Last year, United Domains reported that there were four groups vying for the official endorsement from New York City government to apply for the new gTLD .NYC. Thomas Lowenhaupt’s group ConnectingNYC has been working on a grassroots effort for over a decade.
But despite this outside interest, the City of New York took on the issue personally. In a Digital Roadmap unveiled in May 2011 by Rachel Sterne, Chief Digital Officer, the City announced plans to seize the opportunity to apply for .NYC on its own terms. According to the Roadmap:
The City of New York is currently pursuing the introduction of the .NYC top-level domain, a global milestone that will enable innovation and digital services for residents, and economic advantages for businesses. New York City could be one of the world’s first cities to operate its own top-level domain, presenting enormous opportunities. The .NYC domain will be administered by a private vendor to be selected by DOITT. The City is currently reviewing vendor candidates that responded to the City’s initial Request for Proposals (RFP), and plans to submit its application for the .NYC top-level domain when the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opens the application process. ICANN’s timeline is expected to be finalized after its official June 21, 2011 meeting, and the City of New York plans to apply when the application period opens. Only the vendor selected by New York City government will have the legal right to administer the .NYC domain.
On March 23, 2012, the New York Times reported in its City Room blog that the City of New York was
seeking a contract with a Virginia-based company, which would apply for the domain and operate and market it on the city’s behalf. The company would pay the upfront costs, and the city would get a share of revenue; under the five-year contract, it is guaranteed at least $3.6 million.
The company was identified at a public hearing on March 23, in which the City announced its contract with Neustar. Capital New York reports that Neustar will pay the application and annual registry fees on behalf of the City, and also
The city would receive a minimum of $300,000 in the first year of the deal, sliding upwards to $1.05 million by year five. Should .nyc prove particularly profitable, the city would receive 40 percent of Neustar’s related gross revenue each year, from not only domain registrations but advertisements and other associated commerce.
As expected, the domain will have some limitations on usage and registrations. According to Nicholas Sbordone, spokesperson for DoITT:
The city is reserving its use for individuals, businesses, or organizations with “a substantive and lawful connection to the city” and with a primary address or genuine presence there, according to
While many new gTLD opponents decry that no one will ever adapt to the new domains, .NYC shows promise beyond lesser recent domain launches (.MOBI comes to mind). Certainly the entire City of New York is behind the launch. City Councilor Christine C. Quinn, during a State of the City speech applauded the effort:
Web sites end with dot com, dot org, dot this and dot that. Thanks to the leadership of Council Member Gale Brewer and Deputy Mayor Bob Lieber, New York City will soon have its own place on the web – with dot NYC.
Mark Twain famously advised “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.” Well now we can make more New York addresses – just on the Internet!
A local business won’t have to outbid a guy in Kansas to get Tony’s Pizza dot com. They’ll be able to get Tony’s Pizza dot NYC, a name associated with the greatest city – and home of the greatest pizza – in the world.
Even merchants, like the founder of online luxury shopping site Gilt.com, Kevin Ryan supports the effort. “The domain space is a very lucrative space,” he said, since anyone starting a new business finds that every good name has already been taken. “Would I buy kevinryan.nyc? Yes. Would every business do it? Yes. So tens of thousands of people and businesses would buy that.”
Are you based in New York City? Would you register a .NYC domain?
