Tech:NYC Digest: August 21

Tech:NYC Digest: August 21

August 21, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Monday, August 21, 2023

In today’s digest, your new subway fare, NYC’s office-to-housing conversion plan for midtown, and a how-to guide for joining this fall’s New York Tech Week.

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  • If you took the subway yesterday, you might have noticed the $2.90 charge at the turnstiles. (Gothamist)

    • Yesterday, the cost of subway, bus and commuter train rides increased from $2.75 to $2.90 — the first increase in four years. 

    • The MTA expects the fare increase will bring in $117 million this year and is planning for additional hikes in 2025 and 2027.

  • A new study offers clearer details on just how much shade New York City trees provide. (Gothamist). 

    • The study’s interactive map allows users to click on any street tree in the city to simulate its shady offering on any given day of the year. The map uses data from New York City’s 2015 tree census, as well as LIDAR technology (Light Detection and Ranging) to render a tree’s shadow and canopy area (the cooling area).

  • A new city plan is aiming to turn 20,000 empty Midtown office spaces into apartments over the next decade by streamlining a confusing, burdensome zoning process. The plan is a response to the post-pandemic office market’s search for a boost at the same time the city addresses a dire need for more affordable residential development. (New York Times)

In other reading:

  • NYC Buildings Complying With Emissions Law Faster Than Expected (Bloomberg)

  • How Bad Is a Second (or Third or Fourth) Round of COVID? (New York Times)

  • Could this floating pool be an answer to New York’s extreme heat? (Fast Company)

A plug we wanted to share today…

Tech:NYC has been coordinating with our friends at a16z on a new, expanded New York Tech Week, coming this fall.

  • New York Tech Week will run for a full week, October 16 – 22, promoting a calendar of events for every job function or sector area you can imagine.

  • Already 100+ events have been logged as part of the initiative, with events in every borough for startup founders, investors, engineers and developers, advocacy leaders, and more.

Why it matters: We’ve noticed a sustained appetite for IRL collaborations and networking post-pandemic, particularly among new founders and tech workers who started new roles during the pandemic and missed out on those early opportunities. It’s also a perfect moment to showcase the resilience of the ecosystem here.

For our part: Tech:NYC is excited to open its next Founder House, a dedicated hub and working space for a curated cohort of early-stage founders. Read more about Founder House here.

  • The House will be open for the full week, with a special itinerary of investors, product leaders, and New York policymakers stopping by for events throughout. 

  • If you’re an early-stage founder (pre-seed to Series A) interested in being part of the next cohort, reach out here to get more details and instructions for how to apply.

Stay tuned: The full New York Tech Week calendar will be released very soon. (But there’s still time to join us! If your company would like to host an event as part of the week, review the planning FAQ and submission process here.)

In other reading:

  • The tech jobs market is as strong as it ever was (TechCrunch)

  • A simple playbook for new managers (or anyone who wants to improve their leadership) (Fast Company)

  • 28 Questions Worth Asking Your Boss as One-on-Ones (Harvard Business Review)

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

  • August 23: In-person: State of the Fintech Market: Latest Trends in Funding, with Vesey Ventures founding partner Julia Huang, Foundation Capital partner Nico Stainfeld, Barclays investor Aran Rudrakumar, and Illuminate Financial investment executive Charlton Hook. Hosted by Rise by Barclays. Register here.

  • August 23: In-person: How to Leverage AI to Grow Your Software Company, with Merge CTO Gil Feig, Replit growth engineer Gian Segato, MongoDB lead vector search product manager Benjamin Flast, and Ansa investor Josh Chin. Hosted by Ansa Capital. Register here.

  • September 12: In-person: Entrepreneurs Roundtable, with Eniac Ventures co-founder and general partner Hadley Harris. Hosted by ERA. Register here.

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