About the network
Port Row covers about 30 blocks of Elizabeth’s north side, mostly public housing towers and the walk-ups around them. The network was built by parents from the local elementary school after a provider’s fiber build stopped six blocks short of the neighborhood.
Schematic
Uptime
99.96% uptime over the last 90 days, with 1 day of degraded service or maintenance.
Governance
- Owned by
- Port Row Neighborhood Network
- Legal home
- Cooperative corporation, owned by member households
- Members
- 1,121 households, one vote each
- Monthly assembly
- Last Monday of each month, 7:30 pm, at the community health center’s meeting room
- Annual assembly
- Every May
- Maintenance fund
- $7 a month per household, suggested. No household is disconnected for not paying.
Stewards
Elected by the members. Listed by first name and initial.
- Aaliyah A.Network steward · since 2025
- Lin S.Treasurer · since 2026
- Chen M.Membership steward · since 2023
- Olga M.Training steward · since 2024
- Margarita F.Rooftops steward · since 2026
- Xiomara M.Secretary · since 2026
Backhaul
Links that carry the network’s traffic to the wider internet.
| Link | Medium | Capacity | Far end | Peak use yesterday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LT-58-BH1 | Fiber | 10 Gbps | Elizabeth internet exchange | 22% |
| LT-58-BH2 | Licensed microwave, 11 GHz | 2 Gbps | Tower site, Elizabeth | 31% |
Maintenance log
Power injector for N-2855 replaced after a surge.
Planned backhaul work. Done overnight. Members were told a week ahead at the monthly assembly.
Firmware 4.6.2 rollout. Staged firmware rollout to every node, one hub’s area at a time. Each node restarted once.
New hub on the community health center roof: N-3671.
Radio on N-2841 replaced after water got into the enclosure.
Annual assembly: 122 members attended and elected three stewards.
Expansion: seven new nodes in 2026, mostly in grids A4, B4 and B5.
Hardware build night: 19 Stoop nodes assembled from parts.
Cable to N-2912 replaced; squirrels again.
Hardware refresh: 14 nodes upgraded to Stoop R6 over the year.
Expansion: six new nodes in 2025, mostly in grids A3, A4 and C4.
Storm damage: 2 dishes realigned and one mast replaced.
Annual assembly: 107 members attended and elected three stewards.
Spare parts inventory counted and restocked.
Battery modules replaced at 3 hubs ahead of winter.
Expansion: five new nodes in 2024, mostly in grids A4, C2 and H3.
High winds: 9 rooftop mounts checked and re-secured.
Expansion: five new nodes in 2023, mostly in grids D1, E3 and G2.
Network switched on: 33 nodes installed by 94 volunteers over a weekend.
Founding assembly: the Port Row Neighborhood Network adopts its charter and elects five stewards.