Everest Broadband wires historic Staten Island district.

Everest Broadband Networks recently announced that it has installed high-speed Internet access and will provide other web-based services to tenants of a commercial building located in the historic St. George area of Staten Island. The arrangement is an outcome of the Digital NYC: Wired to the World campaign led by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The campaign seeks to develop and promote new high-tech districts through partnerships among not-for-profit organizations, property owners and technology service providers.

The building at 60 Bay Street was constructed by the Muss Development Company in 1973 and is one of the largest and most centrally located buildings in St. George Station, a newly revitalized area near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, the rapid transit hub, state and federal courthouses, and Borough Hall. The renovation of the neighborhood as a high-tech district is a joint effort of the St. George/Tompkinsville Improvement Corporation and area business leaders and property owners.

"Muss Development and Everest are providing our commercial tenants with an important element for the running of profitable, efficient businesses: high-speed Internet access," said Bobbie Jacobowitz of the St. George/Tompkinsville Improvement Corporation. The Corporation has encouraged other building owners in the district to consider installing similar technology to make their buildings more attractive to the increasing number of tenants seeking office space equipped with high-speed access.

Muss Development Company chose Everest Broadband Networks because its high-speed Internet access and other valuable applications are affordable to small- and mid-sized businesses. Everest allows them to connect rapidly to the Internet, remain online around-the-clock and conduct more business electronically. In the past, these tenants have had to settle for low-speed, dial-up modems that do not provide continuous connections. "Our tenants and potential tenants are demanding these services and we are dedicated to satisfying their needs," said Joshua L. Muss. "Everest was a natural partner for us because of their technical expertise and focus on customer service."

Everest will offer a package of Internet applications, including a web portal with access to e-mail and back-up storage services. Everest's portal will enable tenants to access a local merchant network, enabling them to view information about their building and conduct business with neighborhood merchants over the Internet, said Everest CEO Jeffrey Feldman. "Other applications will allow Muss' tenants to conduct e-commerce, connect to extranets, build virtual private networks and construct websites, which Everest will host," Feldman noted. "We're helping to narrow the digital divide between small businesses and large companies and organizations with big technology budgets."

The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with St. George/TompkinsvilleImprovementCorporation, proposed that the "Si-licon Triangle" be designated a high technology district offering affordable, pre-wired, Internet-ready office space. The SI-licon Triangle - made up of the greater St. George community, the Teleport/Staten Island Corporate Park, and the campuses of the College of Staten Island and the Institute of Basic Research - is designed to replicate the Plug 'n' Go Program piloted by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Alliance for Downtown New York and several landlords in Lower Manhattan.