Over 100 GoogleServe Volunteers Together with Citizens Committee For NYC, RI Garden Club & iDig2Learn Spruce Up, Restore and Beautify NYC HHC Coler Hospital Roosevelt Island Campus

On June 20, volunteers from Google joined with Roosevelt Island's iDig2Learn, the Roosevelt Island Garden Club, Citizens Committee for NYC and many other volunteers to help beautify the NYC Health & Hospitals Corp Coler Hospital campus.

@CitizensNYC gave our neighborhood the gift of @Google uplifting Coler's large scale green space for resident patients, visitors, hospital staff & even butterflies & birds to enjoy! Thank you #GoogleServe #LoveYourCity @Rooseveltisland https://t.co/AX2ryvwLzn

— iDig2Learn (@iDig2Learn) June 23, 2018

Roosevelt Island resident and iDig2Learn Founder Christina Delfico reports:

As iDig2Learn celebrates its sixth year, founder Christina Delfico submits its latest community win.

Recently, iDig2Learn had the chance to organize something really big, think Google big, think major New York City hospital, big.

It was like a giant green snowball, starting with a casual conversation in the garden, building up exponentially, pulling in more and more local talent. Listening and dreaming until we became an unstoppable force.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on New York City including the northern tip of Roosevelt Island and the hospital. This was the same year I had met the local public school, their PTA, and the youth center to see if there would be interest in my new initiative, the iDig2Learn educational science garden program. Little did I know, six years later, I would get a chance to help undo some of the storm’s damage and work side by side the caring people of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler and extend the good work of neighborhood green garden groups.

I am so grateful to so many different neighbors who helped out including Dawn Price, Janine Schaefer, Maria Starkova, Judy Berdy, Vaughn Anglesey, the Roosevelt Island Garden Club (RICG) and Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors (GRIN) and for the corporate support for iDig2Learn from Citizens Committee for New York City (CCNYC) and Google. It is as if CCNYC had a magic green wand matching us up with huge corporate friends to make our neighborhood dreams come true.

“Over 100 Googlers joined us and dedicated their time and energy to sprucing up the grounds of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler here on Roosevelt Island,”

Photo credit: Olya Turcihin

said Peter H. Kostmayer, CEO of Citizens Committee for New York City. “We are so grateful to Google for their participation in our Love Your City volunteer program, which supports impactful projects led by regular New Yorkers through additional funding and volunteer power provided by dedicated corporate citizens. Special thanks to our Neighborhood Grants recipient and local community improvement steward iDig2Learn, an intergenerational volunteer group whose remarkable projects include creating an urban food forest to address food insecurity as well as developing Roosevelt Island’s first and only monarch butterfly corridor.”

It was a great day. There was this wave of over hundred and thirty Google volunteers, or Googlers,

Photo credit: Olya Turcihin

as they referred to themselves, who arrived for garden work wearing Google T-shirts, smiles and can-do attitudes. They came in two shifts, with about seventy Googlers arriving in the morning and then another large group in the afternoon.

The vision was clear, build off the existing beauty of the seven grand Magnolia trees within Coler’s green space, repair or remove what was broken, add a fresh coat of paint and plant hundreds of flowers.

Photo Credit Olya Turcihin

Some Googlers would sand benches then stain the wood and paint the metal legs, others would assemble piece-by-piece raised beds that had arrived in boxes and were built to be wheelchair accessible, still more would dig out large swaths of grassy areas to create meadows of pollinator-friendly wildflowers to attract butterflies.

Read more »

Report From Cornell NYC Tech VP Cathy Dove To Roosevelt Island Community, First Beta Class Of Students Begins Studies At Temporary Chelsea Campus In Google HQ - Also Science Of Ice Cream Making In Honor Of NYC Tech Campus

Cornell NYC Tech Vice President Cathy Dove

Image of Ms. Dove at December 12 CB 8 Land Use Committee Public Hearing

sends this report to the Roosevelt Island community.

