Tech:NYC Digest: May 24

Tech:NYC Digest: May 24

May 24, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Tuesday, May 24, 2022 

In today’s digest, NYC beaches to open this weekend, new panel launched to support NYC’s post-pandemic economy, and why you should negotiate (and probably win) a better salary. 

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 5,990

    • New positive cases, NYC: 2,779

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 6.3 percent (no change)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 90.5 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 77.3 percent

In today’s latest: 

  • New York City is launching a new mental health treatment model in an effort to bridge the gaps in the mental health care system. The pilot program will be launched at nine clinic sites in high-need areas throughout The Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn, and are currently accepting referrals. (ABC New York)

  • ​​COVID-19 cases are rising in NYC public schools, with students and staff tallying nearly 11,000 positive tests last week alone. The total is up ten-fold from the first week of March. (New York Daily News)

  • Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams today announced the creation of a “New” New York panel to provide recommendations on the future of the city’s economy and recovery. The panel will be led by Robin Hood CEO Richard Buery and former Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff; you can read their op-ed in the New York Daily News here. 

  • With Memorial Day weekend quickly approaching, many are ready to welcome the unofficial start of summer by heading to the beach. New York City's public beaches will officially open this Saturday until Sept. 12 — and four celebrations are planned to help kick off summer. (NBC New York)

In other reading:

  • Former NYC COVID Advisor Dr. Jay K. Varma: The Answer to COVID Fatigue Is Creativity, Not Surrender (New York Times)

  • Why the Monkeypox Virus Is Not Like COVID-19 (New York Times)

  • Is NYC on the Local or Express Track to Regaining Lost Jobs? (THE CITY)

“It’s a workers’ market.” That’s something we’ve heard a lot throughout the pandemic, especially in tech. And workers are cashing it in — literally.

Perhaps now more than ever, job candidates have more bargaining power when it comes to pay. Add in rising inflation and the labor shortage (there are now nearly two job openings for every jobseeker) and candidates are putting more thought into salary negotiations. (CNN)

  • Recruiters are getting questions about salary ranges much earlier in the interview process. Companies are, likewise, asking candidates about their expectations as early as the first interview.

  • And yes, experts say that even if you don’t think you have the leverage, you should still do it. (Fast Company)

A survey from Fidelity Investments found ​​​​85 percent of workers — and 87 percent of professionals ages 25 to 35 — who countered on salary and/or other compensation or benefits got at least some of what they asked for. (CNBC)

  • Competition for talent has driven some tech companies to increase pay by as much as 20 percent in the past two years alone.

But it’s not all about the money: According to survey data released last year by B2B software company Amdocs, a staggering 97 percent of workers in the tech industry said strong training and upskilling programs are important to them in a prospective employer. (Inc.)

In other reading:

  • Why millennials are driving the remote work push (Axios)

  • Workers in Office Feel Least Connected, Countering RTO Claims (Bloomberg)

  • Why it’s time to give all your employees executive coaching (Protocol)

  • Bubblehouse, a NYC-based NFT social marketplace, raised $9 million in seed funding. Cassius led the round and was joined by Third Kind VC, SV Angel, Kima Ventures, Watertower Ventures, Ocho, Steve Aoki, and David Guetta. (Newswire)

  • Clear Street, a NYC-based platform for capital market intelligence, raised $165 million in Series B funding. Prysm Capital led the round and was joined by NextGen Venture Partners, Walleye Capital, Belvedere, NEAR Foundation, McLaren Strategic Ventures, and Validus Growth Investors. (Newswire)

  • Parallel Learning, a NYC-based digital health platform for students with learning and thinking differences, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Tiger Global led the round and was joined by Obvious Ventures, Barry Sternlich’s JAWS, and Vine Ventures. (TechCrunch)

  • Singularity Energy, a NYC-based grid decarbonization platform, raised $4.5m in seed funding. Spero Ventures and Energy Impact Partners co-led the round. (TechCrunch)

  • May 24: In-person: The Collision Between Web3 and Consumers, with Unlock VP of business development Patrick Workman and Fenwick partner Vejay Lalla. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. Register here.

  • May 25: In-person: The Business of Biodesign, with AlgiKnit CEO Tessa Callaghan, TomTex chief scientific officer Ross McBee, Werewool CEO Chui-Lian Lee, and others. Hosted by Newlab and the Biodesign Challenge. Register here.

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