NYC Mayor Announces Program to Deliver Free and Low-Cost Wi-Fi to Low-Income Residents
‘Liberty Link’ will serve 2,200 households across 35 affordable housing buildings
July 25, 2025 – In a continuation of his effort to close the city’s digital divide, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a new program Wednesday that will deliver free and low-cost wifi to thousands of low-income residents across the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.
Operating through the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the program, entitled “Liberty Link”, will provide high-quality internet service to low-income New Yorkers in 100-percent affordable housing buildings.
With the help of the New York Public Library system, HPD intends to connect nearly 2,200 households across 35 affordable housing buildings in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan to fiber internet and deploy building-wide wifi infrastructure.
“Access to reliable, high-speed internet is a fundamental necessity in today’s world. With ‘Liberty Link,’ we are extending the reach of our digital equity work to ensure that more New Yorkers, regardless of income or zip code, can fully participate in our economy and society,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión, Jr., speaking at Bronx Library Center.
According to a recent study by the Center for an Urban Future, 22% of Bronx households lack home internet, and 184,000 households lack a computer. With $3.25 million in funding from HPD, Liberty Link will bring internet connectivity to households participating in the New York State Section 8 rental assistance program and a number of properties owned by non-profit housing providers, including Comunilife, JASA, Lantern Community Services, Lutheran Social Services, PIBLY Residential Programs, Services for the Underserved, and Urban Pathways.
Underscoring the importance of the program, HPD Acting Commissioner Ahmed Tigani stated, “For the families we serve, the internet isn’t a luxury — it’s how you find a job, get your kids through school, stay connected to health care and community. With ‘Liberty Link,’ we’re meeting people where they are and removing a barrier that’s held too many New Yorkers back for far too long.”
The program was set to run for three years and will test a variety of models and technologies to determine the most effective and scalable approach for a citywide expansion. Building on the Adams administration’s dedication to increase investments in minority- and women-owned business enterprises, about half of the funding for Liberty Link will be awarded to M/WBEs to install, maintain and operate the network infrastructure.
In addition to high-speed connectivity, with service rollout expected to begin by the end of 2025, Liberty Link will provide tenants with access to HPD’s “Neighborhood Tech Help” program, a one-on-one digital literacy program that helps New Yorkers connect to the internet, use technology, and navigate digital resources.
This program was part of a broader effort by the Adams administration to close the digital divide in New York City. In 2022, he launched ‘Big Apple Connect’ to provide free internet and cable to 330,000 New Yorkers across 220 NYCHA facilities, saving working-class families an average of about $1,700 per year.
“‘Liberty Link’ will build on the success of ‘Big Apple Connect’ and give over 2,000 more households the free internet they need,” said Adams. “We will help more working-class New Yorkers save on the cost of this vital service, put money back into their pockets, and deliver, once again, on our commitment to create a more affordable city for working-class families.”
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