March2017Newsletter

Check out our new policy briefs, learn about what we've been up to, and more.

View this email in your browser

Hello from Tech:NYC!

Today we’re launching our new Policy Briefs, which you can find on our site

here

. These Briefs are an effort to keep you in the loop on some of the policy initiatives we’re working on across New York City, Albany, and Washington, D.C. They’ll be continuously updated and changing (we’ll alert you on

and

Facebook

). Check out our first batch on issues like

H-1Bs

,

immigration

,

privacy

, and

more

.

We also recently announced the launch of our Leadership Council, a group of industry leaders who will help shape Tech:NYC’s priorities and act as trusted representatives on behalf of our community. We’re so fortunate to have Neil Blumenthal of Warby Parker and Beth Ferreira of WME Ventures co-chairing this amazing group of tech leaders.The group marked its launch and love for all things New York by writing Valentine’s Day love letters to NYC, which you might have caught on LinkNYC kiosks across the city. We celebrated with a party headlined by Attorney General Schneiderman.

You can learn more about our Leadership Council here.

What We’re Up To:

• Marketplace Tax: We’ve been hard at work in Albany fighting a proposed tax that would require certain internet marketplaces to collect sales taxes on behalf of their out-of-state sellers who sell to New York buyers. This would be a first-in-the-nation tax that would hurt New York companies and the tech community we all work so hard to foster. Our ED Julie Samuels wrote an op-ed in the NY Post on the issue here; you can also read our recent Policy Brief here.

• We celebrated with member company Zola as it opened its amazing new office space downtown. Congrats, Zola!

• We continue to closely watch the Administration’s actions—and the resulting litigation—on the proposed immigration ban. Our statement on the updated ban is here and, again, our Policy Brief on the issue is here. We’re incredibly proud that so many of our members have signed briefs in courts across the country opposing the ban. If you want more information on how to best get involved, send us an email at [email protected].

What We’re Reading/Recommending:

• Congrats to our ED Julie Samuels who was included in Crain’s New York Business Class of 2017 40 Under 40 list.

• What's Driving Ad Tech's Newfound Sense of Civic Duty on Travel Ban and Beyond: Ad Age writes about the growing civic engagement of the tech community featuring our ED, Julie Samuels, and member company CEO, Harry Kargman of Kargo.

• "The bigger risk is to stand for nothing." The Associated Press writes about #Resist and how the NY tech community is working together on policy issues.

• In New York, Bringing Broadband to Everyone by 2018: A look at the crucial effort to ensure every New Yorker has access to high speed internet by next year.

• Our ED, Julie Samuels, appeared on POTUS 2017 with Brian Lehrer to examine the impact of immigration restrictions and new trade policies on business, especially those in New York’s tech community.

• Top tech companies in NYC including AOL, Kickstarter, and Forbes are tapping into a pipeline of vetted young talent. NYC’s Ladders for Leaders matches employers with highly skilled, diverse interns in high school or college looking to build their careers. Sign up to hire an intern here.

• RRE Ventures is running a survey on the NY tech ecosystem intended to capture general data about everything from the fundraising environment to talent. Participants will receive a copy of the final data.

Where We’ll Be:

• Wednesday, March 29th, our friends at CSNYC will host their 4th annual NYC Computer Science Opportunity Fair 2017 (CS Fair). The CS Fair aims to excite students about the myriad educational and career opportunities that result from studying CS. The CS Fair also connects tech companies to each other and showcases each one's amazing employees and products. It will take place from 9:30AM - 2:30AM at the Armory Track at 216 Fort Washington Avenue. More information can be found here.

• Wednesday, March 29th in partnership with the Knotel at Knotel Bryant: Immigration and the Future of Entrepreneurship - Immigration is key to innovation. It's also under siege. Join us for a hands-on look at where we go from here, with insights from Venmo's founder, NYC's Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, and other leaders across the tech, civic, and legal communities. RSVP.

• Tuesday, April 4th, our friends at ABNY will host their next installment of their 101 educational series, ABNY Talks. The upcoming talks will feature Preston Niblack, Deputy Comptroller of the Budget, who will present the fundamentals behind New York City's budget, and Cas Holloway, Global Head of Technical Operations at Bloomberg LP, who will discuss the scope of the city's water and sewer network. RSVP.

• SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, April 20th in partnership with Bloomberg and Cornell Tech at Bloomberg CornellTech@Bloomberg series features John Martin, CEO, of Turner.