Connecting.nyc Inc. is the New York State not-for-profit formed in 2005 to prepare our city for a more networked future. Our founding mission was to  advocate for the development of the .nyc TLD as infrastructure that would empower New York City’s residents and organizations to better connect with one another and the world.

With .nyc’s acquisition and its activation in 2014, we modified our mission to reflect the needs of New York and cities globally.

What We Do…

  1. Educate New Yorkers about the effective use of the Internet, with emphasis on the .nyc TLD’s community building role.
  2. Serve as an intermediary between the individual Internet users and the ICANN community. Facilitating this role is our status as an At-Large Structure Organization within the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
  3. Make a knowledge base about extant city-TLDs available to cities globally. Enabling us in this role is our special consultative status within the United Nations - we’re an NGO.

The Old Us…

From 2005 until .nyc’s activation in June 2014, our efforts centered on research about the potential of a city-TLD, and receiving the approvals needed to activate the .nyc TLD. We published our findings and reported our activities on a 250+ page wiki. As the .nyc TLD evolves we maintain that wiki as a resource of possibilities and progress. The following are some key pages:

  • Domain Name Allocation Plan - Factors to consider in deciding about domain names to be set aside for public use, for operational purposes, for auction, or distributed on a first come first served basis.
  • Governance - Like the air, water, streets, and schools the .nyc TLD is a commons that will best serve city residents when an informed public is fully engaged in its governance.
  • The Operating Environment - Principles, policies, and processes for operating the registry, issuing names, maintaining a directory, and creating a safe communications environment that benefits all New Yorkers.
  • The Development Environment - Here we will explore personal, family, civic, community, and business networking applications that might help create a more livable city. Should security and privacy be our highest development priority? Where should education, training, and access be on our priority list? Help decide.
  • Towards City-TLDs in the Public Interest - A White Paper (or download it here) - A primer about the impact TLDs have had on cities and the special advantages that will arise with their operation in the public interest.

Board and Staff

We have a five member board of directors and a community advisory board. Learn about those here.

Join Us

To follow our initiatives fill in the Keep Up To Date at the bottom of the page or follow our director @tomlowenhaupt. If you have a question or suggestion, write us at [email protected]