I hope that everyone on Roosevelt Island had a great holiday season and a happy new year, and that your 2013 is off to a great start. This has been an extraordinarily exciting season for Cornell Tech, with major milestones on both the physical development of the campus on Roosevelt Island and the launch of our innovative new academic program.

First, I’d like to share an enormous thank you to so many of you for your ongoing support of Cornell Tech and for your participation in the public review process. As you may know, Community Board 8 echoed this support with the very positive vote at the end of December in favor of the campus plan. The public review process now continues with review by the Borough President this month, followed by the City Planning Commission and the City Council. We remain on schedule to break ground in the beginning of 2014 and to open the first phase of the campus in 2017.

The public review process – formally known as ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) is focused on proposed land use actions that govern how the campus develops and relates to the Island through zoning. However, as described in earlier columns, we have been using this process to work with Islanders to understand what is important to the community on a broad range of topics. In this spirit, Cornell Tech has committed to a long list of voluntary actions that will benefit the entire community, from making campus space available to community groups, to preserving the Goldwater Hospital murals and working on a series of programs to bring tech education to the Island’s middle school children.

I’m very excited to share our latest news. We reached a very important milestone this week at our temporary campus in Chelsea. On Monday, our first class of students – what we’re calling the “beta class” – began their studies at our temporary Chelsea campus. The small and highly selective class is made up of Computer Science Master of Engineering students with the highest academic credentials who represent a wide range of experience and backgrounds. What they have in common is an entrepreneurial spirit and an interest in using technology to improve the world in some way.

We have some amazing faculty already on board to teach the students, including Professor Deborah Estrin, an applied sciences pioneer and member of the National Academy of Engineering. In addition, students will work with Professor Rajit Manohar, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Cornell Tech, who has significant experience in collaborations with industry, is an entrepreneur and was named one of the top 35 innovators under 35 by the MIT Technology Review, and Serge Belongie, who was named one of the top 100 young technology innovators by MIT Technology Review. These engineering faculty will be joined by leading faculty from the business school who will be teaching business and entrepreneurship to the students

The academic program is similar to a business or law school curriculum in its structure, with courses conducted on Mondays through Thursdays, and Fridays used for a novel new practicum on “Entrepreneurial Life” composed of interactive workshops and activities in topics including design and technology, social entrepreneurship and leadership skills. In addition to the formal curriculum, the program will provide numerous opportunities for engagement with industry, practitioners, and community members; each student will undertake a masters project working closely with a mentor from a company, nonprofit or early stage investor in addition to having an academic advisor.

Cornell Tech’s Dean, Dan Huttenlocher, and our Chief Entrepreneurial Officer, Greg Pass, the former CTO of Twitter, have been working hard to craft this curriculum and build the partnerships with industry that will set the Cornell Tech experience apart and benefit New York’s tech sector. We are already working with an exciting roster of organizations, from major tech companies to startups, from not-for-profits to architectural firms. The program embraces the idea that technology is prevalent in all industries and facets of our life, and our students will have the opportunity to engage in a great breadth of experiences.

As you can see, we are embracing the momentum and excitement surrounding this new campus and moving quickly to make it a reality. At the same time, we’re taking the time to be thoughtful and deliberate in how we’re proceeding, both in the creation of an academic program and in the way that we’re planning our campus on Roosevelt Island.

As reported last week,  Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer conditionally approved the Cornell NYC Tech application which is now being reviewed by the City Planning Commission with a Public Hearing scheduled for February 6.

More information on the Cornell NYC Tech Beta Class available from this January 22 Press Release:

Cornell Tech today announced the entrance of its “beta” class, the first full-time students pursuing a one-year Cornell Master of Engineering degree in computer science in New York City. The small and highly selective beta class is made up of eight students who bring a wide range of experience and backgrounds but share an entrepreneurial spirit and outstanding academic credentials. The program is being housed at Cornell Tech’s temporary campus location in Chelsea, in space donated by Google. In 2017, the campuswill move to its permanent home on Roosevelt Island.

