City Bar and Justice Center Celebrate Passage of WiFi for Homeless Bill

Caps Years-Long Effort

The New York City Bar Association and City Bar Justice Center are celebrating passage of the WiFi for Homeless bill (S.8026-A / A.1755-A) by both houses of the New York State Legislature — a major step forward in an advocacy effort the City Bar has led since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Kristen Gonzalez and Assemblymember Karines Reyes, requires temporary housing facilities across the state to provide residents with internet access meeting baseline standards for speed, net neutrality, and data privacy.

The City Bar now urges Governor Hochul to sign the bill into law.

In May 2020, the City Bar Justice Center published Homeless Need Internet Access to Find a Home, a report grounded in a survey of current and former shelter residents that documented how the absence of reliable internet access kept New Yorkers trapped in the shelter system — unable to search for housing and jobs, access benefits, or help their children complete schoolwork. That report became the foundation of the City Bar’s Wifi4Homeless campaign, which began as a call for action in New York City and grew into a statewide legislative effort.

The legislation builds on the State’s recent commitment of funding for this purpose. In May 2026, Empire State Development announced an investment of up to $20 million to bring internet access to homeless shelters statewide. By signing this bill, Governor Hochul would establish the enforceable framework needed to ensure that investment delivers consistent results in shelters across New York.

Matthew Diller, President, New York City Bar Association, said, “Today’s vote brings New York to the threshold of a significant achievement. What began with a City Bar Justice Center report has now passed both houses of the Legislature — and stands one signature away from becoming a statewide guarantee that New Yorkers in shelters can access a tool essential to moving toward stable housing. We are grateful to our legislative champions and our partners across the state, and we respectfully urge Governor Hochul to sign this bill into law.”

Kurt M. Denk, Executive Director, City Bar Justice Center, said, “Our clients told us, in their own words, what the lack of internet access cost them — missed job interviews, delayed housing applications, difficulty connecting with healthcare providers, children unable to do their homework. This legislation is a direct response to what we heard, and seeing it pass both houses is a powerful moment. We are close now, and we urge Governor Hochul to take the final step and sign this bill into law.”

Background

In November 2025, 101,978 people slept each night in the New York City municipal shelter system. Across the rest of New York State, approximately 15,175 people resided in shelters on any given night in 2023. State regulations do not currently require shelters to provide internet access to residents.

The WiFi for Homeless Act would require temporary housing facilities statewide to provide residents with internet access meeting baseline standards for speed, net neutrality, and data privacy, with practical carve-outs where service cannot feasibly be provided. The effort grew out of the City Bar Justice Center’s 2020 report and the City Bar’s subsequent #Wifi4Homeless advocacy campaign, and ultimately earned the support of more than 60 legal and nonprofit organizations.

This legislation would not have been possible without the work of Lisa Pearlstein, the former Project Director of what is today the City Bar Justice Center’s Shelter Advocacy Project. Ms. Pearlstein was the driving force behind the original survey and report that first made the case for internet access as an essential tool for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness — laying the groundwork for everything that followed.

Learn more at the New York City Bar Association’s Wifi4Homeless campaign page.

About the Association
The mission of the New York City Bar Association, which was founded in 1870 and has over 20,000 members, is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation, and throughout the world. www.nycbar.org