Tech:NYC Digest: April 7

Tech:NYC Digest: April 7

April 07, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Thursday, April 7, 2022 

In today’s digest, state leaders reach a budget deal, the FDA sifts through competing research on booster doses, and why returning to your office wardrobe is harder than you think. 

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 5,784    

    • New positive cases, NYC: 2,346 

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 2.4 percent (+0.1 percent)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 309 (+10)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 89.7 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 76.3 percent

In today’s latest:

  • After missing the April 1 deadline, Gov. Hochul and the state legislature today announced a $220 billion budget deal. The budget includes major investments in New York’s education, infrastructure, and public safety, among other things. (ABC New York)

    • Legislators are expected to begin voting on the budget this evening and into tomorrow. Should the budget pass, it would also immediately legalize the sale of to-go alcoholic beverages. 

  • NYC officials are working to bolster the city’s testing infrastructure as coronavirus cases rise, but disputes over pandemic-related funding at the federal level means some New Yorkers could find they will have to start paying to be tested. (New York Times)

    • Cases have increased steadily across Manhattan, Staten Island, and parts of Brooklyn, threatening the city with a fifth wave just weeks after the city lifted many mask and vaccine requirements. (New York Times)

  • The future of COVID-19 vaccines – including when and how often booster doses might be needed – remains unclear and “complex,” according to the FDA. (CNN)

  • The Senate has confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court in a historic 53-47 vote, officially making her the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. (New York Times)

In other reading:

If you worked remotely today, like many of us, your WFH uniform probably includes some combination of professional wear on top … and sweatpants and house slippers on the bottom. But as employers start calling workers back to the office, workplace dress codes are just another aspect of RTO that employees — and bosses — are struggling to adjust to.

The modern workplace has, of course, changed significantly over the past two years, so it’s no surprise that attitudes about workplace attire are changing as well. (Bloomberg)

  • An entire industry of “cozy-chic” attire has emerged that takes you from day to night, home and office and everything in between.

  • What’s in: Loose-fitting blazers, knit dresses, oversized blouses are among the latest women's fashion trends. Blazers, polo shirts, and pants made of flexible material are the look for males.

Company executives are discovering it's difficult to communicate what workers can and can't wear to the office. If you're too rigorous, you risk alienating employees who weren't excited to return in the first place; if you're too lenient, the setting loses its professional air. (Wall Street Journal)

Tech companies have long operated under a looser set of rules, with many executives known for preferring T-shirts and sneakers over suits and ties. But like other components of companies’ RTO plans, there's no one-size-fits-all approach.

  • If there’s one suggestion we could agree on, it would be to echo GM vice president of human resources-turned-CEO Mary Barra, who famously trimmed the company’s ten-page dress code down to two words: “Dress appropriately.”

In other reading:

  • Hey Fashion Friend: How Do I Dress For Work Again? (The Cut)

  • Why Americans are bad at taking time off, and how to get better at it (Washington Post)

  • This is why you always get sucked into office drama (Fast Company)

  • CAIS, a New York-based alternative investment platform, raised $100 million in new funding. Reverence Capital Partners led the round. (Businesswire)

  • CertiK, a New York-based web3 and blockchain security company, raised $88m in Series B3 funding. Insight Partners, Tiger Global, Advent International co-led the round and were joined by Goldman Sachs, as well as insiders Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners. (TechCrunch)

  • Liquidity, a NYC and Tel Aviv-based predictive modeling fintech platform, raised $775 million in private equity funding. Apollo and MUFG Bank co-led the round and were joined by Spark Capital. (TechCrunch)

  • Wisewell, a Brooklyn-based drinking water filtration startup, raised $2 million in pre-seed funding. BECO Capital led the round. (Newswire)

  • April 12: Virtual: Smart Cities and the Emergence of Innovation Districts, with Tech:NYC executive director Jason Myles Clark, National Landing BID president Tracey Sayegh Gabriel, and others. Hosted by Commercial Observer. Register here.

  • April 19: Virtual: How is tech setting and measuring its climate goals?, with Salesforce chief impact officer Suzanne Dibianca, Drawdown Labs director Jamie Beck Alexander, and others. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

  • April 21: Virtual: Women In Product: Challenging Gender Inequity in Funding, with Forum Ventures DEI strategist Steph Jones, Calico founder and CEO Kathleen Chan, and Innovatemap growth manager Ashley King. Hosted by Innovatemap. Register here.

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