We want to welcome Lotus Moon Yoga Studio to Y-FI. Megan contact us to and wanted to host a Y-FI access point in her yoga studio so that she could have internet for herself and her partons. With varied studio hours and only limited need to use the internet she did not need dedicated internet service at her studio. Y-FI was a great way for her to get the access she needs without the added expense of monthly service costs. Using the Y-FI signal already along N George Street from our other partners, the access point at Lotus Moon is able to join the network and repeat the signal into the yoga studio.

For more information about hosting a Y-FI access point for you and your customers contact us today!

Lotus Moon Yoga
237 North George St
York, PA 17401
(717) 424-2273

A Fox 43 news clip from March 30, 2011  about the Y-FI partnership with the YCEDC

It has been a while since I’ve updated you on the progress with Y-FI, York’s Free community wireless initiative. The project which I started in late 2009 with just 2 nodes, grew throughout 2010 and now includes over 30 wireless nodes in York City. The pace has been quickening and I’m receiving more and more inquiries from residents and businesses that want to participate. Much of the current coverage area surrounds Central Market, Strand-Capitol and the Beaver Street shops, but we’ve branched out into other areas of the city.

In 2010 we developed partners and installed several nodes in the Avenues. We also have a cluster forming around the E Philadelphia/N Queen Street intersection. Most recently we’ve begun a partnership with the YWCA to rollout Y-FI in parts of the Olde Town East neighborhood, allowing the YWCA and the neighborhood association to continue their service to their neighbors. Y-FI is fortunate to have many supporting partners, both residents and businesses. Our website is always the best place to see who is supporting Y-FI. Our network growth sees user traffic over 10Gb per day and loads of users. I’m thankful for the support this idea has received thus far and I’m excited about where 2011 is going to take us.

And that brings me to …

Yesterday we announced that Y-FI is now in partnership with the York County Economic Development Corporation to expand and grow Y-FI in York City. This is a great strategic partnership for Y-FI and allows both the YCEDC and myself to focus on what we do best. The YCEDC is able to bring its large wealth of development knowledge and its long list of resources to Y-FI, to help our community network grow larger and more consistently through 2011. Their staff has relationships with many of the business owners and potential supporting partners downtown and can make the vital connections that will allow Y-FI to flourish.

As you may know, IT and internet networking is not my full time occupation. The development work on Y-FI happens after hours and on weekends. It takes numerous hours to setup and maintain the network. Keeping the network running consistently and performing well, leaves few hours left for developing the supporting connections that continue to be critical to Y-FI’s future. That’s where the YCEDC will make it’s biggest impact.

Y-FI is completely free to use and enjoy, but that means we have costs that we have to develop funding for. Working with our existing partners, our new partners and the YCEDC I’m hopeful we can raise the funding needed to expand over much more of the central business district as well as being able to support the growth in other residential areas. How can you support Y-FI and the greater community? I’m glad you asked Visit our website for ways several ways you can help Y-FI continue brining this free tool to our city.

For More information about the Y-FI / YCEDC partnership
Click this link to see the Press Release.

Thank you. We look forward to providing expanded free wireless coverage in York City this year!

There has been some discussion about the upcoming York City Planning Commission meeting and the zoning ordinance draft.  We wanted to make sure they were available for review. The City Planning Commission meets on Monday, September 13 at 7:00pm in City Council Chambers.

DRAFT Zoning Ordinance UPDATED 9-13-2010

Proposed Draft Zoning Map

This blog is the first of a regular series of guest blog posts from folks around York City who contribute to the growth and progress of a great city.

Stacey Burroughs is a York County resident and lover of the good people, places and things in York City. She blogs at The Good In York City. Follow her on Twitter @stacey_loves.

On July 15, 2010, The York City Human Relations Commission held the 10^th Annual, and final Unity March. Over 1200 participants showed up and marched under the scorching sun and oppressive heat from York City’s Penn Park to Farquhar Park. The march represents the literal and figurative steps each one of us can take to end hate, prejudice, violence, discrimination, bias, and exclusion.

Opening remarks were given by York City Mayor C. Kim Bracey, the Reverend Ron Rengilian of the York Unitarian & Universalist Congregation and others. Nathaniel Gonzalez, a sixth grader at Edgar Fahs Smith Elementary School was honored as the winner of a t-shirt design contest for the event. He was one of 35 students to submit artwork for the contest. Nathaniel beamed from the stage and told the crowd: “This shirt represents the unity!”

The Reverend Kate Bortner has been an organizer of this annual event since its inception in 2000. Reverend Bortner said that the event is “…part of passing York’s history on to the younger generation and at the same time, changing history step, by step.

