DUMBO The First NYC Neighborhood To Get Wi-Fi

In twenty years when all internet is wireless and fast and ubiquitous, we might laugh at the notion that the subways had absolutely no connection, nor did any other part of New York's public space, for that matter.

But not so for DUMBO, who seems to be the first neighborhood ready to leap into that future, as NYCwireless announced today that the Brooklyn neighborhood is going wireless. While many hotspots have sprung up throughout the city, never before has an entire area been blanketed with service, a press release from the DUMBO Business Improvement District noted.

Wi-fi will be available in the streets and parks in the area, including the newly done-up Brooklyn Bridge Park.

One person who is thrilled about this news? Brooklyn's beloved and nebbishy president Marty Markowitz. "For the first time in New York City, an entire area has become a hot spot - a haven for bloggers, Tweeters, emailers, Facebookers and everyone else who thrives on the internet," he said. "One day, mark my words, this area will rival Silicon Valley in terms of high tech ingenuity - so it's only natural that DUMBO is the first neighborhood to be truly connected 24/7."

The real estate company Two Trees Management, which owns most of DUMBO, is teaming up the DUMBO BID to make it a reality.

The New York Times reports that Manhattan may soon be getting a wireless network of its own, sort of:

At the end of June, one company, Towerstream, plans to introduce what it claims will be "the most robust and fastest portable Wi-Fi network" in Manhattan, though it will not technically be free: it hopes to sell access to cellphone service providers, who could then offer it to their customers. Wi-Fi generally provides a faster and stronger signal than cellphone networks.