“We couldn’t be more excited with the level of talent that has been attracted to Cornell Tech to launch this innovative new program in the heart of New York City,” said Dan Huttenlocher, Dean of Cornell Tech. “Our beta class will help shape the campus moving forward, and this group has the entrepreneurial spirit and technical talent to go out and make a difference in the world.”

“It’s hard to believe that just more than a year after being chosen to create this campus, we are already welcoming our first class of students,” said Cornell Tech Vice President Cathy Dove. “Our temporary campus in Chelsea is already buzzing with activity, even as we continue working with our future neighbors on Roosevelt Island on the development of our permanent campus.”

“When fully built, Cornell Tech will ultimately revolutionize New York City’s economy for the long term,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “But the school is also having an immediate impact, attracting the next generation of talented engineers and boosting the City’s growingreputation as a world-renowned hub of the technology sector.”

The new tech campus is offering a distinctive model of graduate tech education that fuses educational excellence with real-world commercial applications and technology entrepreneurship, rooted in the latest academic research. Students, faculty and industry experts will learn and work together to launch ideas and create new ventures that have global impact. The campus will attract the best and brightest in technology, immerse them in an entrepreneurial culture with deep ties to the local business community, and spur the creation of new companies and new industries in New York City.

Academic courses will be conducted on Mondays through Thursdays, with Fridays used for a novel new practicum on “Entrepreneurial Life”, composed of interactive workshops and activities. In addition to the formal curriculum, the program will provide numerous opportunities for engagement with industry, practitioners, and community members; each student will undertake a master’s project working closely with a mentor from a company, nonprofit or early stage investor in addition to having an academic advisor.

Future one-year Cornell professional master degree programs are planned in the fields of electrical and computer engineering, information science, and operations research and information engineering, as well as a tech-oriented one-year MBA. Planning is also underway for an innovative new two-year Master of Science dual degree offered by Cornell and its academic partner, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. This new program will combine depth in information technology fields with domain expertise in one of the three interdisciplinary focal areas or “hubs”: connective media, healthier life, or the built environment. All degrees will reflect the mission of the campus, of technical excellence with a focus on collaborative projects, industry mentors, and entrepreneurship/business.

The launch of the beta class is another major milestone for the campus, a new world-class graduate education and research campus being created by Cornell University and its academic partner, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, after being chosen as the winner of New York City’s Applied Sciences competition in December 2011. Cornell Tech is rapidly rolling out new academic programs, recruiting star faculty, developing a distinctive new model of tech entrepreneurship, and designing its permanent campus on Roosevelt Island.

and WNYC NY Tech City Blog interview with Cornell Dean Dan Huttenlocher



Cornell recently conducted an ice cream making food science competition for its students with a theme of the NYC Tech campus.



Perhaps the Cornell Ice Cream flavors can be sold at Roosevelt Island's own Coach Scot's Main Street Sweets shop?

Video Announcing Cornell Technion NYC Tech School Leasing Space At Google Headquarters - Will Larry and Sergey Come Visit Roosevelt Island Soon And Test The Google Self Driving Cars On Roosevelt Island?

As reported earlier today, NYC Mayor Bloomberg, Google CEO Larry Page and Cornell President David Skorton announced:

... that Google will allocate 22,000 square feet of its New York headquarters to CornellNYC Tech, while the university completes its campus on Roosevelt Island. The space will allow Cornell to build its presence in New York in close proximity to the tech companies and entrepreneurs with whom it will collaborate. This arrangement represents Google, Cornell, Technion and the City of New York’s commitment to educating and developing engineering and tech talent in New York City. Google will initially provide Cornell with 22,000 square feet of office space on July 1, 2012, free of charge for 5 years and 6 months or until the completion of Cornell’s campus on Roosevelt Island—whichever occurs first....

Below is the video of today's announcement including President Skorton's remarks about getting to know Roosevelt Island and its history of innovation



as well as the full announcement with Questions and Answers.

