Outgoing Mayor Adams Extends Big Apple Connect, Sparking Surveillance and Cost Concerns
In a controversial move, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams has extended the Big Apple Connect program, set to provide free internet to 333,000 public housing residents. However, the decision has sparked criticism due to its implications for live video surveillance and its cost.
The extension, announced just a day before a City Council hearing on the matter, will see the program continue until June 2028. This move locks the city into a broadband access approach at odds with other proposals, including the Internet Master Plan. The next mayor, to be elected on November 4, 2025, will inherit this decision, with socialist Zohran Mamdani currently leading the polls as the Democratic candidate, and former Governor Andrew Cuomo running as an independent.
The program's extension will cost the next mayor approximately $114 million over the next three years. Critics argue that this money could be better spent on other city priorities. The NYPD has been using Big Apple Connect for live video surveillance in NYCHA developments, a practice that has raised concerns about privacy and civil liberties. The program allows the NYPD to link public housing cameras to its Domain Awareness System for 'predictive policing'. Councilmember Chris Banks has criticized Adams' decision, stating it undermines the communities represented by the City Council. City Council members are now demanding the NYPD halt its public housing surveillance expansion.
The extension of the Big Apple Connect program, while providing free internet to many, has raised significant concerns about its use for live video surveillance and its financial implications. As the city awaits the outcome of the upcoming mayoral election, these issues will need to be addressed by the incoming administration.
