Tech:NYC Digest: April 29

Tech:NYC Digest: April 29

April 29, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Thursday, April 29, 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: NYC full reopening set for July 1; state-run vaccination sites open today for walk-in appointments for all adults 16 and older; City Council to vote on Open Street program expansion to close down more streets for restaurant, retail and public use; new survey finds 22 percent of remote workers are looking forward to WFH outside of the home, going to coworking spaces and cafes.By the Numbers:

  • New York State: 2,028,626 (+4,073)

  • New York City: 911,700 (+1,605) 

  • Statewide Fatalities: 41,948 (+38)

  • NYC Positivity Rates: 

    • NYS reports: 1.9 percent (-0.1 percent)

    • NYC reports: 3.2 percent (-0.2 percent)

  • Vaccine Progress:

    • NYS first doses administered: 9,092,794 (+98,145)

    • NYC first doses administered: 3,539,297 (+43,635)

General Updates:

  • New Yorkers woke up to a big announcement this morning: the city will fully reopen starting July 1st.

    • Mayor de Blasio cited consistent vaccination rates in the city and declining case counts to voice his confidence that by that date, restrictions on restaurants, retail, and other businesses will no longer be needed. (Axios)

    • Restaurants, shops, gyms, salons, arenas, and theatre and musical halls are all part of the list of businesses that can reopen fully on July 1st. Large Broadway venues are expected to reopen fully in September, as are school buildings in time for the start of the academic year. (Gothamist)

    • Gov. Cuomo and state officials would have to sign off on those plans, as well, but he said today he’s optimistic that timeline can be met, both in NYC and across the state. (NBC New York)

  • The average case count and hospitalization numbers in NYC are now back down to the levels they were at before the Thanksgiving and holiday season surges. The city is averaging around 2,000 new cases per day, and officials estimate that number could drop to 600 or lower by July. (New York Times)

    • The next challenge is to help decrease those numbers evenly across all five boroughs. So far, uneven vaccine distribution could lead to a situation where the virus remains more prevalent in some neighborhoods, especially in the outer boroughs.

  • President Biden unveiled a $1.8 trillion collection of spending increases and tax changes on Wednesday. A proposal that bumps marginal income tax rates, as well as capital gains and dividend tax rates, on high earners will go towards financing broadband infrastructure, affordable child care and paid family leave, and jobs and innovation investments. (New York Times) Here’s a very helpful chart of all the pieces of the plan, and if you missed his speech last night, here’s a  good roundup of takeaways.

  • Lastly, here’s one big idea we can get behind: a national one-week vacation.

The latest results: Guidance continues to ease this week after the CDC said fully vaccinated people don’t need to mask when outdoors. Most recently, bars and restaurants in New York will no longer need to serve food with alcoholic beverages, they can soon bring bar seating back, and mid-May, they will be allowed to stay open without evening curfews. How do you anticipate these changes will affect your dining habits?     

Today's poll

: Mayor de Blasio today made a significant move and set the date for New York’s full reopening. The mayor is

, just a couple days ahead of President Biden’s goal of

by the July 4th Independence Day holiday. What do you think about the mayor’s timeline?

  • *|SURVEY: It’s too early, New York won’t be ready by then|*

  • *|SURVEY: It’s realistic, I think it will be safe to full reopen then|*

  • *|SURVEY: It’s not soon enough, New York is ready to reopen fully now or before then|*

  • One reminder: beginning today, all state-run vaccination sites will accept walk-in appointments. This includes the Javits Center, Yankee Stadium, Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, York College and the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Find the full list of sites, including those outside NYC, here. City-run sites are also now accepting walk-ins.

  • Rapid at-home COVID-19 tests have become increasingly more available over the counter, without a doctor’s prescription. Most tests sell between $20 to $40 and can deliver results in 10 to 15 minutes. (Axios) Though fast acting, at-home COVID-19 testing kits may be too expensive for regular use — one survey found most people would use at-home testing kits regularly if they cost $1, but the respondents were less likely to use the testing kits once they reached the $20 mark and higher. (Wall Street Journal)

  • The New York City Council is set to vote on a bill today that would extend the Open Streets program, closing and repurposing certain streets to be used for outdoor dining space and other public uses. The extension will also increase Dept. of Transportation funding to manage street closures and to turn streets into car-free areas in neighborhoods that lack open space. (Wall Street Journal)

Related reading:

  • Mask Rules Are Relaxed. New Yorkers, Not So Much (New York Times)

  • Is it safe to relax mask wearing in crowded New York City? Experts weigh in (Crain’s New York)

  • Together Again: New York Times photographers document nursing home reunions after one long year (New York Times)

  • Of course you’re anxious about returning to normal life (Vox)

Working:

  • Requests from employers to start heading back to the office will become commonplace by Labor Day. As company leaders further cement their office reopening plans, key to that strategy will be how to transition their workforces back away from the remote WFH routines they’ve established over the last year. (Axios)

    • Of course, companies know that many of their employees have grown accustomed to working from home and want the option to keep doing so, but “it's relatively easier to be remote when everyone is remote. The challenge is, when people go back, a stigma starts to rear its head,” according to an economist at ADP.

  • WFH post-pandemic may not always literally mean work from home: a new Upwork report found that 22 percent of respondents who plan to work remotely in the future are excited to work more often in co-working spaces, and getting back to spending time at coffee shops and cafes. (Quartz)

  • And an important business event and conference bellwether: CES will return to Las Vegas as an in-person event in 2022. (The Verge)

Related reading:

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:

  • May 4: Virtual: Bloomberg Wealth Summit, with Coinbase president & COO Emilie Choi, Betterment CEO Sarah Levy, UBS Head of US Wealth Management Jason Chandler, and more. Hosted by Bloomberg. (Details)

  • May 5: Virtual: NYC’s Restaurant Revival, with star chefs and restaurateurs Danny Meyer, Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, and Melba Wilson. Hosted by Crain’s. (Details)

  • May 12: Virtual: Building a Better Internet for America, with US Senator Ed Markey. Hosted by The Verge. (Details)

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

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