You Tube Video of Cornell Google Announcement

More on the Cornell Technion plans for Roosevelt Island campus at this previous post and don't forget the project's Scope Of Work meeting tomorrow night 5 PM 6:30 PM at the Manhattan Park Community Center.

Info on Google's self driving cars available here.

Cornell Technion NYC Tech Campus Temporary Home To Be At Google Headquarters Before Moving To Permanent Roosevelt Island Campus in 2017 - Scope Of Work Meeting Tomorrow

 Image From Brad Bender Tweet

NYC Mayor's Office just tweeted:

CEO Larry Page announces @CornellTechNYC campus will be based at @google NYC headquarters for next five years #jobs
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) May 21, 2012

Here's the press release from Mayor Bloomberg's office:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Google Inc. CEO Larry Page and Cornell President David J. Skorton today announced that Google will allocate 22,000 square feet of its New York headquarters to CornellNYC Tech, while the university completes its campus on Roosevelt Island. The space will allow Cornell to build its presence in New York in close proximity to the tech companies and entrepreneurs with whom it will collaborate. This arrangement represents Google, Cornell, Technion and the City of New York’s commitment to educating and developing engineering and tech talent in New York City. Google will initially provide Cornell with 22,000 square feet of office space on July 1, 2012, free of charge for 5 years and 6 months or until the completion of Cornell’s campus on Roosevelt Island—whichever occurs first. Additionally, Cornell will be able to expand to 58,000 square feet over five years as it builds its presence in New York City. The Mayor made the announcement at Google New York, where he was also joined by Technion’s Director Craig Gotsman, Representative Carolyn Maloney, Representative Jerrold Nadler and Council Member Jessica Lappin.

“We’re about to find out what happens when you marry one of the world’s most innovative companies with one of the most innovative economic development strategies any city has undertaken,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “When we first envisioned the Applied Sciences initiative, we hoped the winning school would establish strong relationships with the tech sector. But this kind of synergy is beyond anything we could have imagined. CornellNYC Tech is well on its way to being fully integrated into New York City’s vibrant tech industry, and Google’s support is another huge vote of confidence for that industry. Just a few years ago, our tech sector was barely on anyone’s radar screen – now, it’s creating jobs and becoming a major player in our diversified economy.”

“I’m passionate about breaking ground in science and engineering because technology has driven many of the advances humankind has made,” said Google CEO Larry Page. “But we still don’t have enough people working in these areas. It’s why I am tremendously pleased that Google is giving Cornell the office space to get their new engineering university up and running in New York City.”

“We are proud to be launching CornellNYC Tech in what is becoming the center of the tech world,” said Cornell President David J. Skorton. “The one missing ingredient has been a pipeline of top-level tech talent, and that is what the tech campus will provide. Building on Mayor Bloomberg’s vision, we are creating a new academic model for this time, this place and this industry. The key is engagement between world class academics, companies and early-stage investors to catalyze innovation. That’s what we’ll be creating on Roosevelt Island, and thanks to Google it’s what will be happening here starting this fall.”

“We are delighted to launch our exciting programs with Cornell University in the Google building,” said Technion President Peretz Lavie. “This space provides the optimal environment for the education and nurturing of technical talent. This is a major step towards the fulfillment of Mayor Bloomberg’s vision to seed the city with entrepreneurs and start-ups. We at Technion are confident that our academic partnership with Cornell University will help build the city’s tech ecosystem and boost this sector of the economy.”

Though classes do not begin until the fall, CornellNYC Tech has already made enormous progress since being chosen as the winner of the City’s Applied Sciences competition in December. Leadership of the new campus has been named, including Dean Dan Huttenlocher and Vice President Cathy Dove. Earlier this month, Cornell chose Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne to design the first academic building on the Roosevelt Island campus. A town hall forum was held on Roosevelt Island in April, just one of many opportunities for residents to get to know more about how the campus will benefit the entire Island.

“Mayor Bloomberg’s Applied Sciences initiative centered around the idea of linking academic excellence with economic development and job creation, and the location of CornellNYC at Google during the construction of the Roosevelt Island campus will be a living testament to that idea,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel. “We appreciate Google’s commitment to New York City through this generous donation of space in the heart of New York’s tech renaissance.”

