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Dumbo is the first neighborhood in New York City to go wireless. Regina Myer, President of Brooklyn Bridge Park, indicated the decision had to do with the immense traffic Brooklyn Bridge Park gets over the summer. Last summer, more than 1,000 people per hour used the Brooklyn Bridge staircase in DUMBO.

“With the re-opening of Brooklyn Bridge Park between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges—all of which would be covered with free Wi-Fi—and the anticipated opening of Jane’s Carousel, a tremendous number of visitors are expected this summer” said Myer.

The Two Trees development company, which developed much of Dumbo, is sponsoring the service. Tucker Reed, director of Special Projects at Two Trees, said in today’s world, free wifi is an “essential component” of public space design.

Photo by Kathryn Kirk

Dumbo’s workforce, largely between the ages of 22 and 40, Reed says, will certainly take full advantage of the service. Media and tech companies line Dumbo’s offices, as well as blogs such as Gothamist and the L Magazine.

“Through this initiative our creativity will now literally spill out into the streets, building community and encouraging collaboration and innovation,” said Reed.

NYCwireless, a non-profit that executes and advocates free public Wi-Fi through New York City, will install and maintain the project. NYCwireless Executive Director Dana Speigel called Dumbo “one of the most advanced neighborhoods in New York City.”

Soon all of New York City’s parks will offer free wifi. On Thursday, June 9, Mayor Bloomberg and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson announced a five-year initiative to provide free Wi-Fi service at 26 locations in 20 New York City parks across the five boroughs, at no cost to the city.

AT&T Wi-Fi is now available in Battery Bosque in Battery Park, the north-end playground in Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx, and around the recreation center at Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem, with 23 additional park locations to follow throughout the summer.

The Brooklyn Parks to become wireless:

Brooklyn Bridge Park, Fort Greene Park, Herbert Von King Park, McCarren Park and Prospect Park

“The addition of Wi-Fi to parks across the city, specifically Thomas Jefferson Park [in East Harlem], will give people the opportunity to experience internet access that they may otherwise not have had, making things like job searching an easier,” State Senator Serrano said.

The AT&T initiative advances some of the goals of Road Map for the Digital City, the comprehensive strategy to make New York the nation’s leading digital city. Bloomberg announced the initiative in May. Road Map for the Digital City seeks to improve industry, citizen engagement, public access, and government transparency through the use of technology.

Read the full NYC Wi-Fi press release.