When I was a young public school student growing up in Brooklyn in the 1990s, my father brought home a computer to help his kids realize their dreams. And his vision of future success was prescient, even if my “dream” that day was to take the computer apart. Three decades later I became New York City’s chief technology officer but first I had to put the computer back together — or else — before my dad returned from work. I accepted his challenge and my life has never been the same.
As leader of citywide technology policies and programs, I need to know about and make the most of the breathtaking pace of technological advances happening in the Big Apple to leverage this progress. Amid all this rapid change, some things remain constant, like the need for our students to be able to get online and do their work at home, wherever home is.
This school year, the Adams administration is addressing this need in true New York fashion by providing 350,000 brand-new Chromebooks with high-speed internet for free to public school students across the five boroughs. As Mayor Adams says, anything is possible when we invest in our young people and believe in their potential. By increasing access to devices and the internet, we are empowering students with the necessary tools to change their lives — like the tool my dad gave me many years ago — and helping bridge the digital divide in underconnected communities.
Earlier this month, I joined the mayor, Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, and hundreds of students to celebrate the official launch of the program at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. This historic school was once home to American creative icons James Baldwin and Stan Lee, and has a hallway length mural of Lee’s Marvel characters re-created by students. Yankee All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., a real-life superhero on the baseball diamond, delighted the crowd by showing up to support this home run initiative.
As I looked out on the auditorium of high schoolers, their youthful enthusiasm and broad smiles reminded me why we set about this lofty goal to increase device and internet access in the first place. It was not about mere connectivity; it was about giving a lifeline to the next Baldwin, the next Lee, the next Chisholm, or even a future New York mayor. And that lifeline is vital for students in underconnected areas such as the Bronx, where 31% of households lack home computer access, according to a recent study by the Center for an Urban Future.
Over the next few months, we will roll out Chromebooks to students attending more than 1,000 schools. In order to make device access as equitable as possible, we’re prioritizing four groups: schools that do not have devices for students or have devices older than five years old; students in temporary housing in all schools; high-poverty schools without devices; and new schools. These devices will not only help students with writing, researching, and completing assignments in the short-term, but also bolster the digital skills they will need to get jobs and fully participate in our modern society.
We know from our students’ experiences during the pandemic, when they were sent home with laptops, that devices alone are not enough. Not when you’re going home to a pre-war building or a temporary home. That’s why we partnered with T-Mobile, a major wireless carrier for the city, to enable 5G LTE on these devices. Students will be able to get online, wherever they are, and their families will also be able to use the devices as hotspots.
Our Chromebook initiative is part of the administration’s broader efforts to bridge the city’s longstanding digital divide. The mayor and I share a fundamental belief that internet access is a modern-day essential akin to utilities like heat and hot water. In 2022, we launched Big Apple Connect, the nation’s largest municipally subsidized broadband program, which provides free high-speed internet and basic cable TV to 330,000 New Yorkers across 220 New York City Housing Authority sites. The average Big Apple Connect household saves $1,700 per year.
One can’t put a price on potential. My father’s gift validated mine and became my purpose, my passion, and my service to the city I love. If I can become CTO of the nation’s largest city, anything is possible. I am confident these Chromebooks will help 350,000 public school students pursue their endless possibilities.
Fraser is New York City’s chief technology officer.
