Tech:NYC Digest: April 8

Tech:NYC Digest: April 8

April 08, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Friday, April 8, 2022 

In today’s digest, some highlights of the state budget, Mayor Adams extends toddler mask mandate, and why child care benefits will reshape the workplace of the future.

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 5,904    

    • New positive cases, NYC: 2,477

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 2.5 percent (+0.1 percent)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 328 (+19)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 89.7 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 76.4 percent

In today’s latest:

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature have reached a record $220 billion deal for the state’s budget, one week after the April 1 deadline. (THE CITY) Bills are expected to be approved late tonight. Here’s some of the highlights:

    • $7 billion in child care funding, with subsidies for free care expanding to families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty limit.

    • The alternative fuels and electric vehicle recharging property credit has been extended to 2025, facilitating the installation of EV charging stations on commercial property.

    • The purchase of to-go cocktails will be immediately reinstated, but will have to be accompanied by a “substantial” food order.

    • A gas tax holiday will take effect beginning June 1 through the end of the year.

  • NYC officials have vowed to keep COVID-19 tests at city-run sites free, but delays in new federal funding are leading other providers to begin charging. As BA.2 cases continue to climb, here’s a good FAQ on how to find a free test in the city. 

  • Citing a rise in COVID-19 cases, Mayor Adams has extended the mask mandate for children under five for at least another week, after which it will be reevaluated based on current conditions. (NBC New York) 

  • And lastly, today was opening day at Yankee Stadium! To kick off the season, 11-year old Yulia Holiyat performed the Ukrainian national anthem before a sold-out crowd of 50,000 fans. Watch the video here.

In other reading:

  • These two dozen destinations received lowered travel warnings from the CDC (Washington Post)

  • The Magic of Endless Summer Fridays (New York Times)

A cornerstone of Gov. Hochul’s budget expected to pass later today are sizable new investments in child care, a move that’s as much a workplace issue as it is a family one.

  • In her new book Pay Up, Girls Who Code and Marshall Plan for Moms founder Reshma Saujani said subsidizing child care is the single most important step companies can take to support women in the workplace. 

The state’s $7 billion investment represents a significant increase over previous years, and experts say the new funding paves the way for universal child care and will help to stabilize an industry shaken by COVID. (Chalkbeat)

  • Nearly 30 percent of women without paid leave left the workforce within a year of giving birth, and one in five didn’t return for over a decade.

Tech companies are also doubling down on the importance of child and family care, especially in a hyper-competitive labor market where those benefits make the difference in attracting top talent: 

  • Nearly 500 companies took to social media for theSkimm’s #ShowUsYourLeave campaign, sharing their policies and committing to necessary improvements.

  • Maven became the first unicorn in women’s and family health last year, providing virtual care options for employers and individuals.

  • LinkedIn’s new “career break” feature allows users to classify their time away from work for caregiving reasons on their profiles.

Vivvi, a NYC-based childcare and early learning startup, stressed in a recent report that working parents expect their employers to have strategies designed to better support them:

  • “Child care has long been a drastic, unmet need for working families — driven by fundamental supply/demand imbalances, skyrocketing costs and lack of quality, flexible options aligned with how families live their lives today,” said co-founder and CEO Charles Bonello. “That pain point is not and never was a cosmetic one — it represents one of the biggest hurdles to workforce participation, generational economic mobility, and broad economic growth.”

Generous paid leave is just one piece of the pie: Bonello says considering caregiving not as a “perk” but as an essential part of a company’s recruitment and retention strategy is the best way to achieve an equitable and sustainable workforce. 

In other reading:

  • Even Slack’s CEO is still trying to figure out hybrid work (Axios)

  • Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: Stop sending those late-night emails (Bloomberg)

  • The RTO perk your boss won’t mention: Gossip is back on (Washington Post)

  • Community Gaming, a NYC-based online gaming tournament software platform that offers cryptocurrency in exchange for gameplay, raised $16 million in Series A funding. SoftBank Group’s SB Opportunity Fund led the round and was joined by Animoca Ventures, Binance Labs, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Griffin Gaming Partners. (CoinDesk)

  • Coro, a NYC-based cyber security platform, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Balderton Capital led the round and was joined by Jerusalem Venture Partners. (TechCrunch)

  • Prepared, a NYC-based emergency services technology developer, raised $9.8 million in seed funding. First Round led the round and was joined by Gradient Ventures, 8VC, and Risk and Return. (TechCrunch)

  • Tribute, a NYC-based video group montage service, raised $3 million in seed funding. Reign Ventures led the round and was joined by a group of angels. (Newswire)

  • TULU, a NYC-based in-building smart platform for tenant amenities, raised $20 million in Series A funding. New Era Capital Partners led the round.

  • 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 12: Virtual: Silicon Valley Bank April Fundraising Workshop, with Rarebreed VC managing partner Mac Conwell and Silicon Valley Bank director of startup banking Bo Ren. Hosted by Silicon Valley Bank. 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: 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.

  • 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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