Tech:NYC Digest: July 9

Tech:NYC Digest: July 9

July 09, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Friday, July 9, 2021Happy Friday! We’re landing in your inbox early for another summer Friday edition of the digest.Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

A quick round of updates:

Tropical Storm Elsa just passed over NYC and Long Island, but as evidenced by all of the subway and street flooding we saw on social media last night (before the storm had even arrived!), it’s pretty clear NYC’s infrastructure is … less than prepared.

  • New Yorkers took to Twitter to share photos and videos of just how much the subway system and major thoroughfares were being impacted by flash-flood conditions. (New York Magazine) Would-be subway riders were forced to navigate waist-deep waters and police had to rescue more than a dozen people from one flooded stretch of highway.

  • The storm resurfaced warnings we’ve heard before: NYC has to do more to reinforce aging subway stations and future-proof our transit infrastructure from the impacts of climate change. Mayor de Blasio has begun the process to create a “living laboratory” for climate research to be located on Governors Island, and the presumptive incoming mayor and comptroller are also sharing ideas for how they’ll address this.

The urgency comes at the same time Pres. Biden is in the final stretch of a federal infrastructure bill that will include $579 billion in new spending for everything from traditional roads and public transit systems to broadband access, green energy, and coastal resiliency projects. (NPR) A coalition of two dozen business and labor groups are also urging a bipartisan group of senators to help get it passed. (NBC News)

In other news:

  • Today we say ‘thank you and goodbye’ to the mass vaccination site at the Javits Center. The site, along with two upstate sites, will close today so resources there can be reallocated to boost more targeted support to communities with low vaccination rates. (New York Post)

  • Pfizer is looking ahead to booster shots: the drugmarker is planning to ask the FDA for emergency use authorization for a third dose of its vaccine, saying another shot within 12 months could boost immunity and help protect against the latest variant. (NBC News) It’s also developing a new version of the shot that offers additional protection to the Delta variant. (New York Times) However, the CDC and FDA said fully vaccinated people do not generally need boosters — at least not yet.

  • The city has opened a cyberattack defense center, becoming the first major American metropolitan area to open a real-time operational center to protect against cybersecurity threats. The center is staffed by a coalition of government agencies and private businesses, with 282 partners overall sharing intelligence on potential cyber threats. (Wall Street Journal) Perhaps its first project should be … the city’s own Law Department.

In other reading:

  • New York City’s mayoral primary is over. The debate over ranked-choice voting is just beginning. (Vox)

  • Outdoor Movies Are Back, Baby (Gothamist)

  • ‘Maybe We Can Be Friends’: New Yorkers Re-emerge in a Changed City (New York Times)

Have a good weekend! See you on Monday!

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