Tech:NYC Digest: April 25

Tech:NYC Digest: April 25

April 25, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Monday, April 25, 2022 

In today’s digest, New York COVID-19 cases finally slow down, Mayor Adams announces $900 million for bus and bike lanes, and why some job-hoppers are returning to their former employers. 

  • And join us in welcoming Julian Kline, Tech:NYC’s new head of policy! He’s wrapping up his first official day — let us know if you'd like to be in touch!

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 4,786    

    • New positive cases, NYC: 1,547

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 4.7 percent (no change)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 90.1 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 76.8 percent 

In today’s latest:

  • NYC is finally seeing a downturn in COVID-19 cases for the first time since early March. Nationally, however, the US reported more than 58,000 new cases, a 46 percent increase from last week’s average. (Bloomberg)

  • A state judge today found former president Donald Trump in contempt of court regarding New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into his business affairs. Trump must now either comply with the AG’s subpoena for documents or pay a $10,000 daily fine. (POLITICO)  

  • Mayor Eric Adams pledged $900 million to build more bus and bicycle lanes as part of a “Streets Master Plan” passed in 2019. The plan requires the city to build 250 miles of protected bike lanes and 150 miles of protected bus lanes over five years. (Gothamist)

  • The city’s Open Street program will enter its third year this summer, and a combined 300 city blocks will be closed to cars during certain dates and times. (New York Daily News) A directory of participating streets will be updated here.

  • Applications for NYC’s 2022 Summer Rising program officially opened today. The program provides academic classes, social-emotional learning and other enrichment opportunities to both public and private school students. If you’ve got a child in K-8 grades, here’s how to apply.

In other reading:

  • Can NYC Help Small Businesses Help Themselves? (The CITY)

  • The Subway Is New York’s Safety Net (New York Magazine)

  • Who Has the Best Views? Bars and Restaurants That Soar Over the City (Grub Street)

Quitting isn't all it's cracked up to be. While millions of people switched jobs during the pandemic, some of them are once again seeking change — by returning to their former employers. (Wall Street Journal)

  • A survey of 2,500 US adults from The Muse, a job search and career coaching platform, found nearly three-quarters of workers who left to pursue a new job expressed surprise or regret.

Severe worker shortages, a seismic shift to remote work, and widespread burnout are largely to blame, but according to recruiters, the regret is being driven by a simple trend: People's expectations of potential employers have rarely been higher.

  • Candidates are asking for flexibility in their work, higher compensation, and swift decisions from corporations earlier in the recruitment process. 

  • And in a tight market, some recruiters may exaggerate the responsibilities and benefits of the job to potential applicants. 

A record number of workers aren't following the unspoken rule of staying in their new jobs for at least one year before looking for a new position or returning to their prior employers.

  • A new UKG/Morning Consult survey of 4,000 people across six countries found that nearly one in five people are boomeranging back to the jobs they quit.

But even job-switchers without regrets don't seem content. A Harris Poll survey for USA Today showed only 26 percent of job switchers say they like their new position enough to stay, and a third are already searching for a new position with better working conditions, prestige, or pay.

In other reading:

  • Meet the TikTokers shedding light on all the biggest workplace issues (Protocol)

  • Betting on Black Women for Smarter Cities (Bloomberg)

  • Why a return to work might also mean better focus time (Fast Company)

  • TheGuarantors, a New York-based rental property insurtech startup, raised $50 million in Series C funding. Portage Ventures led the round and was joined by Kensington Capital Partners, Arch Capital Group, Roosh Ventures, and Alven Capital. (VentureBeat)

  • 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.

  • May 4: Virtual: The Future of New York series, with Tech:NYC executive director Jason Myles Clark and Capalino president Travis Terry. Hosted by Capalino. Register here.

  • May 5: Virtual: Tech regulation beyond big tech, with Consumer Technology Association SVP Michael Petricone, Small Business Majority director Awesta Sarkash, and others. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here. Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.