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Tech:NYC Digest: January 20

Tech:NYC Digest: January 20

January 20, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, January 20, 2021As NYC works through another surge of the coronavirus, the 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: President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris sworn into office; Biden signs more than a dozen executive orders including a federal mask mandate, reversing Trump’s travel ban, and a government-wide racial equity initiative; NYC forced to reschedule appointments and shut down administration sites as vaccine supply dwindles; Gov. Cuomo plans contingency budget in case Congress fails to deliver needed state aid.

Confirmed Cases:

New York State: 1,271,451 (+13,364)
New York City: 537,601 (+6,594)
Statewide Fatalities: 33,415 (+185)
NYC Positivity Rates:
- NYS reports: 5.7 percent (no change)
- NYC reports: 8.5 percent (+0.3 percent)

General Updates:

Congratulations to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — and all the other public servants getting to work today (with a special shout out to the New Yorkers entering the administration)! But today is historic for another reason, too: in addition to the inauguration, today marks one year since the first CDC-confirmed COVID hospitalization in the US. (NPR)
Pres. Biden is expected to sign more than a dozen executive orders — more than any president has on their first day — just after 5pm ET to address the ongoing pandemic, including a federal mask mandate and a restructured federal vaccine rollout plan, as well as others addressing climate change, immigration, and US census actions. (CBS News) Jen Psaki, the new White House press secretary, will then give an inaugural press briefing at 7pm ET. Details from the administration can be found here.
Don’t forget to tune in to the televised special happening in lieu of the Inaugural Balls, featuring plenty of star-studded performances and remarks from Pres. Biden and Vice Pres. Harris. (And also, a special celebration of Sandra Lindsay, the nurse and director of critical care in Queens who became the first American to get the COVID-19 vaccine.) More details and how to tune in at 8:30pm ET here.
Lastly, if you didn’t come for the ceremonies, at least come for the memes. Get the recaps here and here and here and, most importantly, here.

One good read: Joe Biden’s half-century journey from local government to the White House (New York Times)

One must listen: ICYMI: 22-year-old Youth Poet Laureate and youngest inaugural poet in history Amanda Gorman recites her poem “The Hill We Climb”

One correction: we apologize for a copy error in the graphic of poll results shared yesterday. Here are the accurate numbers:

57.8%: Indoor dining in NYC should remain closed
34.1%: Indoor dining in NYC should have the same policy as other regions
8.1%: Indoor dining in NYC should be allowed to more fully reopen

Yesterday's results: Do you plan to watch the swearing in of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris tomorrow?

Today's poll

: During his campaign and since the election, President Biden made a lot of promises to action on COVID, racial justice, climate change, diplomacy, and the economy through

his first day

his first 10 days

, and

his first 100 days

. With the first day almost in the books and over a dozen newly signed executive orders to go along with it, how optimistic are you that the Biden Administration will fulfill those promises?

*|SURVEY: Very optimistic|*
*|SURVEY: Somewhat optimistic|*
*|SURVEY: Not optimistic|*
*|SURVEY: Very doubtful|*

Find the poll results from all previous editions of this newsletter here.

Reopening:

NYC is rescheduling more than 23,000 vaccine appointments through Jan. 24 as the supply of doses dwindles in the city. (New York Post) There is a delay in the latest shipment of more than 100,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, but even with those, appointment sign-ups for eligible people outpaces available supply. Mayor de Blasio said today he is optimistic the Biden Administration will be able to alleviate the shortages.
- Statewide, 85 percent of available doses in New York have been administered. That’s good news, but the state is now averaging 65,000 doses per day, which means the 145,000 that remain on-hand will be used up in the next two to three days.
Gov. Cuomo has laid out two different state budget possibilities: one in which the federal government delivers the full $15 billion in requested aid, and one that assumes a federal aid package around $6 billion. (New York Times) If the latter happens, a temporary wealth tax for income over $5 million and cuts to school, Medicaid, and other agency funding are on the table.
The MTA and NJ Transit are both experimenting with new sorts of packages for the occasional commuter, like ticket bundles that don’t expire and other fare perks for those expecting to work remotely more long-term. (Wall Street Journal)