Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications

Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications

  • Who is NYC Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser and Will He Deliver What’s Desperately Needed?

    Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

    NYC CTO Matthew Fraser with Mayor Adams (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The de Blasio administration acknowledged that New York City desperately needs a Digital Service Organization (DSO) when it announced less than a month before the mayor left office that it wants to hire people for a new “NYC Digital Services” unit that would apply best practices in modern, open-source software development to New York City’s many

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  • De Blasio Administration Announces Long-Sought ‘NYC Digital Service’ Just Days Before Adams Takes Over

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    NYC Department of Information Information Technology and Telecommunications Github profile


    New York City’s civic technology community has for many years been calling on city government to establish a Digital Service Organization (DSO). DSOs are technology groups organized within government agenies that use open source software to create their own technology solutions instead of buying proprietary services from

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  • Eric Adams Vows to Overhaul How City Government Works; Experts Point to Several Essentials to Following Through

    Gotham Gazette Eric Adams Says He Will Overhaul How City Government Works; Here's What Experts Think of His Promises

    Eric Adams (photo: Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP's Office)


    Eric Adams believes government inefficiency is at the root of many ills that plague New Yorkers. The ineffective delivery of public services and waste of taxpayer dollars, he says, create the very inequality and suffering that city government is meant to ameliorate.

    For years leading up to and throughout his run for mayor this year, Adams -- the two-term Brooklyn borough president and

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  • De Blasio Administration Pledges to Finally Address City's Persistent 'Digital Divide' with Universal Internet Access

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    Mayor de Blasio at a LinkNYC kiosk (photo: Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    As the pandemic forced New Yorkers to shelter at home, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration launched several efforts to assist those who lacked the necessary access to the internet to adapt to working and learning virtually. But there remains a deep digital divide across the city, particularly in terms of lack of access in low-income communities of color, creating significant challenges for students, residents of homeless shelters and public housing, and others.

    According to city data, 40%

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  • Taxpayers Fleeced for Nearly $47 Million in Tech Boondoggle But Few City Leaders Notice

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    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    What if I told you that in an effort to enable 40 New York City government agencies to buy goods and services more cost-effectively, some city officials have put on a tutorial on how not to buy goods and services – and stuck taxpayers with a bill heading toward $47 million? 

    As a New Yorker, you’d probably tell me to “Get the hell outta here!” -- then I’d have to give you details.

    So here’s how the flimflam went down. Three years ago, city government hired an inexperienced French

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  • Payphone-Replacing LinkNYC Kiosks Not Generating Projected Revenue

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    Mayor de Blasio makes the first LinkNYC call (photo: Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    During a February 2016 press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio made the first phone call on New York City’s first LinkNYC kiosk, stationed at the corner of 16th Street and 3rd Avenue. “It will be the biggest and fastest network in the world, and completely free of charge. And one thing I know about my fellow New Yorkers, they like things that are free of charge," said de Blasio.

    Not only that, but New Yorkers were promised money for the city’s general fund. That money

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  • Super-Fast 5G is Coming to the Five Boroughs, But City Officials Aren’t Sure When

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    (photo: Lisette Voytko)


    As new lightning-fast networks are launching around the country, New Yorkers are looking at how “5G” technology may impact the city.

    Government officials, technologists, academics, activists, and others are grappling with the pros and cons of implementing 5G, which includes download speeds 10 times faster than current smartphone connections and has the potential to allow many more devices to communicate simultaneously, greatly reducing lags in service. The overall effect would be a speedier, more seamless experience while

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  • Smart Cities: Civic Tech Innovation and The Internet of Things

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    (image: Stanford)


    Government technology practitioners from various cities and countries gathered last week to discuss the future of “smart cities” and the “Internet of Things” at the Smart Cities NYC conference that took place at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

    One panel was moderated by Jeff Merritt, Director of Innovation

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  • City Council Examines Data Privacy, Security

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    City Council Member Vacca (seated)


    The Technology Committee of the New York City Council held an oversight hearing Monday on the city’s data privacy policies and data security protocols. A broad variety of more specific topics were covered during the hearing, chaired by Council Member James Vacca, including unauthorized data usage and security breaches; risks related to the expansion of high-speed internet availability and sidewalk wi-fi kiosks; the Worker Connect program that allows New Yorkers to search and apply for public benefits; new efforts at data

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  • Praise, and Recommendations, for City's Open Data Progress

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    Council Member Vacca (photo: @JamesVacca13)


    There are two years to go before the deadline set by the city’s 2012 Open Data Law, which requires city agencies identify and publish all their citywide aggregated public data online. At a Wednesday afternoon oversight hearing of the City Council’s Committee on Technology, open data and civic technology advocates offered praise for the city’s progress thus far and recommendations for the city to meet its goals.

    Open data is considered a vital transparency

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  • New York City’s Evolving Approach to Open Data

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    (photo: Rob Bennett/Mayoral Photography Office)


    During the first weekend of March, the New York City School of Data - a network of advocates, activists, and professionals for an open data ecosystem - hosted a day of panels and workshop sessions in recognition of the international day celebrating open data and the fourth anniversary of the city passing its first open data law. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who have each promoted open data initiatives, delivered keynote remarks at the event.

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