JacksonHeights.nyc - The Application

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Jackson Heights map for .nyc application 1aAugust 19, 2016 - Connecting.nyc Inc. today announced that it had submitted its application to the city of New York for the license to develop the JacksonHeights.nyc domain name. Accompanying the application were over 30 affidavits of support from neighborhood businesses, civic organizations, and residents. The application may be viewed here.

The application and affidavits were the result of a weeks long outreach effort aimed at informing neighborhood residents about the organization’s Jackson Heights Project and incorporating their ideas in the application.

In submitting its application Connecting.nyc explained its decision to support the project:

After extensive contact with residents and organizations of our neighborhood and careful consideration of our capabilities, we have concluded that developing a neighborhood domain name provides us with a spectacular opportunity to advance our education mission and improve the quality of life here in Jackson Heights.

Tom Lowenhaupt, founder of Connecting.nyc Inc., noted that while the comment period for the application has ended, the design for JacksonHeights.nyc will be an ongoing, open, and transparent process to which all neighborhood residents were welcome.

NOTE: Our application was approved and we’ve acquired the right to develop the JacksonHeights.nyc domain. We will hold public meetings on the development process beginning in January 2017, expecting to transition to active use in mid-2017 (The current info on the site is placeholder info entered by the city and does not reflect our plans.) Should you have questions, ideas, or an interest in engaging with the endeavor, contact [email protected]

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JacksonHeights.nyc

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Jackson Heights map for .nyc application 1aJune 16, 2016 - Connecting.nyc Inc. today announced that it was applying to the city of New York for the license to develop the JacksonHeights.nyc domain name.

The announcement was made under a clear blue sky at the annual al fresco meeting of Queens Community Board 3. The announcement represented a returning to .nyc’s roots: It was at the April 19, 2001 Community Board 3 meeting that its Internet Empowerment Resolution was approved, sparking the city’s acquisition of the .nyc TLD.

Tom Lowenhaupt, founder of Connecting.nyc Inc. and former Community Board member, stated that his organization would by applying to the city for the right to develop the JacksonHeights.nyc domain name, and that he would be working with civic groups in East Elmhurst and Corona to advance the acquisition of those names.

Comment on draft application…

Mr. Lowenhaupt noted that the application for JacksonHeights.nyc was in its final comment stage and available here. He emphasized that the thoughts of neighborhood residents were needed and most welcomed.

Affidavits of support…

Organizations and individuals were invited to formally express their support for the application by downloading an Affidavit in Support of Connecting.nyc’s license application, available here. Completed affidavits should be notarized, and returned to Connecting.nyc Inc., 35-35 75 Street, Apt. 527.

Those with questions, suggestions, or an interest in participating in JacksonHeights.nyc’s planning, operation, or governance were invited to contact Lowenhaupt at [email protected]

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Keep Our Data Local!

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May 20, 2016, Jackson Hts., New York - Connecting.nyc Inc.’s founding director Thomas Lowenhaupt is to make a  presentation on June 8 at NYC Media Lab’s IoT Media Mash. Having seen the city play catch-up with domain names - it took 30 years for the city to get .nyc, its own TLD - he’s wondering if there’s a way Internet of Things data could be localized, and used to benefit city agencies, neighborhoods, start-ups…

Current models have IoT data flowing out of our homes, businesses, and neighborhoods to the (potential) benefit of device manufacturers and third parties such as advertisers and data brokers the chief beneficiaries of the flow. Under this model there’s little macro scale benefit for local entities.

Thomas wonders, “Must we surrender control of this data, or is there a way to keep a copy local, perhaps in a city big data cache of some sort, to be shared and developed with neighborhoods and other local interests in mind?”

Thomas’s presentation will urge the start of a “New York City Opt-in Program” that would encourage residents to share/donate their IoT data, perhaps identified by a “NYC IoT Opt-In” logo on city-friendly devices.

Localization supporters are only now gathering thoughts on specific IoT data sources which might fruitfully contributing data; and exploring for architectures that could facilitate its being copied and shared locally. Early ideas on collecting heterogeneous data from multiple contexts/devices/technologies/vendors/etc. are looking at the Hub of All Things and The Things Network as a promising points.

The value inequity of one-way flow of IoT data is characteristic of the information age, a digital equivalent to trickle-down tax policies. But at this early stage we might still have the opportunity to advocate for a city-friendly architecture that keeps it local. Looking at the June 8 event and beyond (the IoT Media Mash is still soliciting speakers), we’re soliciting ideas on how this development might take place. Luckily, in New York City we’re blessed with lots of local expertise, Beta-NY and other civic friendly entities. Let’s keep it local!

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Workshop: Empowering New York City’s Neighborhoods

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This event’s report is now available.

