Brooklyn’s newest free public WiFi hotspots, including old phone booths

Mayor Bloomberg announced a major new connectivity initiative yesterday on NYC.gov. For Brooklyn, it means more public wifi hotspots downtown, along the Fulton Street Corridor, in the BAM Cultural District and in harder-hit Brownsville.

Turning old phone booths into wifi hotspots was an idea piloted across the city this summer, including two spots in the Brooklyn Heights-Cobble Hill areas, shown in the map above. It’s important to note that in addition to wealthier downtown and Brooklyn Heights, Brownsville has made it into the mix, where access is still a goal.

The Mayor also announced a rating system for the connectivity of commercial buildings. This announcement is somewhat strange, however, because it seems to put the responsibility for facilitating broadband connectivity on the landlords, when isn’t it really a question of telecommunications companies building infrastructure and maintaining it?

Connecting to real broadband infrastructure may be something that programs like ConnectNYC are better suited to. The announcement also cites a crowdsourced broadband access map called the “NYC Broadband Connect Map,” but Technically Brooklyn can’t find anything but the state’s map (you can test your broadband speed and log it with the state here).

Brooklynites access to free public wifi isn’t limited to old payphones. It’s also available in several public parks:

• Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center
• Coney Island (Steeplechase Park)
• Marine Park (Nature Center)
• Wingate Park
• Manhattan Beach
• Gravesend Park
• Brownsville Recreation Center
• Cadman Plaza Park
• Carroll Park
• Prospect Park (Bandshell)
• St. John’s Recreation Center