Officials for the volunteer-run nonprofit NYC Mesh have been awarded a new $898,000 grant from New York State’s ConnectALL initiative that should help the project expand affordable wireless Internet access to the Big Apple’s most vulnerable populations.

The grant is one of $8.3 million in new grants recently awarded by New York State providing much-needed financial assistance to community or municipally run broadband connectivity initiatives through the Connectivity Innovation – Business Model Awards, which support organizations using “novel financing strategies” to serve low-income and rural communities.

“It's mostly fixed wireless, though we'll rent dark fiber in a couple places if necessary,” NYC Mesh’s Ash Wolfson tells ILSR, adding that the expanded wireless links will leverage equipment from Ubiquiti (Airfiber and Wave), with hardware from Mikrotik (RB5009 and CCR2116) or Netpower (16P and CRS317) for routing and switching.

According to NYC Mesh officials, NYC Housing Preservation & Development will help the volunteer-run nonprofit in identifying priority neighborhoods underserved by traditional commercial ISPs, ultimately connecting at least 500 additional low income households to its affordable, community-run network.

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“Our agency is excited to partner with NYC Mesh on expanding our Neighborhood Internet program model to Central Brooklyn, where nearly 25 percent of households lack Internet access,” Dave Seliger, NYC Housing Preservation & Development Chief Digital Equity Officer says of the expansion.