COMMON MAPS
Map version new-york activity top-down
Main site Contact
Menu
↑ parent activity group ·
research dossier

NYC MESH
New York, NY · EIN 842616395 · Form 990 · FY2025 · NTEE P20 · Human Services · Small ($100K-$1M) · nycmesh.net
revenue
$548K
expenses
$546K
net assets
$488K
employees
0
volunteers
50
program ratio
95%
mission · from form 990

NYC Mesh, Inc. ("NYC Mesh") is formed for the charitable and educational purposes of ensuring that all people, businesses and organizations in the New York City Metropolitan Area have access to internet service regardless of ability to pay, so that they can in turn access information, news, educational materials, healthcare information, arts and culture, and all of the other benefits, services and offerings that an online connection makes possible.

profile · synthesized from sources

NYC Mesh is a community-led nonprofit building a decentralized, wireless internet network across New York City to provide affordable and equitable internet access. The organization operates through volunteer technologists who install and maintain mesh nodes, while also offering free technical training and digital literacy programs. It emphasizes community governance, transparency, and digital rights advocacy as core to its mission.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2025

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $0
    Free technical training and educational programming for New York City residents and others to increase internet access.
named programs · 4 · from sources

What they call their work

Community Wireless Network
Builds and maintains a decentralized, peer-to-peer wireless internet network across NYC using rooftop antennas and mesh routing technology to provide affordable, resilient internet access.
Free Technical Training
Offers educational workshops and hands-on training in networking, hardware installation, and digital literacy for NYC residents.
MeshDB
Custom-built Django-based database system for managing member installs, node locations, and network status, enabling scalable operations and API access for community tools.
NYC DOT Camera Archive Project (Streetwatch.live)
Volunteer-led initiative archiving and analyzing public traffic camera footage to support police accountability and activist efforts, built on NYC Mesh infrastructure and values.
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Community Broadband Infrastructure Development 6 activities
    • Collaborate on large-scale connectivity projects with city agencies and builders
      Partners with NYCHA and HPD on citywide internet access initiatives and works with construction companies and architects to pre-install network cabling in new buildings during construction.
    • Deploy and maintain community-owned mesh internet networks
      Installs rooftop antennas, ethernet switches, and fiber optic cabling to connect individual apartments and entire buildings to the NYC Mesh network, providing scalable, high-speed internet access. Offers streamlined installation for buildings with over six apartments and provides fiber connectivity for buildings with 50 or more participating units, including waiving lease and data costs.
    • Enable collective bargaining for lower-cost internet via demand aggregation
      Helps apartment buildings negotiate lower-cost internet by aggregating resident demand, increasing affordability and access.
    • Maintain network resilience during public health emergencies
      Ensured continuous operation and support of community internet connectivity during the COVID-19 lockdown in New York City.
    • Provide shared high-speed internet for dense urban buildings
      Operates the Grand Street project, where hundreds of apartments share a 40 gigabit fiber connection, demonstrating scalable urban broadband deployment.
    • Support community internet access during protests and emergencies
      Provided Wi-Fi access to protesters at New York City Hall during the Occupy movement and maintained continuous network operation through battery-backed power supplies. Supported approximately 30 concurrent users and expanded accessibility by adding 2.4 GHz antennas for older devices.
  • Criminal Justice Policy Advocacy 1 activity
    • Build and manage surveillance camera archive for public accountability
      Initiated and rebuilt the DOT surveillance camera archive project at Streetwatch.live to support protestors during the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. Made the archive private with account management for accountability and is developing computer vision tools to anonymize protestors, identify police presence, and estimate crowd sizes.
  • Corporate Sponsorship Programs 1 activity
    • Charge installation fees and accept donations to support operations
      Charges $290 for mesh node installation, with $240 covering equipment and $50 for installer expenses. Accepts tax-deductible monetary donations and in-kind contributions of networking equipment and event space to support ongoing operations.
  • Digital Literacy Training and Technology Access 1 activity
    • Provide free technical training and educational programming on internet access
      Offers educational initiatives to improve digital literacy and expand internet access for NYC residents, including workshops and technical skill-building opportunities.
  • Uncategorized 3 activities
    • Develop and maintain network management and monitoring systems
      Created and operates MeshDB, a Django- and Postgres-based application for managing member and node data, tracking installations, and providing API access. Uses infrastructure-as-code tools (Terraform, Ansible) to manage Kubernetes clusters and network services, and maintains a public Datadog dashboard for real-time performance metrics.
    • Host community events and foster inclusive participation
      Organizes weekly Open Mesh Night events in Brooklyn and monthly meetups to connect volunteers and discuss projects. Promotes inclusive community norms, operates a code of conduct reporting system via email and Slack, and enforces guidelines through defined violation responses.
    • Operate and maintain public network status and support systems
      Provides a public network status page for reporting outages and planned maintenance, a Member Troubleshooting Guide, real-time support via Slack channels (#support, #diy-install-support), and a support request form for members to report issues.
financials · form 990 · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$548K
Contributions & grants$147K27%
Program service revenue$389K71%
Investment income$12K2%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$546K
Program expenses95%
Admin / overhead5%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineFacilities
balance sheet
Total assets$502K
Cash$476K
Investments$0
Liabilities$14K
Net assets$488K
Liquid reserves10.5 mo
6 years on record · 2020–2025 · YoY revenue +8.0%
relationships · 29

