City Launches ‘Neighborhood Tech Help’ to Bridge Digital Divide Across the Boroughs

Image Courtesy of HPD

The new pilot program will provide in-person support with internet, mobile devices, and computer at affordable housing developments and community centers

New service to meet digital literacy needs created following engagement of low-income New Yorkers and community stakeholders with HPD and the three public libraries.

This morning, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), in partnership with Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), New York Public Library (NYPL), and Queens Public Library (QPL), announced the launch of Neighborhood Tech Help, an innovative, in-person program designed to help New Yorkers build confidence using technology.

The pilot program offers one-on-one support for Section 8 tenants at participating affordable housing developments and community centers, helping with everything from getting online and setting up devices to navigating digital services and avoiding scams. The launch builds on the City’s broader efforts to close the digital divide, as outlined in the NYC Digital Equity Roadmap, and is informed by feedback from hundreds of residents engaged during the program’s development.

Need for Tech Help in Affordable Housing 

During the winter 2022, HPD partnered with the NYC Behavioral Design Team (BDT) at the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity—run by ideas42, a behavioral science research and design nonprofit—to better understand whether Section 8 recipients were using the public library systems’ tech services and, if not, what new service models could better meet their needs. BDT engaged nearly 800 New Yorkers and found:

• Many residents do not know the breadth of technology services that the public libraries offer
• Many residents face hurdles in attending in-person or online library programming
• Many residents fear being exploited by digital scams or viruses
• Many residents feel a lack of confidence in their ability to learn digital skills

With over 30 percent of New York City households, more than 2.5 million residents, lacking both mobile and home broadband needed for full connectivity, the three public library systems will promote Neighborhood Tech Help through tabling at community events, posting flyers in local businesses and community spaces, and partnering with community-based organizations. Program materials, featuring illustrations by local artist Ilya Milstein, reflect the diversity of New York and highlight the many ways technology can offer opportunity or present challenges.

So far, Brooklyn Public Library alone has had more than 1,000 service interactions through Neighborhood Tech Help. The most common requests include assistance accessing benefits, using laptops, navigating WhatsApp, working with Microsoft programs, and removing spam messages.

Based on these research findings and best practices for deploying “digital navigators,” HPD, BPL, NYPL, and QPL collaboratively designed Neighborhood Tech Help to engage hard-to-reach communities throughout the city, build confidence in basic digital literacy skills, train vulnerable populations to safe online, and boost participation in library programming. These digital literacy skills include avoiding scams; connecting with family, friends, teachers, or case workers; navigating online social services; recovering passwords; finding reliable health information; and accessing low-cost internet service.

This initiative also advances recommendations from the “New” New York Panel in the Making New York Work for Everyone action plan to invest in partnerships with libraries to support remote work across the five boroughs. The recommendations specifically sought to address the lack of broadband at home for New Yorkers from historically marginalized communities of color, among other challenges these populations face. The plan cited the redevelopment of the Inwood Branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) as a striking example of how the City, NYPL, and philanthropy can partner on issues across affordable housing, community development, and the digital divide.

Beginning today, the program will be available at select affordable housing developments, older adult centers, and community centers throughout the city. Select sites across Brooklyn and Queens have already launched programming, with Far Rockaway staff providing 1:1 support to participants who have taken previous technology classes.  New Yorkers can find participating Neighborhood Tech Help sites at nyc.gov/TechHelp or by calling 311.

To support this effort, each library system is hiring 10–15 part-time staff at competitive wages—including CUNY students, library interns, and local community members. While Brooklyn and the Queens Public Library is already fully staffed, NYPL is actively hiring part-time Lead Neighborhood Tech Helpers Outreach Associates and part-time Neighborhood Tech Helpers Outreach Associates.