Tech:NYC Digest: April 14

Tech:NYC Digest: April 14

April 14, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Thursday, April 14, 2022  

Wishing a happy Good Friday and Chag Sameach to all those who celebrate (we’ll take a break tomorrow to observe the holidays). In today’s digest, Omicron subvariant responsible for almost all NYC COVID cases, Pfizer booster dose for children shows promise, and the deluge of perks tech companies are offering to lure employees back to the office. 

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 7,219 

    • New positive cases, NYC: 2,736

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 3.1 percent (+0.1 percent)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 346 (-13)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 89.8 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 76.5 percent  

In today’s latest:

  • Cases continue to climb across NYC (and the Northeast more broadly) as the Omicron subvariant takes hold. The BA.2 strain is now responsible for 92 percent of New York-area cases. (NBC New York)

    • The most recent data from the NYC Dept. of Health indicates the Financial District, Lincoln Square, Lenox Hill/Upper East Side, TriBeCa, and Chelsea neighborhoods all now have positivity rates over 10 percent. See the full data here.

  • Mayor Adams today announced changes to NYC’s controversial Gifted and Talented program, including the addition of roughly 1,000 seats for elementary schoolers and the elimination of an entrance exam for preschoolers to determine admission. (Gothamist) 

  • New clinical data shows a third shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children raised Omicron-fighting antibodies by 36 times in kids 5 through 11 years of age. The company plans to request emergency use authorization from the FDA for a booster dose for this age group. (CNN)

  • The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library systems are making some commonly banned books available to all nationwide — no library card needed — using a free e-reader. (Time Out NY)

In other reading:

Office use in NYC is continuing to inch upward (even if very slowly), and tech companies are doubling down on their commitments to their spaces here.

  • About 38 percent of New York employees went to the office during the first week of April, a new pandemic-era high, according to data from office security firm Kastle systems.

What’s new: Facebook announced it’s adding another 300,000 square feet of space in Manhattan, essentially taking over the remaining floors of its Astor Place building. (Bloomberg) And Google is investing an additional $9.5 billion in offices and data centers across the US this year, including upgrades to its NYC campus. (Protocol)

  • "It might seem counterintuitive to step up our investment in physical offices even as we embrace more flexibility in how we work," Sundar Pichai said in a blog post. "Yet we believe it’s more important than ever to invest in our campuses and that doing so will make for better products, a greater quality of life for our employees, and stronger communities."

The next challenge executives must face: Getting employees excited — and not dreadful —  about their return. One solution: Get creative with the perks. Here’s a fun story about some of those ideas: 

  • Google renovated its spaces to make the office “not only productive but also fun,” and is hosting a private concert by Lizzo. The company is also reimbursing $49 monthly leases for employees to use e-scooters to get to and from the office.

  • Microsoft has been providing more social events featuring local bands; tastings in a beer, wine, and mocktail garden; a row of taco and Korean barbecue food trucks; and even classes for making terrariums.

  • On its first week back, Qualcomm hosted a “welcome back” happy hour with its CEO, and continues offering weekly pop-up events like “Take A Break Tuesday” and “Wellness Wednesday.”

Our takeaway: Hybrid work remains popular and won’t go anywhere, but neither will the appeal of in-person office culture. The free food and swag are a nice draw to bring workers back to the office, but the ultimate perk that will keep employees happy is the flexibility employers commit to along the way.

In other reading:

  • How to Ask Whether an Employee Is Happy at Work (Harvard Business Review)

  • Welcome The Newest Workplace Generation: ‘Baby Zoomers’ (Forbes)

  • How to support your Muslim colleagues during Ramadan (Protocol)

  • Beam Impact, a NYC-based app that helps consumers support social causes via spending, raised $13.3 million in Series A funding. Index Ventures led the round and was joined by Ulu Ventures and HearstLab. (TechCrunch)

  • DoControl, a NYC-based provider of no-code security tools for cloud app logins, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Insight Partners led the round. (TechCrunch)

  • Noogata, a NYC and Tel Aviv-based data analytics platform for businesses, raised $16 million in Series A funding. Eight Roads led the round and was joined by Allon Ventures. (VentureBeat)

  • Norby, a NYC-based CRM for creators, raised $4.6m in additional seed funding. Crosslink Capital led the round. (The Information)

Startup lawyers Fenwick & West are offering three virtual office hour sessions with corporate partner Evan Bienstock to discuss your startup’s most pressing legal questions and other matters most important to your business. Learn more and apply by April 15 here.PENCIL, a NYC-based nonprofit creating partnerships between schools and business leaders, is seeking tech executives to participate in its Principal for A Day program on May 19. Participants will serve as a thought partner and adviser to a school principal and share professional and career advice with students. Learn more and register your interest here.The Jacobs Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech is accepting applications for its next cohort of Urban Tech Fellows. Researchers, thinkers, and practitioners interested in pursuing independent projects on urban tech subjects like mobility, infrastructure, and climate change are encouraged to apply. Learn more and apply by May 1 here.

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