Bronx Gigabit Center to launch in NYC

NEW YORK – The Knowledge House (TKH), Andrew Freedman Home, and The Bronx Community Foundation, in partnership with CityBridge, the consortium behind LinkNYC, and New York City DoITT, will officially launch the Bronx Gigabit Center at the historical Andrew Freedman Home, 1125 Grand Concourse (at 168th Street), in the Bronx on Saturday, June 11, 2022 from 12 - 4 PM. The ceremony will include a special appearance by the Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, and keynote speeches from: Gibson, as well as Matt Fraser, New York City's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and the Commissioner of the Office of Technology and Innovation; Robert Sokota, President, Wireless Division at CityBridge; Nick Colvin, CEO of CityBridge; Hugh O’Kane, President, Hugh O’Kane Electric Co., Inc.; Walter Puryear, Director, Andrew Freedman Home; Jerelyn Rodriguez, CEO & Co-Founder, The Knowledge House; and Dr. Meisha Porter, President & CEO of The Bronx Community Foundation.

The Bronx Gigabit Center is set to provide high-speed internet, technology innovation and small business development powered by the free LinkNYC public WiFi network. CityBridge and their partners ZenFi Networks and Intersection along with CityBridge and their partnering organizations have plans for the development of additional gigabit centers across New York City, including Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. These facilities will provide free public Wi-Fi access via the LinkNYC network, along with digital literacy training, free access to laptops and workstations, and other services to further help bridge the digital divide. The Manhattan Gigabit Center was launched in Harlem in partnership with Silicon Harlem earlier this year.

Click here to RSVP to the Bronx Gigabit Center Launch Event: https://www.classy.org/event/bronx-gigabit-center-launch-event/e407877

The day-long festivities will kick-off a series of programs and services for the Bronx community, including The Digital Library Project created by The Andrew Freedman Home.

For the Bronx Gigabit Center The Digital Library project will develop new educational and workforce programs that prepare youth, young adults, and adults in digital production. Educational focus will be directed towards interdisciplinary skills that cross the creative industries of media, multimedia production, post production, digital printing, mixed multi-media art, music, sound engineering, audio technology, graphic arts, visual arts and animation. The goal is the development of an interdisciplinary educational content, peer to peer connectivity, and an innovative approach to online education and appreciation. By fulfilling this mission, the Digital Library Project would promote equitable use of digital services and technology, empowering communities impacted by the digital divide to overcome barriers to digital literacy, education, and economic opportunities.

The Knowledge House will bring digital literacy workshops and customized digital programming to the Andrew Freedman Home and the greater Bronx community. These workshops will run the gamut from technical instruction on computer basics and surfing the internet to foundational lessons in coding. Participants will also have the opportunity to apply for the organization’s year long Karim Karbouch Coding Fellowship for high school students and the Innovation Fellowship for adults. As TKH expands its model to Newark, NJ; Los Angeles, CA; and Atlanta, GA the co-founders also want to continue expanding within the Bronx to make sure that digital access and literacy will always reach Bronxites until the digital divide is nonexistent.

Read the full press release here.

ZenFi Networks