No anonymous suggestions will be allowed. We'll also list good ideas FROM politicians. We'll highlight the great ideas and, through the additional publicity generated, hopefully make a difference and see a change. The goal is to bring a quarter million or more new computers into New Yorkers' homes and lift New York's ranking among states for home computer use from its current 34th in the nation. Home computers open up a whole new universe of ideas.
Experience proves that even young children can benefit greatly by early access to home computers.
New York has been a national leader in bringing computers and Internet access into school classrooms, but recent studies showed students who also had computers at home were nine times more likely to use the technology. An October 2000 report by the U.S. Commerce Department showed that New York lagged behind most states in the percentage of homes with computers. The study found that 48.7 percent of New York homes had computers, far behind states like Washington, California and neighboring New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont, which each scored in the top third of states. This initiative will help improve the technology-based education of our children and give New York a leading edge in the future. The biggest disparity in home computer ownership exists in rural communities and inner cities, the Commerce Department study found.