On November 17, 2015, AKNA attended the FiOS Rollout Forum conducted by Common Cause NY led by Susan Lerner, and the Consumers Union led by Charles Bell.

Public forums are one way to hold Verizon NY (VNY) and Verizon Communications, Inc. accountable to their franchise agreement with NYC in compliance with FCC regulations. This session made it quite clear that Verizon policies and practices mislead thousands of families regarding the availability of FiOS and the repair and retention of traditional landline services essential to many families.  It is also obvious that pressure on Verizon from the public (us) through our elected representatives will help. 

The forum highlighted how Verizon officials are telling many organized community groups and individual households that “your area has one delay on the block entrance” and “when this is secured, the cable will have a clear path to your area.”  Then nothing happens. One building owner stated she contacted Verizon for service. Still, following her request, she received a letter stating Verizon was in negotiations with the owner of the building and said but, “I am the owner, and they haven’t contacted me.”

Common Cause and Consumers Union are national organizations with millions of members. They will continue to gather information and educate the public on this important issue.  They recommend that AKNA take actions to help keep our communication costs down and get higher quality service are as follows:

• Sign and send the Certificate of Proposed Work to Lourdes and then let AKNA with any questions, or if you have not received it.
• Sign the petition and receive campaign updates
• Email your name, address, and phone number to receive details on their progress

Say or write the following to our representatives 

“Verizon is failing our community. Please find out what is going now in current negotiations between DoITT and Verizon. Please respond with your findings for publication to the AKNA web-log

City Council TERM ENDS 2021
Mathieu Eugene (District 40) ma************@co*****.gov  or call 718-287-8762 
State Senate and Assembly
Sen. Kevin S. Parker (District21) pa****@ny******.gov
Rodneyse Bichotte (42nd AD) bi*******@as******.us or call 718-940-0428
United States Congress TERM IS APPARENTLY NEVER ENDING
Yvette D. Clark Brooklyn Office  https://clarke.house.gov  or call (718) 287-1142