Tech:NYC Digest: April 18

Tech:NYC Digest: April 18

April 18, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Monday, April 18, 2022 

Happy Tax Day (here’s some tips for you last-minute filers). In today’s digest, COVID alert levels rise statewide, NYC’s largest public rooftop park opens, and the mobile technology powering the new world of work.

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 4,926  

    • New positive cases, NYC: 1,505

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 3.3 percent (+0.1 percent)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 89.9 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 76.6 percent  

In today’s latest:

  • Despite case counts rising statewide, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she has no plans to reimpose any COVID-related restrictions or lockdowns like those during the first wave. (New York Post)

    • The CDC now recommends masks in ten upstate counties. NYC is expected to move up to a “medium” COVID-19 alert level within the next week, and the city’s health commissioner is now recommending New Yorkers mask up in indoor public spaces. (NY1)

  • A federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s mandate requiring masks on planes, trains, and other forms of public transportation, saying the CDC exceeded its authority to extend and enforce the rule. The Justice Department has not said if it would appeal the decision or move to keep the mandate in place while the lawsuit is ongoing.  (Wall Street Journal)

  • Michael Bloomberg made his first visit to City Hall since he was mayor this morning to join Mayor Eric Adams in announcing a new $50 million summer school program for all public charter schools. (Bloomberg)

  • Most Broadway theaters will no longer require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 beginning April 30, but mask mandates for attendees will remain in effect until at least May 31. (NBC New York)

  • New York approved a new clean energy project to construct 339 miles of transmission lines to carry hydropower from Quebec to Astoria. The project is expected to cut the city’s reliance on fossil fuels in half by 2030. (Crain’s New York)

  • And a big congratulations to our friends at Google, which today joined RXR and the Hudson River Park Trust to officially open the Pier 57 Rooftop, NYC’s largest public rooftop park, in the heart of its NYC campus. (Gothamist)

In other reading:

  • How to tell the difference between seasonal allergies and COVID-19 (CBS News)

  • The COVID Breathalyzers Are Coming (New York Magazine)

  • When COVID Enters the House, What Should We Do? (New York Times)

Tech workers are gradually returning to the office — many of them to spaces renovated with safety upgrades and design changes to reflect the new world of work. Much of those updates are being heralded by landlords and property owners eager to keep office tenants in their buildings. One of those solutions: mobile apps, writes Crain’s New York Business. 

  • Related Cos., the developer of Hudson Yards, home to Facebook, Accenture, SAP, and several other tech companies, is working with tenant experience software provider HqO to build an app that can call an elevator ahead of time, order food directly to a specific floor, and earn rewards points at local retailers.

  • Other apps allow workers to do everything from check for crowds at the gym, see how many desks are being used on their floor, and pass through security turnstiles.

A wave of “tenant experience apps” have popped up as a contactless, pandemic-proof way for companies to monitor and manage in-person workforces, and as a result, they’ve banked hundreds of millions of dollars in acquisition deals and VC investments in the last year.

  • NYC-based proptech company VTS, which raised $150 million in new funding last month, recently acquired workplace experience platform Lane and property management firm Rise Buildings, making it the largest office app firm in the world.

The pandemic has accelerated trends that office companies like WeWork and Industrious were already pursuing before COVID-19 gave them new meaning. 

  • WeWork last week announced a partnership with Yardi, a real estate software provider, to expand its WeWork Workplace service.

  • The new product, which will roll out this summer, will allow employers to manage employees by booking conference rooms, managing desk usage, and tracking which work areas are most frequently utilized.

Our takeaway: Many of these apps have polling capabilities that can provide more insights on what exactly employees want in the office. With just 38 percent of office workers in NYC coming in, now is the time to experiment with them further and determine if they make an impact on in-person work in the coming months.

In other reading:

  • Click Therapeutics, a NYC-based digital prescription medical treatment provider, raised $15 million in debt financing. Silicon Valley Bank led the round. (Businesswire)

  • Optimal Dynamics, a Queens-based AI software provider for logistics and transportation industries, raised $33 million in Series B funding. The Westly Group led the round and was joined by Activate Capital, Standard Investments and existing investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners. (VentureBeat)

  • Sika, a NYC-based payments platform using FSA/HSA wallets, raised $5 million in seed funding. Forerunner Ventures led the round and was joined by Shine Capital, Ulu Ventures, PrimeSet, Atacama, and the co-founders of Plaid. (TechCrunch)

  • April 20: Virtual: Financial and Accounting Basics for Startup Founders, with Acuity founder Matthew May and Justworks senior manager Nate Myers. Hosted by Justworks. Register here.

  • April 21: Virtual: How is the Infrastructure rollout going — and what does it means for tech?, with US Dept. of Commerce assistant secretary Alan Davidson, National Digital Inclusion Alliance executive director Angela Siefer, and others. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

  • April 21: Virtual: Strategies to Boost Employee Engagement in the Hybrid Workplace, with Bravely coach Costas Theofylaktidis, Owl Labs chief of staff Ben Harman, and others. Hosted by Bravely. Register here.

  • April 27: Virtual: Solving for the Last Mile, with Veho co-founder and CEO Itamar Zur. Hosted by Savills America. Register here.

  • April 29: Virtual: Creating a Culture of Data Sharing, with NYC chief analytics officers Martha Norrick, NYC Council Technology Committee chair Council Member Jennifer Gutierrez, and others. Hosted by City & State. Register here.

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