NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FACIP, recently joined AT&T’s New York President Marissa Shorenstein, Bronx Borough President Rueben Diaz, Jr. and community members to announce a deal to extend free public AT&T Wi-Fi in the Parks for an additional five years.
The free Wi-Fi is available, regardless of wireless carrier, to parkgoers at 27 locations in 21 parks across the five boroughs. The collaboration increases the number of free solar mobile charging stations to 34 units at 15 parks and beaches; and four new parks will receive the popular AT&T Street Charge units — Queens Flushing Meadows Park at David Dinkins Circle and Ederle Terrace, Brooklyn’s Sunset Park and Prospect Park at the LeFrak Center and Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx, where the announcement was made.
Launched in 2011, the Wi-Fi in the Parks initiative was the City’s first free public Wi-Fi program that allows all smartphone and tablet users to connect. Through the program there have been 8.6 million connections.
“The renewal of our partnership with AT&T, expanding free Wi-Fi and charging stations to more of our parks this summer and fall, furthers Parks’ commitment to utilizing technology to serve parkgoers city wide,” said Commissioner Silver. “Through amenities like Wi-Fi and charging stations in parks, we help increase technological access, while gathering insights into how our visitors engage our green spaces; insights that strengthen our strategic approach to building a better park system for the future.”
“Over the past five years, millions of visitors to New York’s parks and beaches have connected over Wi-Fi in the parks and charged their devices at AT&T Street Charge units,” said Marissa Shorenstein, AT&T’s New York State president. “It’s been exciting to watch these programs become proof points for how a city can leverage advances in technology to keep its citizens connected. AT&T is excited to continue working with the de Blasio administration to offer these free services and support New Yorkers on the go.”
AT&T Street Charge units were introduced in 2013 in response to power and connection issues New Yorkers experienced in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The solar-powered units operate in all weather conditions and are available throughout the summer and fall in the five boroughs.
Park visitors can enjoy free AT&T Wi-Fi at the following locations throughout the city:
Manhattan:
· Marcus Garvey Park
· Thomas Jefferson Park
· Tompkins Square Park
· The Battery (Bosque Area and Ferry Landings)
· Central Park (Rumsey Playfield, CP Zoo, Mineral Springs and Tavern on the Green)
· Thomas Paine Park/Foley Square
· Holcombe Rucker Park
· The High Line
Brooklyn:
· Prospect Park Picnic House
· Herbert Von King Park
· McCarren Park Field House
· Brooklyn Bridge Park (Piers 1, 5 and 6)
· Fort Greene Park
Queens:
· Astoria Park
· Flushing Meadows Corona Park (Queens Zoo)
· MacDonald Park
Staten Island:
· Clove Lakes Park
· Ocean Breeze Park
Bronx:
· Joyce Kilmer Park
· Devoe Park
· Hunts Point Riverside Park
