Before the COVID-19 pandemic started, the Bronx was known to be home to some of New York City’s largest digital deserts, neighborhoods where many people do not have internet access at home.
As the Bronx Community Foundation reports:
- The Bronx has the lowest broadband adoption rates of any borough and the disparities are even more pronounced at the neighborhood level, with 38% of The Bronx not having access to broadband.
- Nearly 1 in 5 teens cannot finish their homework because of the digital divide.
- Roughly one-third of households with children ages 6-17 and whose annual income falls below $30,000 a year do not have a high-speed Internet connection at home.
These already-significant problems were amplified during the early days of the pandemic.