Who they work with

  • ANDBOX Partner — Corporate donor and New York’s first and leading esports organization.
  • Battlemesh v12 Network — NYC Mesh endorsed and participated in Battlemesh v12, a global event for wireless community networks.
  • Contributor Covenant Partner — Source of portions of community goals, encouraged behaviors, and enforcement guidelines in the Code of Conduct.
  • DE-CIX Partner — Corporate donor providing premium network interconnection services.
  • Datadog Partner — Corporate donor providing modern monitoring and security tools.
  • Datadog Partner — Provides monitoring and observability tools used to track the health and performance of NYC Mesh's systems.
  • Dennis Flores Partner — Consulted community activist Dennis Flores for input on the project.
  • Equinix Partner — Corporate donor (via Packet) providing cloud infrastructure on bare metal.
  • Geek Feminism Partner — Source of guidelines for responding to harassment reports used by NYC Mesh moderators.
  • HPD Partner — Partners on multiple large projects to expand internet access across New York City.
  • Init7 Partner — Corporate donor contributing to a global backbone infrastructure.
  • Internet Society Funder — Provided grant funding through the Beyond the Net program.
  • Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office Partner — Hosted a NYC Mesh hub at its office, enabling line-of-sight WiFi connectivity to the Occupy City Hall protest camp.
  • Meetup.com Partner — Platform used to publish and manage monthly NYC Mesh meetup events.
  • Mozilla Foundation Funder — Funder through the Mozilla/NSF-WINS Challenge.
  • NYCHA Partner — Collaborates on large-scale internet connectivity projects for public housing.
  • Opti9 Partner — Corporate donor providing managed hosting solutions.
  • Pilot Fiber Partner — Corporate donor providing business internet services.
  • Rachel Mattson Partner — Consulted archival activist Rachel Mattson for expertise on data storage risks and law enforcement access.
  • Recurse Center Partner — Source of foundational content for NYC Mesh Code of Conduct.
  • S.T.O.P. Partner — Engaged with surveillance policy researchers at S.T.O.P. and uses their legal guides on the public’s right to record and protest surveillance.
  • Slack Partner — Platform used to host support channels where volunteers assist members with technical issues.
  • Strange Loop Partner — Source of community goals content used in NYC Mesh Code of Conduct.
  • Stripe Partner — Uses Stripe for automated, secure credit card transactions for install fees and recurring donations.
  • Toronto Mesh Partner — Source of moderator guidelines used in NYC Mesh Code of Conduct.
  • Ubiquiti Partner — Corporate donor providing professional network hardware.
  • Vocal-NY Partner — Partnered with NYC Mesh by leading the Occupy City Hall occupation and facilitating on-the-ground coordination for shared services including internet access.
  • WITNESS Partner — Collaborated with documentation activists at WITNESS and uses their Archiving Video for Human Rights Guide.
  • betaNYC Partner — Collaborated to reactivate the NYC Mesh hub at Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s office to support WiFi access at the Occupy City Hall protest.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Community-Driven Network Expansion
    methodology: community_driven_networking
    By engaging volunteers and residents in building and extending the network, NYC MESH produces broader and more sustainable internet access because community ownership increases participation, reduces deployment barriers, and fosters long-term stewardship of infrastructure.
  • Decentralized, Privacy-Preserving Infrastructure
    methodology: decentralized_networking
    By building a non-surveillant, community-owned wireless mesh network, NYC MESH produces equitable and resilient internet access because decentralized control prevents corporate or state surveillance and enables autonomous, censorship-resistant connectivity.
  • Digital Equity Through Inclusive Access
    methodology: digital_equity
    By removing financial and technical barriers to internet access and offering sliding-scale payments and full-service building integration, NYC MESH increases digital inclusion because accessible, affordable, and supported connectivity enables underserved populations to participate in essential online services and opportunities.
  • Ethical Technology and Community Accountability
    methodology: ethical_technology
    By applying transformative justice and ethical assessment frameworks to technology design, NYC MESH ensures that its systems promote accountability and minimize harm because community-defined standards govern access and use, embedding social responsibility into technical infrastructure.
  • Peer-to-Peer Learning and Mentorship
    methodology: peer_to_peer_learning
    By using peer-to-peer mentorship and open, learnable technologies, NYC MESH lowers barriers to technical participation because collaborative learning and accessible tools enable volunteers of varying skill levels to contribute meaningfully and grow within the network.