The march aims to “promote good will and harmony among inner-groups” according to Ms. Stephanie Seaton, Executive Director of the York City Human Relations Commission.  Ms. Seaton was the Education and Outreach coordinator for the Commission when the annual march was first organized in 2000 and has since been promoted to Executive Director of the Commission.  She reflected on the gains the York community has made in ten years in the interest of unity, diversity, tolerance and acceptance of all people. She noted that the York County Community Against Racism and the YWCA’s Race Against Racism were formed within the last ten years as well as the Leadership for Diverse Schools and YorkCounts with one of its Indicators being Relative Diversity.

Numerous organizations and businesses were represented at the march including the Salvation Army, the Northeast Neighborhood Association, Helping Hand, Kinard Trucking, Wolf, WLCH FM Radio Centro, Planned Parenthood, the York City Police Department, The York County Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA and YWCA and the York County Sheriff’s Department. The YMCA alone, brought about 100 children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old to the march.

Six year old Aalisia said that her Mom told her that the march was “…about having peace, unity and fairness in our hearts.” I’m not sure that I knew what “peace, unity and fairness” meant when I was six years old, but because of the Unity March, Aalisia has grown in her understanding of these concepts. Young Aalisia witnessed and participated in this peaceable assembly on the streets of York City. She is one of hundreds of children who will carry these principals forth.

Silent Witness Peacekeepers Alliance participated in the event acting as a firewall of protection between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Individuals participating in the march and protestors who come to speak out against participants. Silent Witness representatives carry jumbo- sized rainbow colored umbrellas that they use to shield participants from protest signs and language of a hurtful nature.

Ms. Seaton noted that despite the end of this decade-long march, there is still much work to be done in the arena of unity and diversity building. The Commission plans to ramp up its existing outreach and education components through continued contact with organizations and individuals.  Ms. Seaton spoke of the positive changes in the social and political climates in the past ten years.

She said “I was emotional at that last march.” She spoke of the time, energy and dedication of the community. She said “I’ll miss this. We accomplished what we set out to accomplish”.

Long live love, acceptance, peace, fairness, inclusion and Unity in our city, York City.

As each day passes on, the divide is growing larger. Those that have easy access to the internet can gain information and conduct business that those that do not have easy internet access can not. At Y-FI, our aim is to assist in reducing this divide.

Next American City: The Digital Divide

Most readers of Next American City take the Internet for granted, a utility like running water or electricity. You e-mail at work and communicate with colleagues using instant messenger; you check blogs for the latest news or gossip. At home, you download music or movies, pay bills online or Google old friends. Civic life, too: instructions on obtaining a marriage license, the date school starts for the kids, how much the house next door sold for and how it will affect your property value, all can be found on city websites. Heck, if you want the city to fix a pothole, you send the info over the Internet.  (Read the rest of the article here…)

At Y-FI we are continuing to search and develop partnerships that that will get our free internet service into the homes and onto the computers of those that most need it.  If you, your business or a community organization wants to partner with Y-FI to bring free wifi internet to your neighborhood PLEASE contact us.

We’ve been busy working on the network but slacking at keeping the blog updated.  We’re excited to announce that we have brought on partners at both the East and West ends of the central business district and right smack in the middle of the central district.

On the West we have Star Systems Engineering, Inc. at 232-236 West Market St.  On the square Inside Out Creative has graciously allowed us to install a repeater on their network and provide signal to a large portion of the square. And finally on the east, at the intersection of Philadelphia and Queen street we have a repeater installed in the basecamp/home of the local musicians “Free Breakfast”  All three partners deeply care about the resurgence of energy that’s currently growing in York City and are eager to participate in our network which allows freedom of movement to work and play and use the internet to get things done.

Stay tuned, we have other exciting things coming up soon!  As always if you’d like to help our network check out our page on how to contribute

Click here for more info about Faith in our City

Here at Y-FI we are working to continually expand our network. We currently have 15 network nodes placed in and around the area of N Beaver Street with Central Market being the epicenter of our growing network.

We gladly welcomed new support for our network from Idea Tree, a software development company. As a young software startup, Idea Tree sees the value of providing our free wifi using our mesh network and was eager to help us expand even before their office space was complete. The staff at Idea Tree regularly telecommute and enjoy central market and have found the Y-FI system to be invaluable.  Idea Tree who recently relocated their office to Clarke Ave just behind Central Market gave us a great launching point to expand our coverage into Cherry Lane which has been a target for us since our network’s creation.

Our coverage now extends into Cherry lane court and covers the seating area.  The shade tree coverage and the tables and chairs make Cherry Lane and excellent place to take your work outside and enjoy the fresh air.

If you haven’t checked it out, take a look at our network node location map.