Red Hook Wi-Fi

[2][3] Beginning in Fall 2011, the Red Hook Initiative (RHI), a Brooklyn non-profit, approached the Open Technology Institute about collaborating on a community wireless network.

[citation needed] When the network was initially launched, it had support for up to 150 simultaneous users and ran on an open-software platform called Commotion.

[6][7] Shortly afterwards, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) connected Red Hook Wi-Fi to its satellite system,[8] linking itself, the residents and the Red Cross into a communication matrix that could be used to find out about emergency relief, food banks as well as shelter locations.

[9][10][6] After the relief efforts had finished, a team led by the Red Hook Initiative continued to make improvements to the mesh network by installing nano stations powered by solar panels on rooftops around the Red Hook neighborhood.

[11] Though the Red Hook Wi-Fi project was already in the works before Hurricane Sandy struck, it gained additional media attention after the storm.

First Red Hook WiFi mesh network node (Ubiquiti Nanostation) installation on the Red Hook Initiative rooftop
Running (PoE) Ethernet cable to install a mesh network node on the roof of apartment building north of Coffey Park
Repairing Red Hook WiFi mesh network node after Superstorm Sandy