Tech:NYC Digest: August 11

Tech:NYC Digest: August 11

August 11, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

In today’s digest, Hochul’s first press conference draws distance from Cuomo, some want Open Streets to come to close, and more companies push back RTO with support from workers.

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By the numbers:

  • New positive cases statewide: 4,150 (+928)

    • New positive cases, NYC: 1,959 (+459)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 15 (-2)

  • NYC Positivity Rates: 

    • NYS reports: 2.6 percent (no change)

    • NYC reports: 3.1 percent (no change)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress:

    • Percentage of adults (18+) with at least one dose: 76.8 percent

    • Percentage of total population with at least one dose: 64.5 percent

(For fuller breakdowns, find the state’s numbers here and the city’s numbers here.)

The latest from Albany:

Lt. Gov. (AKA Gov.-to-be) Kathy Hochul held her first press conference following Gov. Cuomo’s announced resignation. Hochul made clear that she will also make changes to key personnel and pledged that her office would not be “toxic” and will be more cooperative with the legislature. Hochul will assume the governorship in 13 days. (New York Times)

  • “I think it’s very clear that the governor and I have not been close, physically or otherwise, in terms of much time. … I’ve been traveling the state and do not spend much time in his presence or in the presence of many in the state capital,” said Hochul.

As Gov. Cuomo prepares to leave office, experts see an opportunity to hit the reset button on New York's COVID-19 response, starting in the five boroughs. Foremost, they hope that Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul can mend the often adversarial relationship between state and city officials. (Gothamist)

  • The governor’s antagonistic relationship with Mayor de Blasio often left the state’s pandemic ground zero — New York City — with mixed, conflicting, or slow health guidance. The two administrations disagreed on everything from which tests were best to when the reopening would happen. With schools reopening in less than a month, it is vital for the two seats of power to align.

The latest in NYC:

Early in the pandemic, many cities, including New York, started limiting or banning traffic on particular streets, aiming to encourage cyclists and pedestrians to get outside in a socially distanced way — while patronizing local restaurants and businesses. (Axios)

  • A survey of 43 member cities of the National Association of City Transportation Officials this past spring found that 22 were planning on making COVID-era traffic changes permanent, while 16 more were considering it. (Bloomberg)

New York City has made the Open Streets program permanent, but complaints are mounting that so-called "safe streets" and "slow streets" are replacing old congestion problems with new ones. (New York Times)

  • In Queens, residents complain that 34th Avenue has turned into an obstacle course — with bicycles and scooters weaving around pedestrians.

  • Those residents say that the city's "Open Streets" program — broadened by Mayor Bill de Blasio into "Open Boulevards" in May — "caused gridlock on surrounding streets and made it harder to find parking and get deliveries and services in a neighborhood where many depend on cars.”

  • But elsewhere, reception has been resoundingly positive, with open streets breathing new life into neighborhoods and helping recover small businesses. For example, the Meatpacking District recently made many streets permanently car-free and is planning art installations, performances, and community events for the fall. (Time Out New York)

In other news:

  • The New York Times has a helpful back-to-school explainer on what we know (all NYC schools will be open for full-time in-person instruction) and don’t know (key details on how often students and staff should be tested for the virus, and how to approach quarantining when positive cases arise). (New York Times)

  • New research offers encouraging evidence about how the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine stacks up against its competitors — and the Delta variant — according to infectious-disease specialists. However, there are still lingering questions about booster shots. (Washington Post)

  • Boca Restaurant & Lounge in the Bronx will conduct on-site COVID-19 vaccinations, ahead of a city-imposed mandatory deadline of Aug. 16 for people who want to participate in indoor activities. The restaurant will partner with NYC Health + Hospitals and the NYC Test and Trace Corps. (Bronx Times)

The return to the office was over before it even began. Over the last few weeks, a cascade of tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Lyft, Microsoft, and Uber, pushed back their return plans because of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. (Bloomberg) New York health tech firms Oscar, K Health, and Talkspace are among those also readjusting their return to office plans. (Crain’s New York)

  • Larger corporations such as BlackRock, Jeffries, and Wells Fargo announced last week they would delay their return-to-office plans as the spread of the Delta variant causes the number of coronavirus cases to climb. (New York Times)

Many companies will require employees that do come in to be vaccinated, and others are also requiring masks in the office even while seated at a desk.

  • United Airlines and Citigroup have recently imposed a vaccination mandate for workers, while JPMorgan has brought back its mask requirement for vaccinated employees after ditching it earlier this year. Unvaccinated JPMorgan employees have to be tested at least twice a week and won’t be allowed to attend indoor events with 25 or more people.

Workers largely support these measures, with nearly 4 in 10 saying they would consider quitting if their employer does not mandate vaccines. That number is almost 6 in 10 among tech workers. (Quartz)

In other reading:

  • Back to Normal? It’s a Tall Order as New York City Restaurants Struggle. (New York Times)

  • Want a more flexible work schedule? Here’s how to ask for it (CNN)

  • How a simple OOO message can improve your hybrid work arrangement (Fast Company)

  • Robinhood agreed to acquire Say Technologies, a New York-based communication platform for shareholders to manage their ownership rights, for $140 million in cash. Say is backed by investors including Point72 Ventures. (PYMTS)

  • Saturn, a New York-based social calendar startup, raised more than $44 million in funding from General Catalyst, Insight Partners, and Coatue, Bezos Expeditions, Alexa von Tobel, Marc Benioff, Dara Khosrowshahi, Dick Costolo, and Adam Bain’s 01 Advisors, and others. (Forbes)

  • Surfside, a New York-based marketing platform for the cannabis industry, raised $4 million in seed funding. Casa Verde led the round. (Crain’s New York)

  • Unity agreed to acquire Parsec, a New York-based remote desktop tool for developers and creatives, for $320 million in cash. (TechCrunch)

  • August 17: Virtual: A Better Meeting, with Calendly chief product officer Annie Pearl, Mural CEO Mariano Suarez-Battan, and others. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

  • October 6 – 7: In-Person Outdoors: 2021 Propelify Innovation Festival, with Tech:NYC founder and executive director Julie Samuels, Capsule CEO Eric Kinariwala, Noom CEO Saeju Jeong, Bowery Farming CEO Irving Fain, and others. Hosted by TechUnited:NJ. Use code WeInventTheFuture to register for a free general admission ticket for a limited time here.

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