Open Thread Wednesday

Tuesday night’s meeting to discuss the FIOS rollout was chaired by representatives of Common Cause and Consumers Union, and a representative from borough president Eric Adams’s office, and attended by some 40 people, a dozen or more of whom spoke about their unsuccessful attempts to get FIOS.

Every speaker was articulate on the subject. It quickly became clear that our struggle to get Verizon even to give us information about getting FIOS — much less actually get it — is a common one. It further became clear that Verizon has breached its agreement to provide FIOS to NYC within the contractually required time frame.

The neighborhoods represented included Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Park Slope, East New York, Williamsburg, and Bedford Stuyvesant. Everyone had had the same experience. A couple of speakers were landlords who have had no better luck getting FIOS for their buildings– or even getting a response from Verizon about when they can get FIOS — than anyone else. (One of Verizon’s excuses for failure to follow up on requests for FIOS has been that they must be made by building owners, who must provide access.)

A Verizon representative read a statement from the company about how wonderful they are and how hard they’re working. Perhaps more usefully, he asked us to email an address ‘specially created for tonight’s event to ‘find out the status of FIOS availability in your building’.

That address is: BrooklynFIOS@verizon.com

Some of us have already sent our requests to this address and have gotten no response, but I suggest we flood them with emails to make sure they know that we will not accept their complacency and incapability to bring 21st century communications to Brooklyn and the rest of NYC. I am ashamed that the greatest city in the world is behind many European, and even some “third world” countries in this endeavor.

Please email it ASAP, because Verizon says it “will accept status requests until 11/24/15″. In other words, only for the next SEVEN DAYS!

The Common Cause and Consumers Union representatives said we should also register our complaints about FIOS to the city by calling 311. A city audit has found Verizon hasn’t fulfilled its obligations under its contract with NYC and every complaint is useful in supporting that finding and holding Verizon accountable — especially since the city is about to start negotiating a renewal of that contract.

For more information, contact Josh Mumm at JMumm@commoncause.org, or Josh Levin at JoshuaLevin@BrooklynBP.nyc.gov

To receive updates, sign the petition at http://www.waiting4Fios.nyc

who knows what’s under all the boxes, bags chairs, carts
and we are concerned about unattended stuff?

in 20 + years this is the worse I’ve seen it on Joralemon with the encampment

well, sorry I exist now-you have shamed me, just a regular taxpayer who thinks Target carts should be at Target and the city should try to help the homeless find a better place than under the scaffolding-shame on me
you and Bernie and DeB have all shamed me
guess Ill just keep volunteering and paying taxes and hiding from you since I’m heartless and look down on everyone
(being a dog doesn’t help)

I have a french translator who assists