“In December, the Bloomberg Administration, Cornell University, and the Technion created an historic public-private partnership to transform our economy for generations to come,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky. “With the addition of Google, one of the world’s undisputed leaders in technology, this partnership has risen to even greater heights. The first wave of talented students to arrive in New York will immediately find themselves integrated within our City’s growing tech sector, gaining first-hand knowledge of what is required to create cutting-edge technologies and new businesses. I would like to thank Google, as well as Cornell and the Technion, for their commitment to our City’s future as the global hub of innovation.”

“Google stepping up to the plate and providing CornellNYC Tech with start-up space, while its Roosevelt Campus is built, will make sure that when one googles ‘tech hub,’ New York City is the top hit,” said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. “The already emerging partnership between New York’s tech community and our new engineering school bodes well for creating a more robust technology cluster that will make the Big Apple the country’s leading center for technology. The mayor’s leadership in pushing for the establishment of this school and Google’s willingness to play such a vital role in jump starting it should be commended.”

“No other city is poised to lead in the high-tech economy of the future like New York City,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand. “Thanks to Google’s helping hand and strong partnership with Cornell and Technion, we are one step closer to seeing CornellNYC Tech come to fruition, bringing world-class engineering talent right here in the heart of the Big Apple. I thank Mayor Bloomberg for his efforts in ensuring that we’re growing innovative leaders to compete and win in the global economy.”

“I look forward to the day when CornellNYC Tech opens its doors on Roosevelt Island, but in the meantime, Google’s Manhattan offices will provide a wonderful home for the school during its incubation phase,” said Representative Maloney. “It’s yet another example of Cornell’s determination and commitment to launching this exciting new academic venture – and its ability to make connections with the best of the best. And it’s also a sign of the open arms with which New York’s high-tech community is welcoming New York City’s newest institution of higher education. Today’s announcement signals a win-win for Cornell, Technion, Google – and New York!”

“Today’s announcement is wonderful news,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler. “With the generosity of Google providing space in its building, Cornell and the Technion will now be able to provide New York City with a world-class applied sciences campus. I thank everyone for working together and enabling New York City to become the high-tech capital of the world.”

“Google and Cornell-Technion are a match made in heaven,” said Council Member Lappin. “I want to thank Google for opening its doors while we get the school’s permanent home ready on Roosevelt Island.”

WOW.

More on the Cornell Technion plans for Roosevelt Island campus at this previous post and dont' forget the project's Scope Of Work meeting tomorrow night 5 PM 6:30 PM at the Manhattan Park Community Center.

UPDATE 4:40 PM - Have video of today's Cornell Google announcement.

Each Passing Day Appears More Likely That The Next Google May Be Developed On Roosevelt Island - Larry Page and Sergey Brin Support Stanford's Bid To Build NYC Applied Sciences & Engineering School

Image Of Google's Sergey Brin & Larry Page From Red Herring

Way back in February of 2011, I asked almost in disbelief:

Will Roosevelt Island follow in the footsteps of San Francisco's Bay area Silicon Valley to become New York City's Silicon Island? How about the next Sergey Brin and Larry Page starting the new Google from right here on Roosevelt Island? Is that possible? Well, hold on to your hats because it may very well happen sometime in the not too distant future....

Each passing day it appears more likely that Roosevelt Island will be home to the proposed New York City Applied Sciences & Engineering School and that Stanford and Cornell Universities are the two top contenders to be selected by NY City to build the school. Earlier this week, Cornell unveiled plans for a state of the art sustainable energy campus. Yesterday, Stanford brought out their Ultimate Weapon - Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin lending their support for Stanford's bid to build the NYC Applied Sciences & Engineering School. In the video below, Mr. Page and Mr. Brin explain Stanford's unique culture of innovation and entrepreneurship that created so many great businesses and jobs. Stanford Daily reports:

... The video, titled “Stanford’s Tradition of Innovation,” lasts three and a half minutes, and does not mention the NYC campus until the last 30 seconds. During the rest of video, Page and Brin discuss starting Google at Stanford and the University’s reputation for being a launching ground for major technology companies.

