Tech:NYC Digest: June 24

Tech:NYC Digest: June 24

June 24, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Thursday, June 24, 2021

In today’s digest, New York’s state of emergency (and Gov. Cuomo’s emergency powers) officially ends, the Delta variant continues to spread among the city’s unvaccinated residents, and companies are striking a tricky balance when it comes to vaccination mandates.

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  • New York’s state of emergency ends today, nine days after Gov. Cuomo announced the state’s 70 percent vaccination rate and relaxed most of the state’s remaining COVID-related restrictions. The end of the state of the emergency means the governor’s ability to impose restrictions on businesses, mask mandates, and even override other laws by executive order also expires. (New York Daily News) 

    • But one caveat: CDC guidelines still remain in place (because they’re mandated at the federal level), so masks will still be mandatory in certain settings such as public transit and healthcare settings. Mask wearing and social distancing guidance remains the same for unvaccinated individuals in most settings.

  • The end of the state of emergency also means the end of restaurants’ and bars’ ability to deliver and sell alcoholic beverages to go. An extender bill was introduced in the state legislature, but it wasn’t acted upon before the end of the legislative session. (Wall Street Journal) 

    • To-go beverages were a significant lifeline for the struggling restaurant industry — accounting for as much as 50 percent of some restaurants’ sales — and the news sent restaurant and bar owners scrambling, with many saying they received no forewarning about the end of the program from state officials. (Eater NY)

  • The Delta variant of the coronavirus — which has now been added to the CDC’s list as a “variant of concern” — is continuing to spread among unvaccinated New Yorkers. Data released today shows it accounts for 22.7 percent of new cases in NYC, up from 5.6 percent the prior week. (NYC)

    • If you’re vaccinated, this variant is unlikely to pose more risk to you. Here’s a good FAQ on what experts know about it.

  • The board that determines rent increases for New York City's roughly one million rent stabilized apartments voted to enact an unusual mid-year rent hike over the opposition of both tenant groups and landlords. For one-year leases, rents will stay flat for the first six months and then increase 1.5 percent for the second six months; two-year leases will increase by 2.5 percent. (ABC New York)

Until now, most employers have held off on implementing universal vaccination requirements for returning workers. But with voluntary efforts plateauing, some firms are beginning to shift those policies:

  • Morgan Stanley will bar unvaccinated employees from entering its New York area offices. The firm said the goal is to help create a normal office environment, without a need for patchwork mask and distancing protocols. (CNBC)

  • BlackRock will only allow fully vaccinated workers to return to the office starting next month, while unvaccinated staffers are not allowed back in the office during July and August. All employees will be required to report their vaccination status by June 30. (Bloomberg)

  • JPMorgan said it’s also looking at enforcing vaccine requirements and will require workers to fill out a questionnaire on their vaccination status by the end of the month. (Bloomberg)

Other companies aren’t jumping straight to full requirements or bans, but instead making the vaccine a condition for a full office experience — unvaccinated employees may be able to come back in the building, but they won’t be allowed to enter conference rooms without a mask, or they may be barred from conducting any business travel or client-facing meetings, for example.

Regardless of the policies companies land on, verification will be key. After all, you can’t enforce rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated employees if you don’t know their statuses.

  • Proxy, an identity technologies company, today announced a new health app it says will help, for employees and guests alike. Think Envoy or a similar visitor management software your company uses at check-in, but for confirming your vaccination status. The app, or others like it, aims to help employers enforce vaccination requirements without relying on the “honor system” or hand-checking CDC vaccine cards. (Axios)

Mandates may become the norm: the EEOC has given its thumbs up, confirming there are no federal legal hurdles to requiring the vaccine of any staffer, and more companies’ employees are asking executives to implement clear guidelines so they feel safe being around their colleagues again.

Related reading:

  • Vaccine ‘Honor System’ in US Leaves False Sense of Security for Businesses (Bloomberg)

  • Do Chance Meetings at the Office Boost Innovation? (New York Times)

  • Turn Tech To Your Advantage in the New Hybrid Workplace (New York Times)

  • Meetings. Why? (New York Times)

  • Batch, a New York-based QR code startup, raised $5 million in seed funding co-led by Coatue and Seven Seven Six. Other investors include Weekend Fund, Shrug Capital and the Chainsmokers. (TechCrunch)

  • Chainalysis, a New York City-based blockchain data platform, raised $100 million in Series E funding. Coatue led the round, valuing it at $4.2 billion. Benchmark, Accel, Addition, Dragoneer, Durable Capital Partners, and 9Yards Capital also increased their investments. (Bloomberg)

  • Deduce, a New York City-based cybersecurity company, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Foundry Group led the round and was joined by investors including True Ventures. (WebWire)

  • Rasgo Intelligence, a New York City-based machine learning engineering company, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Insight Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Unusual Ventures. (AlleyWatch)

  • Sealed, a New York City-based HVAC startup, raised $16 million in Series B funding. Fifth Wall led the round and was joined by investors including FootPrint Coalition Ventures, Cyrus Capital, and CityRock Ventures. (GlobeNewswire)

  • SmartAsset, a New York City-based maker of a site for financial advice, raised $110 million in Series D funding valuing it at over $1 billion. TTV Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Javelin Venture Partners, Contour Venture Partners, Citi Ventures, New York Life Ventures, North Bridge Venture Partners, and CMFG Ventures. (TechCrunch)

  • Tiny Organics, a New York City-based childhood nutrition company, raised $11 million in Series A funding. Springdale Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including InvestEco, Silas Capital, Human Ventures, VegInvest, Babylist, Gaingels, XFactor Ventures, Natureza, and Howard Morgan. (Forbes)

  • June 29: Virtual: Redesigning the 9 to 5, with Zoom COO Aparna Bawa, Google Workspace GM Javier Soltero, Gusto Chief People Officer Danielle Brown, and others. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

Today is the ten-year anniversary of the signing of the Marriage Equality Act, and to mark the occasion, Gov. Cuomo signed another bill — the Gender Recognition Act enacts a law that creates a non-binary 'X' option for driver's licenses and simplifies the process for name changes and updating official documents. 

Happy Pride! 🌈 (Will we see you at

this weekend?)

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