many years. As rents climbed greater and better, she discovered herself worrying that the house she beloved would slip away. Sooner or later, whereas ready for the bus, Carmen glanced at a close-by LinkNYC kiosk—a message flashed on the display screen in regards to the Lease Freeze program, which helps seniors like her maintain lease reasonably priced. Quickly after, Carmen’s granddaughter got here throughout a PEU employees member handing out flyers about the identical program on a bustling road nook. She referred to as the quantity on the flyer and linked her grandmother with certainly one of our outreach specialists. Step-by-step, Carmen acquired customized assist to enroll in this system, and immediately, her lease is frozen at a charge she will be able to afford—bringing her peace of thoughts and the safety she deserves.
Carmen’s story is only one instance of how PEU makes use of each software accessible to attach New Yorkers to the sources they want. This 12 months alone, PEU knocked on greater than 122,000 doorways, remodeled 400,000 cellphone calls, despatched 2.6 million textual content messages, and partnered with LinkNYC to show important public service bulletins greater than 4 million occasions throughout town. With a community of over 2,200 kiosks—situated inside strolling distance of shelters, NYCHA developments, and neighborhoods that want them most—LinkNYC does greater than supply free Wi-Fi. These kiosks are a trusted lifeline, the place residents can discover assist they didn’t even know existed.
At present, New York Metropolis offers free web to extra residents — by way of the city-funded Huge Apple Join program for public housing residents, 450 public pc facilities, and LinkNYC — than every other metropolis within the nation. The administration’s digital fairness efforts, led by the NYC Workplace of Expertise and Innovation, proved important for residents of traditionally underconnected communities in 2024, when the federal Inexpensive Connectivity Program ended because of an absence of extra funding from Congress, placing 1000’s of New Yorkers prone to shedding reasonably priced broadband. PEU supported this work by partnering with BronxNet to share info on free and low-cost web choices by way of LinkNYC, serving to households, college students, and older adults keep linked in an more and more digital world.
Our outreach doesn’t cease there. This winter, throughout medical health insurance open enrollment, PEU is utilizing LinkNYC and textual content messaging to achieve New Yorkers, reminding them of crucial deadlines and providing one-on-one assist to enroll in well being care plans. By combining fashionable expertise with tried-and-true strategies—like flyering, canvassing, and group occasions—we guarantee nobody is left behind.
Carmen’s story reminds us of what’s attainable after we meet New Yorkers the place they’re: on the streets they stroll, the screens they see, and the telephones they maintain. Within the face of rising rents, digital inequities, and financial challenges, we’ve got the instruments to make authorities accessible and attentive to everybody who calls this metropolis dwelling. Now, we have to maintain utilizing them.