“I think Stanford is a really unique place,” Page said in the video. “Looking at Hewlett-Packard, Sun-Microsystems, Cisco, Yahoo, Excite, it’s really bred an enormous number of very important companies in the technology world. And I don’t think it’s an accident. I think there’s a culture of entrepreneurship at Stanford on a scale I haven’t seen elsewhere.”

Brin then said while he “love[s] New York,” he feels “one of the things that it is missing is this top-notch university-industry symbiosis.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen this same kind of scale in research and commercialization, pretty much anywhere outside of Stanford,” he continued....

Google Founders on Stanford's Culture of Entrepreneurship via Stanford NYC

According to the Press Release announcing NYC plan seeking an Applied Sciences & Engineering School:

... “Adding a new, world-class applied sciences facility to New York City’s already impressive science and technology community is critical to staying globally competitive,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Pinsky. “Such a facility would not only enrich our research capabilities, but it would also lead to commercialization, expanding our City’s dynamic economy. Investing in innovation is the key to keeping our economy robust, diverse and growing, and this initiative is a strong demonstration of the City’s commitment to making these kinds of investments.”...

No academic institution knows how to commercialize research projects better than Stanford. Ask Google.

Hope to see you here on Roosevelt Island soon Larry and Sergey!!!!!!!

More on the proposed Roosevelt Island NYC Applied Sciences & Engineering School from earlier post.

UPDATE 11 PM - Images of Stanford's proposed Roosevelt Island NYC Applied Sciences & Engineering School Campus here.

Google Ultra High Speed Broadband Service For Roosevelt Island In Exchange For Tram Naming Rights & Access To NYC Media Market? What A Deal!!!!!!

Google Roosevelt Island Tram Cabin In Exchange For Ultra High Broadband?

As reported in this earlier post via Google:

Google is planning to launch an experiment that we hope will make Internet access better and faster for everyone. We plan to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. Our networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We'll offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

From now until March 26th, we're asking interested municipalities to provide us with information about their communities through a Request for information (RFI), which we'll use to determine where to build our network.

Communities all over America are extolling their virtues vying to be a recipient of Google's ultra high speed Internet service.

According to the NY Times:

...The mayor of Duluth, Minn., threw himself into the ice-ringed waters of Lake Superior. The mayor of Sarasota, Fla., immersed himself in a tank filled with bonnethead sharks, simply to one-up him. The mayor of Wilmington, N.C., said that he would even jump out of an airplane — with a parachute, of course....

and Mashable reports:

...First there was Topeka, KS, which renamed itself by proclamation to Google, KS. Then Duluth, MN upped the ante by promising (comedically, we hope) to name all the town’s first-born children after Google. Then Greenville, SC entered the fray with their all-out “We Are Feeling Lucky” social media campaign that included a landing page, YouTube channel, Facebook events, and Twitter hashtag....

This earlier post suggested Roosevelt Island would be a great place for Google to select. What does Roosevelt Island bring to the table in exchange for being a Google ultra high speed broadband test community? Despite being a small urban community of approximately 13,000, we are in the world's largest media market and could generate unlimited global publicity and exposure to Google while at the same time being an Island in the East River having a limited geographic region to wire.

Another factor, Roosevelt Island is under the political jurisdiction of a single governmental entity, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), which has the ability, if it wishes, to move quickly with little bureaucratic impediments. Also, two hospitals on the Island, Coler Goldwater Hospital, with Cornell-Weill and New York Presbyterian Hospital right across the East River could participate by experimenting with medical usage of ultra high speed broadband access.

Let's not forget that the Roosevelt Island Tram is a major New York City tourist attraction with people from all over the world viewing the fantastic skyline and waterfront views as they ride it over the East River. After the Tram's six month modernization program is completed in September, it will be one of the most advanced municipal aerial transportation systems in the world.

