New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued the following statement today regarding the City’s announcement of an agreement with Verizon to provide cable services to more than 3 million New Yorkers:

“I applaud City Hall for taking steps with Verizon in hopes of granting the company a franchise agreement for cable service.  For far too long, the people of New York have had little to choose from when searching for a cable service provider. By introducing Verizon as a major provider to New York City, we are creating a competitive market for cable customers and more importantly, allowing our residents freedom of choice.  This will help ensure that competitive rates and customer service no longer take a back seat to profits in the eyes of cable providers.

I am also pleased that the current draft agreement includes a number of the initiatives contained in the “Cable Consumer Bill of Rights,” and I will push to include several more consumer protection proposals in the final agreement considered by the Franchise Concession Review Committee.”

For more information on the “Cable Consumer Bill of Rights” introduced by the Comptroller, please visit www.comptroller.nyc.gov

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