Metadish, Fresh from NYC

Finally, a respite from the fresh air and solitude of going to the park. By the end of this summer you’ll actually be able to do something more than “relax” and “enjoy yourself” in the park. You’ll be able to work and read your v1@gra emails all at once.

The city’s Department of Parks & Recreation in 2003 requested bids for the development of wireless Internet technology in a number of parks throughout the city, including Battery Park, Central Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Prospect Park, Union Square Park and Washington Square Park. A company called The Wi-Fi Salon LLC won the bidding, set up Wi-Fi in Battery Park and is seeking a sponsor to provide the backing to install the service in the others.

The deputy parks commissioner for management and budget, Robert Garafola, said Central Park should be online by July and the rest of those parks in late summer.

“So much of the modern world is now centered on the Internet,” Garafola said. “We use it to do work, pay bills, find a restaurant or a date. With wireless Internet access in parks you can do all of these things and also get sun and fresh air at the same time.”

Also due to be online by late summer are the Brooklyn Bridge Promenade and Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, near the United Nations.

Your squirrel wants an e-mail address.

Wireless Internet access urged for NYC parks [Newsday]

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