Res. No. 1495
Resolution supporting the local efforts to acquire the .nyc Top Level Domain and urging The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to approve the City’s application in order to meet the needs of city residents via the Internet.
By Council Members Brewer, Comrie, Jackson, James, Liu, Palma, Seabrook, White Jr. and de Blasio
Whereas, The Internet has revolutionized the dynamics by which society interacts on social, economic, and political levels, both globally and locally, by expanding the opportunity for an exchange of ideas and by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness with which information is managed and disseminated; and
Whereas, In 1984, Top Level Domains (TLD) for countries were first issued, such as “.us” and “.uk” yet, cities have historically been ineligible for TLDs and thereby excluded from developing full featured web spaces; and
Whereas, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a globally recognized not-for-profit that is responsible for the coordination of domain names world wide, is currently developing policy recommendations and implementation guidelines to allow for the introduction of new TLDs to augment those already available including, .com, .edu, .org, and .gov; and
Whereas, The new TLD process that is being introduced by ICANN will issue TLDs to cities for the first time in 2009 from which, cities like New York will be able to receive a .nyc domain name; and
Whereas, The recognizable benefits that a .nyc TLD can bring to New York City include, a directory of resources; improved global visibility; benefits for city businesses through increased access to better domain names; revenue from new domain names; and increased civic and community networking; and
Whereas, Since 2001 there has been an emergence of a grassroots effort within New York City to secure a .nyc TLD in order to benefit city residents and visitors; and
Whereas, This community-based effort has participated in various international forums, including both ICANN and the United Nations sponsored International Governance Forum, extolling the potential benefits of a .nyc TLD for the New York City community; and
Whereas, Many proponents of the .nyc TLD believe that the domain should be operated in the public interest with excess proceeds from the operation of the TLD to be reinvested back into the local community; and
Whereas, The governance structure for the .nyc TLD should ensure that the policies and practices implemented within the TLD take into account the appropriate balance of public and private sectors;
Whereas, Other global cities are now actively pursuing their own city-based TLD initiatives, and if New York City seeks to maintain its historic role as a global pioneer in both commerce and culture, prompt action should be taken; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York supports the local efforts to acquire the .nyc Top Level Domain and urges The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to approve the City’s application in order to meet the needs of city residents via the Internet.
CFP
LS 5426/2008