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Tech:NYC Digest: April 9

Tech:NYC Digest: April 9

April 09, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Friday, April 9, 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: A readout of our forum with NYC mayoral candidates; TurboVax no more, new city cybersecurity blocks bots like one used by popular appointment finder; NYC schools now have a “four-case rule” to decide shutdowns; Citi Bike now Manhattan-wide with latest northern tip expansion.

By the Numbers:

New York State: 1,927,357 (+9,014)
New York City: 865,460 (+4,368)
Statewide Fatalities: 41,028 (+56)
NYC Positivity Rates:
- NYS reports: 3.9 percent (no change)
- NYC reports: 6.2 percent (-0.1 percent)
Vaccine Progress:
- NYS first doses administered: 7,193,595 (+177,764)
- NYC first doses administered: 2,586,155 (+62,789)

General Updates:

Yesterday, we hosted a forum with leading NYC mayoral candidates to discuss their plans to support the tech sector and the city at large. Tech:NYC put the event together with our partners at Warby Parker and other leading NYC tech companies, and with support from AT&T. It was certainly one of the larger Zooms we’ve had in the last year — more than 1,000 members of the tech community tuned in live to hear from the candidates.

It's a unique and important context that NYC is electing its next mayor in the midst of a pandemic, and in short conversations, seven top candidates each presented their visions for getting the city on the road to recovery — and the role tech and innovation can play to help. While by no means exhaustive, here’s a brief readout of some of the ideas that each candidate discussed:

Andrew Yang: how to incentivize workers to return to their commutes and their offices.
Kathryn Garcia: how to get trash off the streets and reimagine how we utilize streetscapes and greenspaces.
Eric Adams: how to build public-private partnerships that improve city services.
Shaun Donovan: how to solve quality of life issues to help companies attract and retain talent.
Ray McGuire: how to decrease cost and increase efficiency to keep government working.
Scott Stringer: how to invest in technology to have a broader citywide benefit for NYC residents.
Maya Wiley: how to achieve digital equity and close the digital divide.

If you weren’t able to tune in live, you can

stream the full video here

(and stay tuned for future events and resources leading up to the June 22nd primary).

The latest results: The rise in vaccinations and warmer days may mean New York’s political campaigns may soon hop off the Zoom screens and hit the streets. As companies weigh the same dynamic changes (the Google I/O conference and Microsoft BUILD conference are both all-virtual this year), what do you think the role of virtual business events will be after the pandemic?

Today's poll

: We’re approaching two months until

Primary Day

in NYC’s election for mayor, city council members, and more. As candidates craft the final stretches of their campaigns, what issue matters most to you as a NYC voter?

*|SURVEY: Business climate|*
*|SURVEY: Civil rights|*
*|SURVEY: Crime and public safety|*
*|SURVEY: Economy|*
*|SURVEY: Education|*
*|SURVEY: Housing and the cost of living|*
*|SURVEY: Quality of life|*
*|SURVEY: Subway and the public transit system|*
*|SURVEY: Taxes|*
*|SURVEY: Other|*

NYC has launched an AfterCare program to serve New Yorkers who are experiencing long-term effects of COVID-19. (NBC New York) Learn more about the program here.
NYC’s cybersecurity systems installed new defenses that have effectively blocked the popular TurboVax tool from being able to work anymore. (Patch NYC) TurboVax used a bot to monitor real-time availability of vaccine appointment, but the new bot defenses have cut it off, and the tool’s founder said he “wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t come back online.”
For NYC public schools, the “two-case” rule is now the “four-case” rule with some caveats. (New York Times) Until now, the policy required NYC public school buildings to shut down for ten days if two unrelated cases were found. But starting next week, schools will only shut down if four or more confirmed cases in separate classrooms are found. The city’s contact tracing program must also confirm the infections originated inside the schools before they close for ten days.
- The change comes simultaneously with today’s deadline for families currently fully remote to opt back in to in-person instruction. We’ll get a more final number on Monday, but so far, about 40,000 students have opted back in. That number pales in comparison to the vast majority that are choosing to remain remote through the end of the school year in June.
Citi Bike has completed its expansion into the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods to now cover the entire island of Manhattan. (New York Daily News) The expansion means the bike-sharing network now includes 20,000 bicycles and is now larger than Velib, the bike-sharing network in Paris.