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March 8, 2016, Jackson Hts., New York - The de Blasio administration has initiated a program to license operators of the 385 neighborhood domain names: Astoria.nyc, Bensonhurst.nyc, Corona.nyc, Ditmars.nyc, Egbertville.nyc, Flatbush.nyc, GreenwichVillage.nyc, Harlem.nyc…

On Tuesday, March 22 at 7 PM we’re sponsoring a workshop to review that licensing program and explore ways to connect the independent operators of these civic media centers. Here’s the agenda:

  • Update on the city’s neighborhood domain name licensing program.
  • Share experiences and expectations of license applicants.
  • Structure and Voice: What organizational structure will best enable operators of these “dotNeighborhoods” to share best practices and be represented before city and other regulatory entities? How can these operations collaborate to create open-source modules such as ad collaboratives, bulletin boards, calendars, DNS allocators, etc?

One outcome might include the formation of an Alliance of of Neighborhood Media Centers to develop principles, policy positions, and best practices.

Where: The Neighborhood Preservation Center, 232 East 11th Street
When: Tuesday, March 22, 7:00 - 8:30 PM

Light refreshments will be provided. Reserve a seat by emailing [email protected] or using our Meetup reservation page.

Can’t make it? The meeting will be recorded by our co-sponsor, the New York Internet Society.

Note: Interested in operating a neighborhood name? Begin your exploration on our beginners guide Adding Internet Mojo To Neighborhoods.

This event’s report is now available.

 

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Neighborhood Name License, part 3 - Secondary Level Names

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Jackson Hts., NYC, February 20, 2016 - This is our third post about concerns we have with the city’s draft Licensing Agreement for neighborhood domain names. In our first we bemoaned a “Without Cause” clause that allows the city to revoke a dotNeighborhood license without notice and without cause. We opined that this policy would preclude any serious investment in developing neighborhood domain names. In our second we spoke of the chilling effects of various content prohibitions and vague language in the License agreement.

Today’s post focuses on a requirement in the draft Licensing Agreement (see Exhibit B, Section 8) that dotNeighborhood operators receive prior written approval before issuing “secondary-level” domain names. Our goal here is to explain how this prior-approval policy reduces the potential of the dotNeighborhoods. But first a bit of background secondary-level domain names.

Background

Like many words and phrases in the draft License Agreement “secondary-level domain” is not defined. And since it can easily be confused with second level domain names, we need to take a close look at the terms.

Second level vs. Secondary-levels - By reserving the 385 neighborhood domain names and requiring detailed applications and license agreements from applicants, city hall established tight control over these 385 second level domain names. Our Pizza.Harlem.nyc graphic above shows the 2nd level (Harlem) and 3rd level (Pizza) domains. But there can be far more levels than that. While seldom used there can be a 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, all the way up to 127th level of domain names. In total these comprise what the city is calling “secondary-level” domain names. (An explanation on the domain name system (DNS) and the rules governing the use of these 127 levels can be found in Wikipedia.)

What the city apparently intends to do by requiring that the operator of a dotNeighborhood domain name receive written consent prior to issuing a “secondary-level domain” is to extend its control over the entire breadth of the neighborhood domains, not just the 385 2nd level neighborhood domain names, but all potential names within the 127 secondary-levels.

The Chrysalis

One of the promising opportunities neighborhood domain names offer arises through the development of these secondary-level domain names. Seldom used on the commercial Internet, we see the secondary-levels as a Chrysalis within the domain name system, with a Monarch awaiting emergence.

The secondary-level names add an intuitive layer to the naming system. They build upon what’s already in our heads. The graphic above shows the word “Pizza” being used in a 3rd level in the “Pizza.Harlem.nyc.” It doesn’t take an Einstein to imagine where “Optometrists.GreenwichVillage.nyc” or “Supermarkets.Astoria.nyc” will lead.

Thoughtfully allocated and introduced, these names offer advantages to dotNeighborhood operators, name purchasers, users, and the neighborhood as a whole.

  • For dotNeighborhood operators, they offer the potential of revenue. Will entrepreneurs pay $100 a year for the right to develop Pizza.Harlem.nyc, Restaurants.Harlem.nyc, or DrugStores.Harlem.nyc? Will a local retailer like Harlem’s Tonys Pizza pay $20 a year for the “dirt cheap” marketing channel “Tonys.Pizza.Harlem.nyc” represents? We think so.
  • Internet users benefit from what is in essence a digital transplant of New Yorkers mental map that the secondary-level names represent. And with community buy-in (wiki-like with moderated comments, reviews, and ratings) these secondary names will create a trusted resource for residents and visitors alike, and a way to traverse a sea of questionable Yelper services that plague today’s search results.

But innovation will be sapped if the city’s Licensing Agreement requires dotNeighborhood operators to get written permission for every secondary name sold. The licensing agreement’s main sections provide suitable structure to assure that operators run them in a responsible manner. There’s no need for this additional over-the-shoulder regulation. The Section 8 permission requirements for secondary-level names should be deleted.

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