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New York City’s Learners of All Ages Need Public and Private Sector Leaders to Close the Digital Divide


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An empty library (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


Too many New Yorkers are feeling the effects of being disconnected. The digital divide — a persistent gap in access to low-cost, high-speed internet and devices — is affecting their educational plans and, potentially, their livelihoods. The solution is multi-pronged, and will require those in positions of influence, from policymakers and funders to private-industry leaders.

When New York City announced its Internet Master Plan in January 2020, it estimated that 40% of households — 3.4 million residents — were partially disconnected from the internet, having either home or mobile service, but not both. Worse, 1.5 million residents were totally disconnected with no access to service. 

According to the city’s study, 46% of households living in poverty lacked broadband access at home, and lower-income households that were connected spent up to 10% of their monthly budgets on high-speed internet. 

That was before COVID-19. Since then, the five boroughs lost 560,100 private-sector jobs, and connectivity access points, such as libraries and community centers, were forced to limit public access due to the pandemic. 

The economic and educational impacts of the pandemic have increased the urgency and raised the stakes in an already dire situation. For K-12 learners, for adults whose dreams include a postsecondary degree, and for those who need reskilling to increase their chances of finding employment, access to education is vital. Of particular importance during the pandemic is access to online education, which is one of the fastest growing segments of higher education in the United States.

Mayor de Blasio’s administration should be praised for its ongoing efforts to bridge the digital divide. As part of the city’s ambitious $2.1 billion Internet Master Plan, the mayor announced plans in March to award telecommunications companies more than $150 million in contracts for projects that would bring affordable broadband to 600,000 city residents. The city also recently upgraded internet service at 50 of its public-housing community centers and buildings. 

Recognizing the gravity of the opportunity gap amid the pandemic, city agencies deployed hundreds of thousands of internet-ready devices to K-12 learners and additional thousands to the elderly

But what about those in between? 

Out-of-work or underemployed adults need access to devices and low-cost broadband now, to apply for jobs and pursue online educational programs. As the city rightly focuses on connecting children and older adults, it cannot forget the needs of New York City’s vital workforce.

I urge policymakers to recognize high-speed broadband access as a fundamental need, such as water and utilities. Federal, state and city efforts to expand broadband access will help, but a comprehensive solution can best be found by combining efforts from both private and public sectors.

In August, Western Governors University launched a $1 million scholarship program to grant high-speed internet access and devices to students who lack these resources. The Online Access Scholarship program is part of a broader WGU initiative aimed at working with policymakers, funders, and private industry to close the digital divide. This will allow prospective students in New York City’s five boroughs to begin a degree program that will make a difference in their lives while strengthening the city’s economy. 

New York City should be commended for seeing the value in public-private solutions. Its pact with AT&T has brought free Wi-Fi to more than 20 city parks for the past decade. Recently, the de Blasio administration issued a request for proposals, asking telecommunications companies to step up with “any and all ideas” to establish the rapid and equitable deployment of low-cost broadband in 33 neighborhoods. 

Some smaller locales have successfully deployed public-private partnerships at scale. Take the Virginia counties of Accomack and Northampton, which created the independent, not-for-profit Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority, an all-fiber network, powered by private inter net providers, that has installed hundreds of miles of cable and services around 350 buildings, including schools and businesses. 

Chattanooga, Tenn., is another example. The city already has its own municipally-owned and operated internet service. But gaps remain for economically disadvantaged families. In 2020, Chattanooga launched a public-private partnership that connects 28,000 eligible students — those who meet the criteria for federal free and reduced-price school meals — with a high-speed internet connection and a Wi-Fi router at no cost. 

The State of New York’s recently-passed fiscal year 2021-2022 budget includes legislation requiring internet service providers to offer — and advertise — $15-per-month plans for low-income households. Also in the budget is a partnership with Schmidt Futures and the Ford Foundation to launch ConnectED NY, an initiative to connect 50,000 students in economically-disadvantaged school districts to free internet through the end of the 2022 academic year.

All the city’s residents need equitable access to high-speed broadband as we head into a post-covid recovery period. It is an investment in our neighbors, families, and neighborhoods. It is an investment in the labor force and the talent pipelines that support businesses and local economies. 

We cannot afford to let lack of broadband access serve as a barrier between individuals and learning opportunities, or between our businesses and the talent pool our city needs to thrive and grow. Moving forward in a landscape dramatically changed by COVID-19 will require all of us working together to raise the bar academically and economically in every borough. 

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Rebecca L. Watts, Ph.D., serves as a regional vice president for Western Governors University (WGU), a non-profit, accredited university focused on competency-based learning that serves more than 130,000 students, including 2,900 in New York and nearly 1,000 in the greater New York City area. She holds a doctorate in higher education leadership from Ohio University. On Twitter @WGUnortheast & @WGU.

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Cuomo Needs a Time Out and Other MeToo Approaches to Legitimizing Victims


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Gov. Cuomo (photo: Don Pollard / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


The balance of power and attention is weighed heavily in favor of public official s accused of sexual harassment and assault, rather than those coming forward with accusations. This dynamic is misaligned and should shift toward legitimizing victims.

