Map of the RISE:NYC businesses which would take part in mesh network plan.If all goes according to plan, Rockaway may soon have a powerful new resource the next time it is confronted with another natural disaster or emergency: Wi-Fi.
For some, having Internet access during an emergency might seem like the least of their concerns. However, when many residents in Red Hook lost power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Wi-Fi was one of the few means of communication available during the following weeks. The neighborhood Wi-Fi was only possible because a local non-profit had, by chance, set up a “mesh” network in the area beforehand.
This week the Open Technology Institute, part of the non-profit New America Foundation, submitted their final application for a grant from RISE:NYC that, if accepted, would provide funding for a mesh network and training program for residents in the Rockaways.
RISE:NYC is a competition, funded by the Economic Development Corporation, designed to identify and deploy creative new technologies to make New York City businesses more resilient to the impacts of future storms, rising sea levels and climate change. A mesh network is a group of routers that are connected to one another. Even if one goes down, the others can still communicate. If only one of the routers has access to the Internet, it can share this connection with the others. This is why it’s helpful in the case of an emergency, it possible for business owners and residents to tap into their neighbors Internet connections if theirs fails.
An added bonus is that, even if Internet service is not available anywhere in the area, the mesh network and its software will enable its users to chat, post on message boards, access maps, and use other emergency data communications on the local network including voice and video communication. In Red Hook, having a mesh network setup beforehand meant that in the aftermath of Sandy many residents had Internet access and were able to communicate with family and friends, even when they lacked power in their homes.
“Even if the Internet went down we were able to fix it and we didn’t have to wait for the Internet companies,” says Anthony Schloss, Director of Community Initiatives at the Red Hook Initiative, the non-profit responsible for establishing the mesh network in Red Hook.
“Having the ability to create and govern your own communication structure within a local community, it’s so powerful, there is just so much you can do with it,” says Schloss.
And as many in Rockaway know, when disaster strikes, your neighbors are usually the first people on site.
“The local business owners are really the boots on the ground,” says Jeanne DuPont, the executive director of the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance.
DuPont has been helping the OTI recruit local business to the program. “In the aftermath of Sandy a lot of the businesses were the first to come back, before the government was able to get to us,” says DuPont. “Unfortunately, after Sandy there has not been a lot of support from the state, in terms of money, and [the mesh network] will help make us self-sufficient.” There are plans to make RWA’s Firehouse 59 onRockaway Beach Boulevard the training ground for residents who would be responsible for installing and maintain the network. They also have a solar panel that could power the network if the electricity went out.
Proponents of developing the mesh network also point to its economic benefits. Generally, Wi-Fi can attract customers and stimulate foot traffic, advertise local businesses, and lower the barrier to entry for new businesses in an area.
If the Open Technology Institute receives the grant, they will use some of the money to create a Digital Stewards program, a program that will train low-income youth from Rockaway to install and maintain the network. In Red Hook, the Digital Stewards program works like a fellowship, offering courses to dozens of young people in media production and turning them into “power technology users.” The program also helps the Stewards secure an internship. In the Red Hook Initiative’s first cohort, 7 out of the 8 Stewards had a new job after they left the program.
Even if the grant money from the EDC doesn’t come through, there isn’t a huge cost involved if the community wants to install a mesh network itself, and it’s a scalable project. The initial three-node package costs under $1,000 and the backup power piece is around $400. Each additional router that can tie into the network only costs around $80, and each additional router makes it easier for the next one to find a connection.
For Josh Brietbart of the OTI, the success of the mesh network is really up to the community. He says it builds on neighbor-to-neighbor connections and can only place a wireless connection on top of already-existing social connections.
“If you put this in a place where people don’t already have this community then the technology doesn’t work,” says Breitbart. “But my sense is that Rockaway is very mobilized and it is reminiscent of the experience in Red Hook.”
Breitbart believes that if the project is put in place, Rockaway won’t just be getting a better Internet connection; it will be getting a more well-connected community.
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