Activist & Social Justice Groups Call on City to Modify Cable Franchise Agreement with Verizon

• by Common Cause of New York

NEW YORK, NY (05/20/2008)(readMedia)-- Common Cause/New York and People’s Production House joined together today to call on the New York City’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) to extend its public comment period regarding the cable franchise agreement by and between The City of New York and Verizon New York by 120 days.

The 12-year franchise agreement will permit Verizon to sell cable television service throughout the city along with its phone and Internet services. The agreement was negotiated by Verizon and the Mayor's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications behind closed doors, but the City Charter requires at least one public hearing before the deal is approved.

The May 20 hearing was not properly publicized, nor was the agreement itself sufficiently available to the public for review, the groups assert. The groups will take their requests directly to the members of the FCRC at the little-publicized hearing. The hearing will be held today, May 20, from 3-6pm at the New York City College of Technology, 285 Jay Street, Brooklyn.

“This cable franchise agreement, first and foremost, serves Verizon, not New Yorkers,” said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause /NY. “This franchise agreement is a valuable opportunity for New Yorkers to gain improved services and greatly expanded access to government information, but instead this $70 billion sweetheart deal, drawn up behind closed doors, will hold us over the barrel. The city should afford the public an opportunity to fully review the agreement by extending the date on which the city will approve the agreement by 120 days to mid-September. Additionally, we believe that Verizon should provide assurances to the people of New York City that, should it be granted this franchise, it will respect net neutrality.””

"This deal will have most New Yorkers waiting years for service. Verizon can wait a few months while the public weighs what may be the most important thing to happen to telecommunications in New York City for the next 20 years," said Joshua Breitbart, Policy Director of People's Production House.

In addition, the groups urge the FCRC not to approve the agreement with Verizon until the following issues are addressed:

- All government and educational programming should be made available through Video on Demand technology, greatly increasing the access everyday New Yorkers have to their government. These channels should be made available in high definition and not be treated as second tier resources.

- The Technology and Education Fund and should be dramatically increased, from its current pittance of $4 million for 5 boroughs over seven years.

- Verizon’s requirement to build-out services to lower-income communities must be dramatically improved. Simple language changes in the agreement could amount to dramatic improvements.

- NYC should establish a Cable Franchise Oversight Committee, as has been done in many municipalities throughout the country.

- The modified contract must include enforceable penalties built into the contract to insure adequate incentive for timely performance and incentive to correct problems.

- Consumer protections should be strengthened, including requirements related to Significant Outages, poor customer service, and missed service or installation appointments. The proposed agreement weakens established consumer protection standards.

The full testimony of each organization will be available on their website at http://www.commoncause.org/ny and http://www.peoplesproductionhouse.org.

Common Cause/NY is a non-partisan citizen’s lobby whose goal is open and accountable government.

People's Production House is a comprehensive media justice organization serving New York City, Washington DC, and the Gulf Coast.

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