4 Westchester Cities Join Forces to Bring Ultra-High Speed Broadband to County

The cities of New Rochelle, White Plains, Mount Vernon and Yonkers announced Friday they will work with the Westchester County Association to bring ultra-high-speed broadband to every household, business, health care organization and educational institution in the next three to five years.

The cities will soon sign a Smart City ComPACT that will allow them seek joint funding, share best practices, develop joint federal and state legislative agendas and collaborate on creating innovation districts, according to information from the Westchester County Association.

William M. Mooney Jr., president and CEO of the WCA, said the proposal is revolutionary for the county.

“Across the country, cities have been taking the lead in bringing gigabit broadband to their communities,” he said.

“Likewise, by joining together with the WCA in this monumental community effort, Westchester takes a critical step in modernizing its digital infrastructure, closing the digital divide, sparking innovation, making our county competitive again, creating jobs and realizing municipal efficiencies. We are creating a vision for the next 30 years,” Mooney said.

The WCA is putting together a steering committee made up of key members of the county’s cities, business and education sectors and nonprofit communities to help determine sources of funding as well as the county’s needs.

According to the WCA, gigabit broadband will make possible controlling traffic in real time, the expansion of telemedicine and health initiatives, enhanced communication for first responders, more online education in real time and the ability to download large files and video in seconds.

Mayors of the four cities offered comments at the press conference announcing the initiative:

Noam Bramson, Mayor of New Rochelle, commented: “New Rochelle is excited to partner with the Westchester County Association to bring broadband service to our own community and to our sister cities. This innovative initiative will help all of us compete successfully for the residents, industries, and jobs of the future, while positioning Westchester as a national leader in smart growth and digital infrastructure.”

Mike Spano, Mayor of Yonkers, said: “Yonkers is committed to investing in the technological infrastructure of our city and surrounding communities. Working together with the Westchester County Association and my colleagues in government, we will create more jobs, build for emerging industries, further invest in our schools and better connect our communities. Once again, we are leading by example and are becoming innovators in smart growth.”

Tom Roach, Mayor of White Plains, noted: "The City of White Plains looks forward to working with the Westchester County Association and the Cities of Yonkers, New Rochelle and Mt. Vernon on this initiative. It recognizes that cities are the critical backbone of the region and the drivers of future economic growth. By focusing on bringing gigabit broadband into our communities this initiative will help ensure our future competitiveness as a great place to both live and work."

Mayor Richard Thomas of Mt. Vernon said: “Mount Vernon is excited to join our neighboring cities in bringing more high-speed broadband to the people. We know that bridging the digital divide is key to closing to achievement gap for our students and boosting the economies of our small businesses. Mount Vernon is a town of big ideas and we deserve access to the broadband speed that will bring our plans to life.”

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