State Lawmakers Pass Bill Requiring Every Homeless Shelter in New York to Have Wi-Fi

Homeless New Yorkers and advocates say the legislation—which now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul for final approval—will ensure people living in shelters have reliable internet service as they search for work, housing and other resources.

Every homeless shelter in New York will be required to have Wi-Fi under a state bill passed by lawmakers in Albany Friday—what supporters say will help close a long-standing digital divide that’s left thousands of unhoused adults behind.

Advocates are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the legislation, which mandates shelters across the state, including those in New York City, provide internet access that meets basic standards for speed, net neutrality, and data privacy. 

While city shelters for families with children have had Wi-Fi since at least 2022—after a lawsuit filed on behalf of thousands of school-aged kids compelled the city to connect them—many shelters for single adults and adult families still aren’t linked up.

The grassroots groups VOCAL-NY and TakeRoot Justice surveyed more than 200 adults in the system last year, and only 30 percent reported having a computer room available at their shelter, while less than a quarter of respondents said they had access to Wi-Fi.

An earlier report from the The City Bar Justice Center found that lack of internet in homeless shelters “led to further isolation and frustrated attempts to search for permanent housing, jobs, and other essential benefits.”

“People in temporary housing are not asking for anything extraordinary; they are asking for what every New Yorker with a roof over their head already has,” Bronx Assemblymember Karines Reyes, who sponsored the bill in the Assembly, said in a statement.

Lawmakers say the bill was crafted to capitalize on a $20 million investment the state announced earlier this year to install Wi-Fi at shelters across the state, and will help ensure that happens universally.

More than 30,000 single adults or adult couples slept in shelters run by the city’s Department of Homeless Services Monday night, public data shows. A spokesperson for DHS said the agency is still “reviewing the potential implications of the bill.”

“We support efforts to expand access to critical resources like Wi-Fi for New Yorkers in shelter and appreciate the commitment of additional funds to do so,” DHS Spokesperson Nicholas Jacobelli said in an email.

A spokesperson for Hochul’s office said the governor is also reviewing the legislation, which will need her signature before it can become law.

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