Better internet coming to Long Island's dead zones

Data Point

Feds to spend millions to speed up internet connections

Some spotty internet locations on Long Island are about to get a lifeline.

A federal broadband expansion program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, allotted $664.6 million to New York State in 2023 to improve affordable broadband access. Starting this week, $542 million is expected to be rolled out by the state, including $2 million to Long Island through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program (BEAD). Of that, $1.66 million was awarded to Suffolk County to largely improve affordable internet access while Nassau County received a lot less — $282,846. A total of $70,479 is earmarked for new fiber optic wiring on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton.

In total 1,859 public and private locations across Long Island will have improved internet access with affordable rates. These include Suffolk County Community College, the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville, the federal courthouse in Central Islip, U.S. Coast Guard Station Fire Island and fire departments such as the one in Glen Cove. Hundreds of homes and businesses will also benefit. To see The Point's map of the locations, click here.

Most of the work will be done by Islip-headquartered Community Broadband Networks (CBN) America, which was awarded almost the entire $2 million contract. Long Island's fixed wireless infrastructure will be upgraded with new local transmitters on existing cell towers and new on-site receptors. Where there are no cell towers, CBN anticipates beaming stronger signals. The firm has already received approval from the Long Island Power Authority to attach fiber to existing poles.

There are regions on Long Island, especially in Suffolk, that have just one service provider, creating a lack of competition, Thomas Magg, founder and president of CBN, explained to The Point. The improved service will be available to many more households than those identified on the list and is expected to increase competition across the Island.

Long Island's expansive geography and multiple layers of government have historically made it harder to connect every crevice of the region. However, spotty cell networks and infamous dead zones have also been the result of locally voiced aversion to building new cell and wireless towers. That might be shifting. The Town of Southold, where 4.3% of the town remains disconnected from high-speed internet, is changing zoning codes to add more cell towers after a recent survey by the town found that 69% of residents described cell service in their home as "poor." Cell towers are frequently used for fixed wireless internet distribution.

According to data from the New York State Broadband Map, an estimated 1.3% or 7,233 locations in Suffolk currently do not have access to high-speed internet or have internet speeds of less than 25 megabytes per second download. For context, that speed might suffice for a household of two browsing the internet, but not for a local bank branch accessing customer data. However, Long Island's share of internet-sparse locations is far lower than the state's 2.5%.

— Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

Pencil Point

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Final Point

Suffolk tells MTA the 'final opportunity' on Lawrence rail yard deal is near

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine has given the Metropolitan Transportation Authority an ultimatum:

The long-awaited deal to transfer the 40 acres of land at the former Lawrence Aviation Industries site in Port Jefferson from the Suffolk County Landbank to the MTA for $10 "must close no later than July 1, 2026," Romaine said in a letter to MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and MTA Board members.

"Let me be clear: this matter cannot continue to drift without resolution," Romaine wrote last week. "The extension authorized by the Landbank Board must be treated as a final opportunity to bring this transaction to closing."

It's been more than two decades since the Lawrence Aviation land was declared a Superfund site, when toxic debris and solvents were discovered. The company closed in 2003, and ever since, there's been a recognition that the land was key to the revitalization of Port Jefferson and, in particular, the future of public transit there. Eventually, in 2019, a federal court ordered the company and its owner to pony up more than $48 million to the Environmental Protection Agency to pay for the cleanup. The idea of using the property for a potential MTA rail yard has been discussed for years. But it picked up steam in 2024 — when the MTA first reached a tentative agreement with Suffolk County to buy the land for $10.

That arrangement paved the way for the rail yard — and for the possibility of moving Port Jefferson's Long Island Rail Road station west. Those steps are needed for a far bigger change: to transform the Port Jefferson Branch from the diesel it currently runs on to electric, allowing it to use faster and cleaner trains and potentially increase service.

That deal, however, still hasn't closed.

Ironically, Romaine's warning came just months after he raised last-minute objections to the deal, just as it was on the verge of finally being able to close. Romaine expressed concern about the possibility that the state Department of Transportation could choose to build a new Route 25A spur where a Greenway hiking, walking and biking trail currently cuts through the site. The agreement would have required the MTA and Suffolk County to help build a bridge if such a highway was ever built.

To date, no state plans for such a spur — or any roadway or highway at the location — exist.

In his letter, Romaine indicated that the MTA so far has demonstrated a "lack of responsiveness and progress" and said he was seeking "a clear commitment from the MTA, including a defined timetable and immediate engagement at the appropriate decision-making level."

"They have not been responsive," a Suffolk County spokesman said.

MTA officials, however, pushed back on that claim. In a statement, LIRR President Rob Free noted the need to resolve the remaining land issues before the MTA could close the deal. Nonetheless, since the deal hasn't closed and the project isn't yet in the MTA's current capital budget, any short delays in finalizing the agreement wouldn't create delays in the completion of a rail yard, Free said.

"We remain aligned with County Executive Romaine on the land transfer as they work through those remaining land title issues on the property," Free said. "Since there is no project in the current capital plan, there are no impacts on future yard work schedule while the real estate issues are worked out."

And MTA chief of policy and external relations John McCarthy noted that the MTA has assigned an attorney to handle the deal and has made top officials, including Free, available. "We have been responsive," McCarthy said.

To address the remaining question of the Greenway, Assemb. Rebecca Kassay introduced legislation this year that would require the existing Greenway at the site to be preserved for "passive recreational use," such as walking paths and trails. Kassay has said she hoped that change would alleviate the concerns and allow the deal to close.

That legislation is still pending.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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