Sunset Park loses free wifi service after theft

Why steal the wifi?

That’s the question many Sunset Park residents have been asking. During the late-night hours of Wednesday, May 25, the wifi service in the park for which the neighborhood is named was cut off after individual(s) allegedly stole the equipment, worth around $600, which was placed on the roof of one of the bathrooms.

The Sunset Park Business Improvement District (BID) funded and provided the service by installing equipment along Fifth Avenue and the park. But now, park-goers will be left in the dark — virtually at least — by the apparent act of vandalism.

“I assumed this happened sometime overnight. It took a while to get a permit, but eventually we got permission to put the repeater up on the roof of the bathroom in the park,” said Renee Giordano, executive director of the BID. “The company that did the whole project monitored equipment and saw that it had gone down in the location. They went to check it out and it was all gone. I’m not sure how anyone got up there.”

Although there was no sign vandalism on the building, Giordano believes this was an act of theft.

Photo courtesy of Sunset Park BID
Photo courtesy of Sunset Park BID

The initiative to bring wifi to the area wasn’t a cheap one. It costs $13,000 each year just for upkeep and it cost $60,000 to get and install all the equipment along Fifth Avenue and in the park.

The news is disappointing for Giordano, who noted that the Sunset Park Fifth Avenue BID is one of the few BIDS to provide the service. “It’s free. We don’t charge anyone. It’s frustrating when you do something nice and something like that disappears, especially when the people who stole it can’t use it,” she said.

Wifi in the park started over a year ago.

Community members have commiserated on Sunset Parker’s Facebook page, posting comments of anger and sadness. “So sad,” noted one resident. “You worked so hard to help the community and someone always has to mess it up.”

“That’s so shameful,” said another. “Hope whoever did it has the heart to bring it back.”

“People seem to be really upset,” Giordano said. “It’s not like it was something bad for the neighborhood. This is something extra. We realized our community had issues when connecting to the net. We are one of the more digitally behind communities and we just felt it would be a good way of helping the community.”

BID leadership spent the entire morning on Thursday discussing the next step and trying to “figure out when and how to put something else up. It’s going to take a while,” Giordano added. “We are working with the Parks Department to get another one closer to Seventh Avenue, to get signal even further.”

The BID is already in touch with its supplier to reinstall the wifi, though, this time, it will have safety guards to deter theft. There is no timeline for the reinstallation.

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