WBFO Albany Correspondent Karen Dewitt reports
Sen. James Skoufis, chair of the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, said two of his constituents alerted him to the lack of Wi-Fi at the homes. Phil and Maryann Smith’s daughter Michelle, who has a disability, was living at a state-run home when the COVID-19 pandemic started last March. They were not allowed to visit her and she had no internet access to visit them virtually.
Skoufis said he was shocked to learn that no facility operated by the state’s Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) provides broadband access for residents.