Monday, June 25, 2007

Bronx Nonprofit Champions Broadband




The Bronx is steadily developing a reputation for being the home to nonprofits and businesses that make strides in bringing broadband telecommunication to all its residents. In 2006, Wired For Success profiled South Bronx Overall Economic Development Organization (SOBRO), Urban Television and Video, Per Scholas and the Digital Divide Partnership. Now it’s Mt. Hope Housing Company (Mt. Hope) and its CEO, Shaun Belle, that are in the news. Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) nominated Mt. Hope and two other New York entities for the 2007 Intelligent Facility Award. While the award went to another nominee (see Our Time Press, June 1, 2007), it is some feat to be recognized from contenders located across the globe.
Mt. Hope, a community development organization, set up a broadband network among its thirty-two buildings. The pilot project started in 2003 and included eight buildings. The original design consisted of one building serving as the base station. It was installed with CAT-6 cables, switches and routers located in the basement. Then, T-1 equivalent wiring runs up and through the walls to give juice to each apartment, ending at the roof. The roof was outfitted with a wireless access point that receives and transmits signals. This central building served the surrounding seven buildings that have antennae. These eight buildings permit two hundred low-income households to have high-speed Internet access. By 2007, all thirty-two Mt. Hope properties are wired using this configuration. Mt. Hope delivers online human services, business services and education services to 1,200 households. The current offerings are the family asset-building program and senior citizen computer training.

David Elcock, a Mt. Hope board member, stated, “Residents are charged between $12.00 and $20.00 for Internet access supplied by Verizon and DirecTV sends signals to the buildings. The cost to install the network was cheaper than a project of similar scope done in Manhattan.” This broadband infrastructure project was made possible through the concerted effort of Mt. Hope CEO Shaun Belle, One Economy, BCT Partners, and Dot Org Technologies. One Economy is a seven-year old national nonprofit whose mission is to maximize the potential of technology to help low income people improve their lives and enter the economic mainstream. One Economy’s Board of Directors include executives from Fannie Mae, Wired magazine, Cisco Systems, and the FCC. Elcock explains that what was “key to making the project affordable was Cisco Systems’ donation of switches and routers as well as the contracted installers agreeing to comparably lower pay scales.”

If Shaun Belle has his way, Mt. Hope will continue its drive in real estate development, family asset-building and broadband infrastructure expansion. Belle is a graduate of Howard University and Columbia University Institute for Nonprofit Management. He has served on boards of many community and economic development organizations and he is currently the Chairman of the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee. The NYC Broadband Advisory Committee was created to advise the mayor and the City Council on how to bring affordable broadband to all New York City residents, nonprofits and businesses. This committee will hold public hearings in all five boroughs to learn what’s at stake in making a high-speed Internet connection accessible to all New Yorkers.

It was the seat on the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee, followed by the Intelligent Facility nomination that brought Shaun Belle and The Bronx back into this columnist’s view. What is the Bronx and its nonprofits doing that the other boroughs need to do more of? In fact, The Bronx Borough President, Adolfo Carrion, hosted the first NYC Broadband Advisory Committee public hearing. One might have assumed Manhattan would have launched the public hearings. It’s home to Silicon Alley; it has the widest cable coverage and Councilwoman Gale Brewer, chair of the Committee on Technology in Government, represents the Upper West Side and Clinton. Is it a perception or a fact that The Bronx leads the way in bridging the digital divide? Keep reading this column for the answer.

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Friday, June 15, 2007

Life Takes Anything--It's Visa That's The Kicker


When I see the Visa Check Card commercials, my warning antennae go up and flutter furiously. They are masterfully staged and choreographed. The film and lighting brings out the most brilliant notes of color from the food, beverage, merchandise and retail outlet fixtures. The music calls to mind Looney Tune cartoons of the 40's and 50's. The music evokes industry and efficiency. There is one called "Garden Store." Life is so perfect that water hoses shoot the water up in the air, the water arcs and lands precisely in the awaiting flower pots. Potted plant buyers whisk pass the lady at the debit/credit processing box. Life is as it should be: the consumers make purchases and the retailer rakes it in.

Everything runs a-foul when a consumer tries to pay other than with the Visa Check Card. In the "Garden Store" ad when a lady begins to write a check, the flowers wilt in their pots. The ad entitled, "The One with The Cash" has something like a multi-car pile up, except its humans holding food-ladened trays. Once, the odd cash carrying customer receives his change, the scene returns to normalcy--food selected, card swiped and bank account charged. There's a pizza store in the Fulton Mall, off of Adam Street in downtown Brooklyn that operates similarly during lunch time but they still accept cash. There's one worker whose job it is to bang his hand on the counter and cry "Next!"

What concerns me is the emergence of the cashless society. Many science fiction shows of the 70's and 80's have treated the subject. The cashless society is on the cusp and society still doesn't have a grip on identity theft, computer hacking or system crashes. Heaven forbid a transnational corporation relied on Windows or Vista for its total network. The Visa Check Card advertisements states, "Life takes faster money. Life takes Visa." With computer glitches and compromises around, perhaps we should slow down.

Earlier this morning, a colleague experienced such a glitch. Mirielle Massac, PR Director for Child Development Support Corporation, thought she had reserved a U Haul truck the night before. She walks into the local U Haul center to pick up the truck. They had no record of the order. Massac had called just after they closed and so her call was bounced from the local retailer's phone number to the central call center. She gave her name and credit card number. U Haul gave her a confirmation number. It's good that she wrote the number down. She had to retrieve it to use it as proof for the U Haul center down the street.

Can you imagine how frequently such incidents would occur if, people actually fell into plastic dependency? Imagine a time where there are no greenbacks and checks--just electronic money and online account statements. Yes, I grew up on "Night Gallery", "The Outer Limits" and "Twilight Zone". I also see occasionally 48 Hours, 60 Minutes and Dateline. Me? I say, "Let the cashier do his work." Life is at your pace.

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Monday, June 4, 2007

Nothing Like A Great Vacation





There's nothing like a great vacation to take your conscious mind from work to beautiful scenery and beautiful people. I went to West Palm Beach to visit a beautiful person. He served me great food like salad, Alaska King Crab, bacalao and wine. Yes, I was off the vegetarian plate while away.

West Palm Beach didn't seem small but it is compared to New York. It's unofficial population is about 100,000. New York has over 8 million. Maybe it was the palm trees, the sun and the one-story homes spread across lots that had it look big. West Palm Beach does cover a lot of ground. Sweet West Palm Beach has a performing arts center, civic center, comedy club, bars, restaurants, golf courses, beaches and radio stations that pump the volume. While there, "Just For Sistahs" exhibition featured a locked hair fashion show, a tango demonstration, a gospel singer, Tank and Rachel Brown. There were other attractions but what I must confess is that I didn't know beautiful Rachel Brown nor crazy Tank.

Yes, too much WBAI and not enough knowing what other people are thinking about. Rachel Brown's lyrics are full of hope and empowerment. Tank reminds me of R. Kelly. It surprised me to see grown sisters clamouring after this guy. Well, to each his own.

The many lockticians at this event assured me there were cultural folks who wanted an expert to keep them looking good. Hopefully, beautiful crowns cover beautiful minds.

Coming back from the trip--my play face on--it occurred to me the diffferent promotional ideas for my business that I hadn't used. If it were for a client, the ideas would flow like a river but for Planning To Succeed, there must be some beavers busy building their dams in my mind. That's what vacations do take your conscious mind of the regular so that ideas in the subconscious can seep out.

For my beautiful friend in Florida, be blessed.






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