Brooklyn Tech Triangle

Downtown Brooklyn + Dumbo + Navy Yard

Downtown Brooklyn Gets Wired

Dramatically expanding public WiFi throughout Downtown Brooklyn and bridging the cost of the “last mile” needed to bring fiber connectivity to office buildings in the district were key priorities outlined in the Brooklyn Tech Triangle Strategic Plan – which got a major boost today from Mayor Bloomberg.

At a press conference at MetroTech Center, the Mayor announced the winners of the Wireless Corridor Challenge to provide free public WiFi to commercial corridors throughout the City.

“If New York City is going remain competitive in the global economy, we must find ways to support the entrepreneurs who are driving technological advances and creating jobs,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “With these new initiatives, we are making targeted investments to improve our city’s wireless infrastructure and expand Internet access. We’re also measuring how connected our city’s buildings are and sharing that information, so that entrepreneurs are empowered to make the best decisions about where to open a business.”

Downtown Brooklyn was among five winners chosen, and our grant will allow us to provide WiFi to the area bordered by Schermerhorn Street, Cadman Plaza West, Flatbush Avenue, and Tillary Street, along with select public spaces in the NYCHA Ingersoll and Whitman Houses. BAM was also a winner, meaning the WiFi network will extend through the Cultural District along Fulton Street to Classon Avenue.

“The City’s visionary commitment to expanding access to wireless and broadband in commercial districts not only helps to support the growth of the innovation economy in Downtown Brooklyn, but also ensure that the entire Brooklyn Tech Triangle is a dynamic, engaging place for residents, workers, and students alike,” said Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Tucker Reed.

Over the next few weeks, Partnership staff will begin outreach to approximately 40 property owners in the neighborhood to use their buildings as wireless access points, which provides a host of benefits to building tenants – not to mention the entire neighborhood.

  • Tech Triangle
  • 09/30/2013
  • Blog

NYC Web Development Fellowship

Looking for a career in coding, but don’t have the training? Apply for the NYC Web Development Fellowship to get 12 weeks of FREE training from the Flatiron School. The campus will be located right here in the Brooklyn Tech Triangle.

Launched by the City’s Department of Small Business Services, the Fellowship is designed to help New Yorkers with little to no experience start a career in web development. Graduates from the Fellowship will be able to create web-based software applications that power internet services like Twitter, Tribeca Film Festival, and The New York Times.

This program will allow New Yorkers to get training at no cost – a program that normally charges students $12,000. Only 28 students will be selected for each class, and applications are due this Wednesday, so don’t delay!

In order to be eligible, you must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age
  • Live in New York City
  • Have no prior employment (full-time or part-time) as a web developer
  • Currently earn less than $50,000 a year (or be unemployed)
  • Meet all federal selective service requirements (see www.sss.gov), if
  • applicable

Click here for information and to apply today!

New B67 Bus Route Up and Running

You may be able to budget a few extra minutes at your favorite local café this week: the new B67 bus route rolled into action Monday morning. Weekday service connects South Williamsburg to Downtown Brooklyn via the Navy Yard and DUMBO – extending the current line running from Kensington to Downtown Brooklyn. In DUMBO, bus stops are conveniently located at the York Street F Subway station at Jay and York Streets – just steps away from Citbikes. With buses leaving every 15 min during peak travel times (25-30 min off-peak) this is an important improvement for Vinegar Hill and DUMBO commuters and a proactive move by MTA to connect key points of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle in anticipation of job growth in the region.

New York City’s College Town Welcomes Back Students

You may have noticed a few (or 57,000) extra people on the streets of Downtown Brooklyn this past week. That’s because the unofficial end of summer signifies a return to the hubbub and happenings of the College Town community (consisting of 12 local colleges).

