Tech:NYC Digest: April 16

Tech:NYC Digest: April 16

April 16, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Friday, April 16, 2021As the vaccination rollout progresses and NYC continues to respond to the pandemic, this digest focuses on the resources that help you make decisions about your businesses and your lives as New Yorkers.Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

The latest: 50 percent of New York adults have received at least one vaccine dose; Cuomo signs affordable broadband bill into law; new MTA survey finds riders weary to return, fewer than one in six anticipate to be daily straphangers post-pandemic; IBM anticipates 80 percent of workforce to be hybrid in the future. 

By the Numbers:

  • New York State: 1,970,990 (+6,555)

  • New York City: 885,546 (+3,426) 

  • Statewide Fatalities: 41,391 (+43)

  • NYC Positivity Rates: 

    • NYS reports: 3.3 percent (no change)

    • NYC reports: 5.4 percent (+0.1 percent)

  • Vaccine Progress:

    • NYS first doses administered: 8,031,460 (+119,059)

    • NYC first doses administered: 2,987,002 (+47,486)

General Updates:

  • A big milestone: according to state data, more than 50 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. (NYS) It’s quite a feat that the state’s vaccination rate has reached this point relatively quickly, but now the concern is that we’re hitting a “vaccine wall.” (CBS New York)

    • Just two weeks ago, every available appointment was being grabbed on scheduling sites the second it opened, but now slots are filling up much more slowly.

    • There are signs demand is waning: TurboVax creator Huge Ma says that traffic to the site is down 70 percent compared to last week, and there are currently thousands of appointments available across city- and state-run sites for as early as this weekend.

    • Now that we aren’t managing a massive rush, the city can (and should!) redirect more resources to reach New Yorkers who have been reluctant or unmotivated to get the vaccine. (Wall Street Journal)

  • The slowdown in demand isn’t unique to New York: several other states and cities are reporting a supply surplus, raising concerns vaccines will go unused. As a result, federal officials are in the early stages of rethinking distribution, and epidemiologists are casting new doubts of when — if at all — the country reaches the 75 percent total vaccination rate for the virus to be considered contained. (Bloomberg)

  • Another incredible milestone reached this week: globally, over one billion doses have now been produced. (Axios) And production on the next billion will happen even faster, expected to be completed by the end of May.

    • The US has administered the most doses to date with 23 percent of the global supply, according to Our World in Data.

  • Lastly, RIP to the unofficial pinnacle of the tech and finance swag hierarchy: Patagonia has officially stopped adding corporate logos to its Fleece Vest.

The latest results: Tax day is today… except not! Instead of the normal mid-April filing deadline, both the IRS and many states, including New York and New Jersey, extended the tax filing deadline to May 17. Have you already filed your taxes or are you taking advantage of the extension?  

Today's poll

: New York’s vaccine rollout has been progressing at a quick pace with completely booked sites for months, but for the first time, appointments slots

. The shift is sending a signal that demand is slowing, and combined with other reluctance issues, could impact when (or if) the city reaches a vaccination rate of 75 percent, the “herd immunity” threshold for declaring the pandemic over. When do you think NYC will reach herd immunity?

  • *|SURVEY: By the end of the summer|*

  • *|SURVEY: By the fall/winter|*

  • *|SURVEY: By the end of the year|*

  • *|SURVEY: In 2022|*

  • *|SURVEY: Never|*

  • Gov. Cuomo signed and passed into law a bill requiring internet service providers to provide high-speed broadband to low-income households for no more than $15 per month. (ABC New York) The bill responds to recommendations by the Reimagine NY Commission, which is chaired by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who is additionally partnering with the Ford Foundation to launch ConnectED, a program offering free internet hardware and service to 50,000 students across the state.

  • NYC added 16,000 jobs last month, the most since August of last year, a small bright spot in what has been a holding pattern for the last six months. (THE CITY) But there will be lots of recovery work ahead: New York lost almost 14 percent of its jobs in the first year of the pandemic recession, the most among the nation’s 15 largest cities. 

  • According to a new MTA survey, fewer than one in six New Yorkers expect to use mass transit on a daily basis as the pandemic recedes. (New York Daily News) Of the 33,000 New Yorkers surveyed in the last half of March, 15 percent who used the city’s trains and buses less than three days a week last month planned to ride at least five days a week in the future.

  • The Met Museum’s 2021 Roof Garden Commission opens today, featuring an installation of a true-to-size Big Bird perched on one of the city’s best patios. Come for the art, stay for the unparalleled views of Central Park. (New York Times)

Related reading:

  • How mayoral hopefuls are promising to fix the city’s internet (Crain’s NY)

  • Can the COVID Vaccine Protect Me Against Virus Variants? (New York Times)

  • Your most important vaccine passport questions, answered (Recode)

  • Fitness companies and gyms are hedging their bets on the future of fitness (Axios)

Working:

  • We’ve now reached the point where there’s a slow return to life for tech’s biggest offices. (Bloomberg)

    • Apple, Uber, and Microsoft HQs are already seeing workers trickle back in. Facebook will reopen at 10 percent capacity next month, as will Salesforce with cohorts of 100 or fewer vaccinated volunteers per floor.

    • At Salesforce, those who return will be required to take COVID tests twice weekly, complete daily “health attestation” forms, and will find plexiglass between desks and air purifiers in conference rooms.

  • IBM expects as much as 80 percent of its employees working in hybrid roles after the pandemic. (Bloomberg) Even so, the company is moving forward with plans to prepare them for the post-pandemic workplace.

    • IBM has designed a “reorientation” program to help employees adjust to new norms and procedures they'll encounter when they return. The company made an 11-minute “day in the life” video to show employees what to expect, including getting a temperature check, one-way staircases, capacity limits in bathrooms and common spaces, etc. (New York Times)

Related reading:

  • The pandemic has changed the workday, but will transit riders return? (Washington Post)

  • You’re Gonna Miss Zoom When It’s Gone (The Atlantic)

Request: please let us know as your return-to-office policies are developed and what considerations your companies are taking for developing them. Sharing this information is helpful to companies and employees across the NYC ecosystem and can be kept anonymous.

Recruit: A tech talent and job opportunities board from Tech:NYC and AlleyCorp compiles NYC tech workers looking for new roles and NYC-based tech companies hiring open positions. To contribute to the board, click here.Events:

  • April 21: Virtual: A Fireside Chat with Yancey Spruill, CEO of Digital Ocean. Hosted by Work-Bench. (Details)

  • April 22: Virtual: Live (Mock) Term Sheet Negotiation, with Lerer Hippeau principal Caitlin Strandberg, Koffie Labs CEO Ian White, Orrick managing associates Frank Paz and Jae Zhou, and more. Hosted by NYU Data Future Lab. (Details)

  • April 23: Virtual: Equity in the Digital Divide, with a panel of computer science instructions and Code Nation alumni. Hosted by Code Nation. (Details)

Check these sources for verified information from government agencies and public health authorities:

Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to

.