Tech:NYC Digest: August 2

Tech:NYC Digest: August 2

August 02, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

In today’s digest, we’re finally seeing what it’ll take to prepare young New Yorkers for the post-pandemic workforce, Citi Bike pedals to a new milestone. and why the $29 hotdog is a good deal, actually. 

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  • The NYC Council is expected to vote this week on its permanent framework for outdoor dining rules. (Gothamist) 

    • The rules have gone through multiple revisions since they were first introduced last February, with the most recent ones allowing for “roadway cafes” from April through November and sidewalk seating year-round.

  • The city’s new commercial containerization policy launched Tuesday, requiring that food establishments put out their waste in bins with secure lids, not bags. (TimeOut New York)

    • The rule applies across the board to virtually any type of business selling or handling food, including restaurants, grocery stores, delis, bodegas, caterers, and retail food stores.

  • As the ongoing migrant crisis continues to overwhelm NYC’s shelter system, officials are considering Central Park and other green spaces to erect new sites to house asylum seekers. (Bloomberg)

  • Citi Bike said Wednesday that the bike-share system had a record-breaking month for riders in July, with over 3.76 million trips. (amNewYork)

In other reading:

  • Meet the team training formerly incarcerated people to become master bike mechanics (NBC New York)

  • The $29 Hot Dog Should Probably Cost More (New York Magazine)

Employers across industries are increasingly finding that new, young hires lack soft skills and general preparedness for the workplace and are spending millions to train them, reports the Wall Street Journal. 

One way to prepare young people to enter the workforce: Beefing up on-the-job experience through internship and other project-based learning programs.

Some good news on that front: This fiscal year's state budget includes $24 million to make New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) year-round. 

  • More than 100,000 young New Yorkers will receive paid work opportunities this summer, thanks to investments from the city and state investment and employer partnerships. 

Yes, but: A challenge for the program is expanding the range of opportunities for on-the-job training.

  • Fewer than 1% of companies that participated in last year's Summer Youth Employment Program were in the business and finance or technology sectors likely to pay high wages, according to a July report from the Center for an Urban Future (CUF).

The report offers a range of solutions to help get more companies involved. The major takeaway: Make it easy for them to do so.

  • One way is through increased flexibility. In 2020, Tech:NYC helped recruit about 100 tech companies to a pandemic-modified version of SYEP in 2020 — called Summer Bridge — that focused on online, project-based work, as the CUF report highlighted. 

  • That speaks to the interest the tech industry has in the internship program, but the number of participating tech employers has fallen to 10 this year as the focus shifted back to in-person, supervised work. 

  • With the staying power of hybrid and flexible work models, many small and medium-sized tech firms don't have the resources for constant supervised work — and they likely aren't in the office for all days of the week either.

Get the full Center for an Urban Future report here. 

Our take: The Wall Street Journal article highlights how employers have become increasingly responsible for providing basic skills training. But public-private partnerships such as SYEP — when properly calibrated and flexible — can prepare young New Yorkers to thrive in tech workplaces and their careers from the start. 

In other reading:

  • How American banks are dominating the AI transformation race (Axios)

  • Why applying for jobs on Tuesdays boosts your hiring odds (WorkLife)

  • Employers bet hiring for skills, not degrees, could level the playing field (Crain’s New York Business)

  • Converge Insurance, a NYC-based cyber risk management and underwriting startup, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Forgepoint Capital led the round.

  • Silk Security, a NYC-based sustainable cyber risk solutions startup, raised $12.5 million in seed funding. Insight Partners and Hetz Ventures co-led the round and were joined by CrowdStrike Falcon Fund and other angels.

  • SnoFox, a NYC-based software developer focused on the cold-chain sustainability, raised $4.5 million in seed funding. Voyager Ventures led the round and was joined by Pale Blue Dot, Ponderosa Ventures, and Mudcake..

  • Uptiv Health, a NYC-based infusion treatment startup, raised $7.5 million in seed funding. Participating investors include Redesign Health. from a group of investors that includes Redesign Health.

  • August 3: In-person: What is New York’s Web3 Future?, with Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad, Assembly Member Clyde Vanel, NYC Council Member Jennifer Gutierrez, and other government leaders. Hosted by Coinbase and Tech:NYC. Register here.

  • August 8: In-person: Entrepreneurs Roundtable 180, with New York Venture Partners founding partner Brian Cohen. Hosted by ERA. Register here.

  • August 22: Virtual: #notapitch: Unofficial Feedback on Your Idea/Prototype from a VC, with Brooklyn Bridge Ventures partner Charlie O’Donnell. Register here.

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