Governor Cuomo is accused of bad behavior by eight women in the form of sexual harassment and assault in various contexts ranging from the workplace to private gatherings: Lindsey Boylan, Charlotte Bennett, Anna Ruch, Karen Hinton, Ana Liss, Jessica Bakeman, Alyssa McGrath, and one anonymous woman. A significant amount of media attention is devoted to what Cuomo is thinking, feeling, doing, and what his next steps may be, especially whether or not he will resign. 

Looking at punishment basics, we can learn from how we typically handle bad behavior from children. Less attention, no reward, and a time out are conventional approaches. With Cuomo, we are doing the opposite — he enjoys an extreme amount of local and national media attention and there is no limit to his executive power as investigations and possible impeachment proceedings unfold. In light of this dynamic, what is lost is the focus on and legitimacy of the alleged victims. In some ways, this is not surprising because Cuomo is a well-liked, charismatic bully. The question becomes, how does this imbalance influence the investigative process and larger quest for justice?

As the top government official in New York State, Cuomo is negatively impacting the legitimacy of the investigative process. A large number of prominent lawmakers are calling for Governor Cuomo’s resignation and impeachment. Yet, Cuomo adamantly refuses to step down, arguing that due process is necessary. By remaining in office, Cuomo authorized the Attorney General’s investigation of accusations against him, provided an attorney to staffers who will be interviewed by the Attorney General’s Office, and launched his own parallel investigation. 

Some pockets of Cuomo supporters caution not to make Cuomo the next Al Franken, the former Minnesota senator who resigned amidst sexual harassment and groping accusations. And they are right, but not for the reason they propose. The travesty of the Franken situation is not in the outcome for Franken, himself, who still engages in political commentary and hosts his own podcast. Instead, it is Franken’s accusers who did not receive an opportunity for justice, because his resignation halted any future investigation. 

Cuomo's position of power affords him a bully pulpit to delegitimize alleged victims. He continues to make public appearances and has made many statements about the women coming forward with allegations against him. He claims these accusations are either misunderstandings of his playful actions by unassuming women or politically motivated attacks on him by power-hungry women. What is more dangerous, Cuomo has attempted to reframe the scandal from sexual harassment and assault to one of political opposition, with himself being the true victim of cancel culture.  

An important focus of the MeToo movement is to create community and legitimacy around those coming forward with sexual harassment and assault claims. The organization issued an official statement on Governor Cuomo, emphasizing MeToo’s commitment to advocating for an honest process that prioritizes impartiality, systems change, and accountability for victims of sexual harassment and assault. 

The fact that we are talking about this at all is a sign that we are moving away from business as usual, and it is not lost on us that this shift coincides with the rise of prominent women elected officials in New York City and State. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Kirstin Gillibrand, who have called for Cuomo to resign, along with Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading one Cuomo investigation, show us that gender balance in positions of power will likely cotinue to improve the culture surrounding sexual harassment and assault, and help give accusers legitimacy. 

However, by allowing the Governor to influence the messaging surrounding the accusations and to let him attempt to muster public support we are rebuffing that attempt and delegitimizing the victims.  

To refocus this lopsided attention away from Cuomo, he should be placed on leave and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul should assume the governorship until all investigations conclude. 

It is unnecessary to reinvent the wheel each time a public official is accused of behaving badly. The mishandling of Cuomo as these scandals unfold highlight the need for procedural norms to become commonplace. Limiting Cuomo’s power while he is under investigation would ensure a more transparent and fair process that ultimately ensures justice for both the accusers and the accused. 

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Maria J. D'Agostino is a Professor in the Department of Public Management, Founding Co-Director of Women in the Public Sector at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY and co-author of Governing in a Global World: Women in Public Service

Nicole M. Elias is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Management, Founding Co-Director of Women in the Public Sector at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY and co-editor of Ethics for Contemporary Bureaucrats: Navigating Constitutional Crossroads.

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The Governor’s High Court


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Gov. Cuomo with Court of Appeals judges (photo: governor's office)


The police murder of George Floyd and the resulting uprisings across the country led New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to try and cast himself as an anti-racist criminal justice reformer. He spoke of the “injustice against minorities in America by the criminal justice system" and emphatically added, “Today...enough is enough.” He signed criminal law legislation and pronounced that the changes “take us one step closer to righting the many injustices minority communities have faced because of a broken and unfair system."

While Cuomo was referring to policing, the criminal legal system is multi-layered and “righting the many injustices” will never occur by only focusing on the police. Police activity is passed through by prosecutors and thereafter subject to review by judges at the trial and appellate levels, and, potentially, by the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court and the final arbiter of police actions. The courts, too, are instruments of injustice.

While Cuomo’s progressive credentials have long been disputed, little attention has been paid to his impact on New York’s courts. This is a serious mistake. The Court of Appeals is Cuomo’s court. He appointed each one of the court’s seven judges, something that had only happened once before in New York history when his father, Mario, had occasion to select each judge on the court. And although his Court of Appeals is not readily characterized by political labels, one thing is certain — on criminal legal matters it has been overwhelmingly pro-prosecution.  

