Tech:NYC Digest: March 23

Tech:NYC Digest: March 23

March 23, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 

In today’s digest, Moderna seeks emergency authorization of its vaccine for young children, NYC to resume upgrades on hundreds of parks, and the latest on NYC’s return to the office.

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 3,875 

    • New positive cases, NYC: 1,484

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 1.4 percent (+0.2 percent)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 284 (-21) 

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 89.4 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 76.0 percent

In today’s latest:

  • Moderna is seeking emergency authorization of its coronavirus vaccine for children under six after clinical trials showed volunteers in that age group had a similar immune response to young adults when given a weaker dose. (NPR)

  • The city will resume construction this spring on more than 100 parks projects stalled by the pandemic, with most projects serving neighborhoods that have historically lacked green space. (Crain’s New York)

  • In a warning to US public health officials, a senior World Health Organization official in Europe said that increases in new coronavirus cases in 18 European countries including Britain, France, Germany, and Italy may mean authorities are relaxing pandemic restrictions too quickly. (New York Times)

  • Oscars watch parties are ready for a reboot: Entertainment venues in NYC are bringing back watch parties for Sunday night’s Academy Awards after most events were canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (New York Daily News)

In other reading:

  • What’s the Deal With Masks on Planes? (New York Times)

  • Former CDC director Tom Frieden: The Next COVID Wave is Probably Already on the Way (New York Times)

  • After COVID-19 Made Americans Better Tippers, Inflation Could Change That (Wall Street Journal)

It’s been a while since we checked in on NYC’s office activity, which is understandable. Going into 2022, any trends we were meaningfully tracking over time were disrupted by the Omicron variant, forcing companies to once again pause their reopening plans.

  • The return-to-office has been gradual enough that some experts have decided it’s the “end of the office era.” (Axios)

But many tech companies’ RTO plans are now moving full speed ahead, and we could soon see charts that indicate office use is moving up and to the right. 

In NYC, office use is up to 37 percent, a one percent jump from the week before, according to data from Kastle, a security provider for office buildings that tracks and publishes its data in a weekly Back to Work Barometer.

  • Kastle monitors office occupancy across ten major US cities, and NYC is on par with the national average of 39.5 percent.

  • That’s a significant increase from January, when the national average was just below 20 percent.

Even so, the emphasis on hybrid and flexible office policies popular among tech companies will have staying power.

  • Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul have, in recent weeks, softened their stances on returning to the office in favor of a post-pandemic outlook that supports office flexibility and the city’s broader economic recovery. (Gothamist)

Our takeaway: The office isn’t dead, but neither are the remote benefits that tech workers have come to expect over the past two years. The future of the workplace is about how well we integrate the advantages of both.

In other reading:

  • ChargeAfter, a NYC-based “buy now pay later” consumer financing startup, raised $44 million in Series B funding. The Phoenix led the round and was joined by Citi Ventures, Banco Bradesco, MUFG, and existing investors. (WWD)

  • CloudFrame, a NYC-based mainframe modernization startup, raised $7 million in Series A funding. Eldridge led the round and was joined by Henry Kravis and New York Angels. (FinSMEs)

  • Fairwords, a NYC-based communications protection software startup, raised $5.25 million in Series A funding. Fintop Capital led the round. (VentureBeat)

  • Haystacks.ai, a NYC-based data aggregation and intelligence platform for real estate investors, raised $3 million in additional seed funding. RRE Ventures, Assurant, and Preface Ventures co-led the round. (FinSMEs)

  • LAGO, a NYC-based minted art display developer, raised $4.2 million in pre-seed funding from a group of angel investors including James Ho, Ian Rogers, Jehan Chu, Mike Dudas, and others. (FinSMEs)

  • ShopThing, a NYC and Toronto-based shopping marketplace focused on luxury products, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Origin Ventures led the round and was joined by Pritzker Group and Interplay. (TechCrunch)

Blue Ridge Labs, a program of Robin Hood that supports both for-profit and nonprofit early-stage tech ventures, is accepting applications for its 2022 fellowship program. This year’s four-month program focuses on expanding digital equity for New Yorkers, and selected participants receive stipends and research funding, as well as mentorship and community resources. Learn more and apply by March 24 here.The Transit Tech Lab is accepting applications for its 2022 program. The lab, which supports growth-stage companies with solutions for improving NYC’s public transit system, provides the opportunity to pilot their tools with the MTA and other leading transit agencies. Learn more and apply by March 25 here.Udacity, in partnership with Citi, is accepting applications for its programming and web development scholarship program. The scholarship is open to Black and Latinx individuals in the NYC metro area looking to build their tech skills or begin a career in tech. Learn more and apply by March 28 here.Y Combinator is accepting applications for its Summer 2022 cohort. The program will be all-virtual with optional in-person opportunities, and accepted companies will receive $500K in total investments. Learn more and apply by March 31 here.The Jacobs Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech is accepting applications for its next cohort of Urban Tech Fellows. Researchers, thinkers, and practitioners interested in pursuing independent projects on urban tech subjects like mobility, infrastructure, and climate change are encouraged to apply. Learn more and apply by May 1 here.

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