Residents Of Newark Apartment Building Score 15 Years Of Free Internet

NEWARK, NJ — Residents of a new affordable housing development in Newark will be getting free high-speed internet as part of an effort to promote “digital equity” in New Jersey’s largest city.

Every resident at Southside View – a “100 percent affordable” apartment building at 654 South 11th Street – will receive free high-speed internet access for 15 years through a partnership between Citizens Bank, Newark Fiber and local real estate developer/owner Adenah Bayoh.

“Access to the internet is no longer a luxury: it’s a lifeline to education, health care and economic mobility,” Bayoh said.

“For me, building housing has never just been about bricks and mortar — it’s about dignity, opportunity and creating pathways for families to thrive,” added Bayoh, a refugee from Liberia’s civil war who has built a portfolio of seven restaurants and major redevelopment projects, including 280 Park Place and 722 Chancellor Avenue.

Citizens Bank contributed the installation of a future-ready broadband system throughout the building, as well as funding to cover residents’ internet costs for the next decade and a half.

Scott Kilpatrick, the vice president of community development investment at Citizens, said the company’s $13 million investment in Southside View also includes $500,000 to establish a technology center, along with three years of after-school STEAM programming for school-age residents.

Citizens Bank has similar plans for Foya Development’s next project in Newark – dubbed “Springview” – which is planned for 2026, Kilpatrick said.

Developers noted that the internet provider at Southside View is Newark Fiber, a public-private partnership operated by Invest Newark: the city’s economic development agency.

• See Related: Internet Access Lags In Newark – But Infrastructure Is There, Study Says

Free internet isn’t the only perk of living at Southside View, developers say:

“Children living in the building will receive free laptops for school and will have access to free after-school tutoring, offered five days a week. Adults will have access to a computer lab where they can learn basic technology skills. Each apartment includes a washer and dryer, and apartments designated for the homeless are fully furnished.”

“This project is about equity, it’s about hope, and it’s about rewriting what’s possible for Newark families,” Bayoh said.

• See Related: Weequahic HS Alum, Business Owner Making Her Mark In Newark
• See Related: 1,600 Apartments In Newark Score Cheap High-Speed Internet
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