$100 million in fed funds coming to NY to expand broadband

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday announced that New York State will receive $100 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury through the American Rescue Plan to expand high-speed internet.

This is the largest targeted investment in affordable housing connectivity in the nation. New York estimates this funding will allow them to connect 100,000 homes and families to affordable, high-speed internet across the state.

“Affordable, reliable broadband access is essential to connect New Yorkers with work, education, and government services, but still out of reach for far too many families,” Governor Hochul said. “This critical funding to unlock high-speed internet for thousands of New York renters will build on the success of our ConnectALL broadband initiative while supporting the goals our five-year plan to build and preserve more affordable housing. Thanks to the Biden administration and New York’s Senate and Congressional delegations, New York will continue to lead the nation in bridging the digital divide and making broadband available to all.”

The new federal investment comes from the $10 billion in the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF), a program designed to address the challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in rural America, Tribal communities, and low- and moderate-income communities.

A key priority of the CPF is to make funding available to help ensure that all communities have access to high-quality modern infrastructure, including reliable, affordable high-speed broadband needed to access critical services.

New York’s Affordable Housing Connectivity Program is a competitive grant program designed to fund high-speed, reliable broadband infrastructure to and within low-income housing buildings. CPF funds will be used to upgrade internet access in affordable housing units.

The plan submitted to Treasury and being approved represents 29 percent of the state’s total allocation under the Capital Project Funds program. New York submitted plans for the remainder of their Capital Project Funds and these applications are currently under review by Treasury.