A LinkNYC kiosk in Manhattan.
Photograph courtesy of LinkNYC
In a metropolis as vibrant and sophisticated as New York, it will probably really feel all too straightforward to fall by means of the cracks. For numerous neighbors, the trail to important sources—like inexpensive housing, web, or medical insurance—can appear out of attain. But it surely doesn’t should be this fashion. On the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU), we’re rewriting the principles 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 condo for many years. As rents climbed increased and better, she discovered herself worrying that the house she liked would slip away. At some point, whereas ready for the bus, Carmen glanced at a close-by LinkNYC kiosk—a message flashed on the display screen concerning the Lease Freeze program, which helps seniors like her preserve lease inexpensive. Quickly after, Carmen’s granddaughter got here throughout a PEU workers member handing out flyers about the identical program on a bustling avenue nook. She referred to as the quantity on the flyer and related her grandmother with one in all our outreach specialists. Step-by-step, Carmen obtained customized help to enroll in this system, and immediately, her lease is frozen at a price she will 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 instrument out there to attach New Yorkers to the sources they want. This yr alone, PEU knocked on greater than 122,000 doorways, revamped 400,000 telephone calls, despatched 2.6 million textual content messages, and partnered with LinkNYC to show very important public service bulletins greater than 4 million occasions throughout the town. With a community of over 2,200 kiosks—positioned inside strolling distance of shelters, NYCHA developments, and neighborhoods that want them most—LinkNYC does greater than provide 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 supplies free web to extra residents — by means of the city-funded Large 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 very important for residents of traditionally underconnected communities in 2024, when the federal Reasonably priced Connectivity Program ended because of an absence of extra funding from Congress, placing 1000’s of New Yorkers vulnerable to shedding inexpensive broadband. PEU supported this work by partnering with BronxNet to share data on free and low-cost web choices by means of LinkNYC, serving to households, college students, and older adults keep related in an more and more digital world.
Our outreach doesn’t cease there. This winter, throughout medical insurance open enrollment, PEU is utilizing LinkNYC and textual content messaging to succeed in New Yorkers, reminding them of vital deadlines and providing one-on-one help to enroll in well being care plans. By combining trendy know-how with tried-and-true strategies—like flyering, canvassing, and neighborhood occasions—we guarantee nobody is left behind.
Carmen’s story reminds us of what’s attainable once 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 conscious of everybody who calls this metropolis house. Now, we have to preserve utilizing them.