So here's the deal for Google. Select Roosevelt Island as a community for your ultra high speed broadband Internet service and you will receive all of the benefits of being in the New York City media market plus have a GOOGLE TRAM. What could be better than that!

Roosevelt Island Tram Image Minus Google Logo from Dan Dickinson

If necessary, RIOC President Steve Shane may be persuaded, like the Mayors of Deluth and Sarasota respectively, to throw himself into bone chilling ice water, swim with sharks or whatever the Roosevelt Island equivalent would be - perhaps dodging Verdant Power's East River water turbines.

Could Roosevelt Island Be A Site For Google's New Ultra High Speed Internet Broadband Network - Hey Google, Give Us A Try

You Tube Video of Google's Experimental Fiber Network

Since Google decided not to send it's Street View Trike to Roosevelt Island last year, here's a second chance for Google to use Roosevelt Island as a site for one of it's new products. A tech savvy reader sends in this message:

First, the link: http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi

Looks like Google is planning to become a Internet Service Provider. At current, they are going to test out their fiber service in small communities and I think our "microcosmic Manhattan" could be a great candidate for this project. Since Google is planning service up to 1 gb/s (roughly 100x what most Americans experience currently) at a "competitive price", this could be just the right kind of competition to push all other service providers out of their stagnant pricing and bandwidth caps.

Because I don't have enough information on the status of broadband connectivity on the island, I am reluctant to fill out the info form on the website. I am also unsure about the willingness of our community to get more connected. Also, I'm not sure what the availability of fiber optic connection is for the buildings on the island. I believe the Octagon is fiber-ready and that's already a ~500 resident market.

I hope that by posting this on the blog we can get the word out to the residents. Not to forget the community leaders who may have a bit more knowledge and influence to bring such a revolutionary project to our little island. It seems like Roosevelt Island has been welcoming these kinds of projects lately (namely, the electric water turbine project from Verdant Power) and we could add to our image of a progressive and positive leader in these eco/techno-logical times.

While RI is technically part of Manhattan and NYC, I think that we may have a better chance of obtaining a top spot in this experiment because of our "small community in a big city" nature. It would be more difficult to implement a project like this in any other borough since they are so dense.

Of course this is not a totally altruistic cause, I know that I and many other people would love a higher bandwidth at lower prices; what with all the internet TV and gaming and media-heavy applications now in use.

Thanks for reading my long email. I just saw this on a blog today and thought this would be a great opportunity for our community.

I asked RIOC Director Jonathan Kalkin what he thought of the idea for Roosevelt Island. Mr. Kalkin likes the idea and replied:

Yes. I saw this the other day on gizmodo and was going to address it at the operations meeting. It looks interesting. From their page it states that anyone can file and government cooperation would be helpful.

I also like some of the initiatives that Google has incorporated on their campus like solar powered parking areas and options for plug-in electric cars. Perhaps this could be a relationship that would branch into other opportunities.

The response deadline is March 26. Governments and communities can respond to Google's Fiber service here.

More on Google's experimental fiber network plan from the NY Times:

Google said Wednesday that it would offer ultrahigh-speed Internet access in some communities in a test that could showcase the kinds of things that would be possible if the United States had faster broadband networks...

The Washington Post adds:

... In experimenting with broadband access, the company said, Google would create networks in a select number of communities across the country to deliver Internet service directly to homes at 1 gigabit per second. Google plans to request proposals from municipalities to determine what areas would be part of the experiment. It said it would pay for the construction and operation of the networks and charge consumers rates that would be competitive with other service providers.

The trials would involve relatively compact areas, the company said, with the networks reaching at least 50,000 and up to 500,000 people. The District has a population of about 591,000...

UPDATE 2/19 - Good News. RIOC and RIRA both agreed to provide information and apply to be a test community for Google's new high speed broadband ISP service. RIOC Director Jonathan Kalkin and RIRA President Frank Farance are both highly interested in this service and will take lead in effort.