BTT internsSeveral students from the New York City College of Technology got a jumpstart on their school year by participating in the inaugural Brooklyn Tech Triangle Internship Program over the summer. Sponsored by the NYC Department of Small Business Services and Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the program placed twenty-eight student interns in tech companies in Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A reception held on August 23rd in Building 92 of the Navy Yard commemorated the program’s success with students sharing personal stories of how the internship helped them transition into future academic and career plans.

“I learned to work on a team where the hats we wear are interchangeable,” said Rose Mary Perez, who interned for Electric Literature and spent the summer redesigning the company’s blog. “We exchanged our skills – design, page layout, and coding – and watched the project turn from an idea to a visual, tangible site. It was exciting! It provided real-life experience and expanded my personal network.”

New beginnings are also in the works for students of NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (NYU CUSP). Mayor Bloomberg recently welcomed the inaugural class, comprised of 25 graduate students who will receive a Master of Science in Applied Urban Science and Informatics upon completion of a one-year, three-semester program. With backgrounds in over 20 academic disciplines from 24 universities around the world, the students will be immersed in the science of cities, communication technology, and entrepreneurship. NYU CUSP’s classes begin this Fall at 1 MetroTech which is equipped with seminar rooms, flexible collaboration spaces, labs, conference rooms, and workstations.

Meanwhile, several other colleges and universities hosted orientation fairs throughout Downtown Brooklyn to greet incoming freshmen. First-year students at CityTech’s recent convocation fair had the opportunity to learn about academic resources and student organizations. About his decision to enroll at CityTech, freshman student Michael Delia said: “I’m definitely interested in CityTech’s [radiological technology] program since I plan to be an x-ray technologist. I’m excited to see what college has to offer and to meet new people.”

Freshman student Shatima Baker of LIU Brooklyn echoed Delia’s sentiment about starting the school year with excitment. She chose to attend LIU since it offered her the flexibility of being a mother while pursuing a career in pediatrics, a field of interest given her experience as a mother of two school-aged children.

Beyond academia and career development, college was also widely hailed as an opportunity for personal growth. “I want to meet new people, learn to manage my time, and be responsible,” said Daurys Santana, an incoming freshman at CityTech. “I want to find myself.”

Brooklyn Tech Triangle Internship Program Underway

BTT interns

In an ongoing effort to better connect Downtown Brooklyn’s 57,000 college students to the cluster of tech and creative firms in the area, twenty-eight students from New York City College of Technology’s School of Technology and Design, all of whom have completed at least the first half of their schooling, are now completing paid internships in over a dozen companies located throughout the Brooklyn Tech Triangle.

“The purpose is to link students from the school to local tech and creative companies in the area,” said Cristal Rivera, Director of Workforce Development at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which is managing the internship program together with partners at the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “And it also allows students to get real world experiences and connections to businesses that make them more marketable when they graduate.”

The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment sponsored the program, which includes a stipend for the interns, along with enrichment and hands-on education opportunities – and a chance for companies within the Tech Triangle to bring fresh, innovative talent into their workspaces. Participating companies represent a wide array of industry, from online publisher Electric Literature, based in Downtown Brooklyn, to recycled glass and cement manufacturer, IceStone, located in the Navy Yard, as do the students, ranging from those studying Arts & Advertising Design to Mechanical Engineering Technology.

impact simulations“Our intern Donald is a star!” said Stuart Silverman, owner of Impact Simulations, based in DUMBO. “Not only did he find a potentially huge data breach possibility in our software, but he figured out how to connect all of our computers to the networked printer at the incubator – something that baffled all of us so much that we avoided printing.”

In addition to their internships during the week, each Friday, all of the students gather at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to meet with contracted partners, share their experiences, and brainstorm with one another about projects they are working on. The program encourages a great deal of camaraderie and crossover between the various businesses and their interns.

Plans to continue the program next year are already underway. For more information about the Navy Yard’s Employment Center, click here.

Older Posts
© Brooklyn Tech Triangle | Growing Creative and Tech for DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, and the Navy Yard