Tech:NYC Digest: August 10

Tech:NYC Digest: August 10

August 10, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, August 10, 2022 

In today’s digest, N95s are still in this summer, NYC congestion pricing gets one step closer, and why “work from anywhere” should not include your vacation!   

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 5,792   

    • New positive cases, NYC: 2,869 

  • NYC Positivity Rate (Daily): 5.2% 

    • NYC Positivity Rate (7-Day Average): 7.3%  

In today’s latest: 

  • NYC officials are again urging New Yorkers to wear masks, particularly in indoor public spaces, as CDC data reaffirms all five boroughs remain in its “high” risk level of community spread. 

    • A search tool from the CDC will show you a list of pharmacies and other establishments providing free N95 masks in your ZIP code.

    • And a reminder: if you received your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna five or more months ago, or a Johnson & Johnson dose two or more months ago, it’s time for your booster!

  • Some welcome news: The latest Dept. of Labor data shows that inflation rose 0% last month (and unrounded, was actually slightly negative!), slowing for the first time in a year and signaling the US may have reached its inflation peak. (Washington Post)

    • Core inflation, a datapoint that excludes energy and food prices, rose just 0.3%, a rate still below analysts’ expectation.

  • Officials working on the congestion pricing plan to toll drivers who enter Manhattan south of 60th Street released an analysis suggesting a toll between $5 and $23, depending on the time of day and type of vehicle, would reduce car traffic by as much as 20%. (THE CITY)

  • And if you’re as curious as we are about the NY-10 congressional race, the first televised debate of the top six candidates airs tonight at 7pm ET. Here’s how to tune in.

In other reading:

  • Are You Sure You’re Not Guilty of the ‘Millennial Pause’? (The Atlantic)

  • Stress, COVID, other school-year worries: Experts give parents tips. (Washington Post)

  • We Went on a Lanternfly-Killing Rampage. They’re Back in NYC. (New York Times)

Are people taking more vacations, or are they staying more tied to their laptops for work? Trick question: the answer is both. (Wall Street Journal)

  • A survey by Korn Ferry found 60% of senior executives polled said they expected to be more connected to work while on vacation this year than in years prior.

  • More than a third said they planned to check in with the office multiple times a day, compared with just 19% in 2021.

One of the reasons why more people are staying in work mode can be traced back to, you guessed it, the fast-shifting labor market.

  • Millions of US workers have recently left or switched jobs and feel reluctant to be offline for a week or two while still settling in with new employers.

  • Others felt they can’t get the coverage they would need: One-third of the survey respondents worried work wouldn’t be done well enough in their absence, with tasks piling up or important project updates being missed.

This doesn’t bode well for the war against burnout: workers need a vacation more than ever. (Forbes)

Our tips for those of you struggling to unplug:

  • Prepare ahead of time with your teams, and then really commit to your PTO.

  • Use the features in email and other messaging tools to limit — if not totally turn off — notifications. The apps can go into “sleep mode” so you can, too!

  • Take the time you’ve earned. There’s a reason you company gives you vacation time — research abounds that show employees who return from vacation report longer-term satisfaction with their jobs and overall tasks.

In other reading:

  • HR and people leaders weigh in: What kind of DEI research would be most useful in your roles? (Protocol)

  • How Employers Benefit From Offering Unlimited Paid Time Off (Bloomberg)

  • The days you’re most likely to see your co-workers at the office (Crain’s New York Business)

  • Kumospace, a Long Island City-based virtual office platform, raised $21 million in Series A funding. Lightspeed led the round and was joined by Boldstart Ventures and others. (TechCrunch)

  • PreciTaste, a NYC-based AI platform for optimizing food service operations, raised $24 million in Series A funding. Melitas Ventures and Cleveland Avenue LLC co-led the round and were joined by the CEOs of Burger King and McDonald’s and Enlightened Hospitality Investments, the fund co-founded by Shake Shack CEO Danny Meyer. (TechCrunch)

  • Salvo Health, a NYC-based digital gut health startup, raised $10.5 million in seed funding. Threshold Ventures led the round and was joined by Torch Capital and Felicis Ventures. (Insider)

  • Stride, a NYC-based multichain liquid staking protocol, raised $6.7 million in seed funding. North Island VC, Distributed Global, and Pantera Capital co-led the round and were joined by Imperator, Cosmostation, Everstake, Staking Facilities, 1Confirmation, Cerulean Ventures, Node VC, Picus Capital, and Road Capital. (CoinDesk)

LinkedIn is accepting entries to its US Creator Accelerator Program. The program, focused on creators and concepts in the tech and innovation space, will provide winners with grants up to $12,000 and dedicated mentorship from The Plug founder and CEO Sherell Dorsey and content creators, as well as access to other LinkedIn business tools. Learn more and apply by Aug. 10 here.New York City Economic Development Corporation is accepting applications for organizations and operators interested in running the Venture Access NYC Founder Fellowship. Organizations with substantial entrepreneurship networks and history supporting diverse cohorts of early-stage founders are invited to apply. Learn more and apply by Aug. 26 here.Cela Innovation, in partnership with the Morgan Stanley Multicultural Innovation Lab, is seeking founders for its next Office Hours installment. Cela brings together early-stage entrepreneurs with leading accelerator program leaders and investors to make one-on-one matches with mentors. Learn more and apply for the Aug. 30 virtual event here.Newlab, in partnership with Globant, is accepting applications for its Ethical AI Studio. Early-stage companies looking to test new products and solutions that promote wellbeing and restore public trust in emerging tech are invited to apply. Benefits include access to a $100K grant funding pool, access to an angel investors network, as well Newlab space, industry experts, and prototyping resources. Learn more and apply by Sept. 21 here.

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