If Cuomo is serious about fixing an “unfair system” laden with injustice, he now has an opportunity to do something about it in this critical arena – the Court of Appeals. With the need to fill three seats on the court by year’s end, Cuomo has the chance to assemble a court dominated by people who have demonstrated firm commitments to protecting people’s rights to be free from overbearing, arbitrary, and racist policing and to rectifying a criminal legal system that regularly turns a blind eye to injustice.  

People who have been convicted of a crime can file a criminal leave application (CLA) to individual judges of the Court of Appeals asking for the court to review the legality of their conviction. Grants of these applications from the current slate of judges — meaning a willingness to hear someone’s legal challenge — are down to the lowest point in decades. In 2017, the court granted only 25, or 1.11%, of 2,244 requests. Only two judges, Jenny Rivera and Rowan Wilson, account for far more CLAs than their colleagues. It is not Judges Rivera and Wilson who are out of touch. Their number of grants is in line with what had been the court’s record on CLA grants over previous decades.    

Those fortunate few who manage to have their cases reviewed by the court face yet another hurdle: the court’s decisions on criminal appeals reveal indifference and antipathy to the rights of the accused. In 2018, excluding cases where the court issued an unanimous decision, Judge Rivera sided with the accused in 89% of the cases and Judge Wilson in 77%, but the remaining five judges ruled in the accused’s favor only 30%, 25%, 23%, 11%, and 4% of the time. 2018 was not an aberration. In 2017, one of the judges, Michael Garcia, ruled in favor of the prosecution in 100% of the court’s non-unanimous cases, and overall, the court sided with the prosecution in 82% of the cases it reviewed.  

Omar Alvarez’s case is a prime example of the Court of Appeals’ willful disregard of the rights of people convicted of crime. When Alvarez was 19 years old, he was charged with and convicted of several violent crimes, including murder, and sentenced to 66 2/3 years to life.  Alvarez filed a motion that alleged his appellate lawyer provided ineffective assistance of counsel. His appellate lawyer waited three years to do anything, and then only acted after learning that the case had been put on the court’s dismissal calendar. The lawyer ultimately filed an appellate brief rife with typos and grammatical errors and devoid of citations to support any legal claims. The lawyer’s statement of the facts contained six lines of text and the entire brief was only 20 double-spaced pages, including separate cover pages and table of contents. The prosecutor’s statement of the facts ran 60 pages, and their entire brief was 175 pages. Further, and most crucial, Alvarez’s appellate attorney inexplicably failed to seek review of the most glaring issue in the case: a de facto life without parole sentence imposed on a teenager.  

The Court of Appeals seemingly gave short shrift to the appeal and affirmed the conviction.

In her dissent, Judge Rivera wrote that the brief “violates ever y rule about effective advocacy taught to law students across the country.” She even took the extraordinarily unusual step of attaching a link to the brief for all to see. In his dissent, Judge Wilson referred to the “atrocious quality of appellate counsel’s brief,” and urged that the failure to ask the appellate court to reduce the sentence, by itself, was ineffective assistance of counsel.  

Judge Wilson also highlighted the U.S. Supreme Court cases that discuss the reduced culpability of youth. Those cases recognize that the parts of the brain that deal with behavior control are not fully developed until into our 20s, and that, as a result, youth are susceptible to recklessness and impulsivity, are vulnerable to negative influences, and, critically, have the capacity to change.  

Judge Wilson also noted a significant fact that the court’s majority ignored: Omar Alvarez had in fact changed in significant ways. He had amassed a positive institutional record in prison. He was also gravely ill. His cancer was not diagnosed until it had metastasized and caused compression around his spinal cord. He was a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair and unable to control his bladder and bowels. Speaking directly of Alvarez’s 66 2/3 to life sentence, Judge Wilson wrote that “The possibility of a transformation like Mr. Alverez’s is precisely why our system should rarely if ever sentence young people to life without some realistic opportunity to seek parole.”

Directly calling out the other judges who found no fault in the attorney’s failure to seek resentencing, Judge Wilson asked, “Were Mr. Alvarez your son, would you have instructed his lawyer not to ask the Appellate Division to exercise its interest of justice jurisdiction to give him the chance to prove he had earned parole?”

The court’s majority – the other five members – referred to the “minuscule” issues raised by the motion and without any apparent sense of shame wrote that “the brief filed by appellate counsel was somewhat terse, could have been better drafted, and is not a model to be emulated.” In so easily dispatching Alvarez’s appeal, the Court revealed its general attitude toward the pleas of thousands of people whose cases are either never reviewed or whose convictions are readily upheld without serious scrutiny and sense of humanity. 

The court is not the answer to the criminal legal system’s many faults. However, it impacts lives in profound ways. It is Cuomo’s court, and he can and must fix it. In his words, “enough is enough.”

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Steven Zeidman is a professor of law at CUNY School of Law. On Twitter @SteveZeidman.

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