Tech:NYC Digest: May 27

Tech:NYC Digest: May 27

May 27, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes

Thursday, May 27, 2021Happy almost-long weekend! In today’s digest, broker fees are here to stay, Facebook moves up its return to office date, the messy future of hybrid work, and New York’s new anti-hate crime initiative.Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

Here’s a roundup of the latest updates in New York:

  • The pace of new COVID-19 cases in the US fell by nearly 20 percent over the last week — the fifth straight week of double digit declines. (Axios) New York’s change was even bigger, with more than 30 percent decline in new cases from last week.

    • Half of American adults are now fully vaccinated, and in New York, 56 percent of all adults are fully vaccinated. (NYS)

  • Gov. Cuomo announced a 2022 opening date for a long-awaited rail connection to Grand Central Station for Long Island commuters. (ABC New York) The governor said all major construction on the East Side Access project is now complete, and by the end of next year, eight new tracks, as well as expanded station and retail space, will be operational to reduce the crowding of having to connect through Penn Station.

    • This is especially good news for Long Island commuters who travel into Penn Station only to have to double back to their offices on the East Side.

  • The state’s paid sick leave law will now apply to New Yorkers who miss work due to side effects from the vaccine. (Spectrum News) The sick-day policy is in addition to another rule that mandates employers give workers four hours off to get a shot, and another four hours if the employee is going for a second dose.

  • CVS is joining a growing list of companies offering prizes for people who get the vaccine at one of its pharmacies. Among them: weeklong cruise passes and Super Bowl tickets, and a number of cash prizes the company suggests should be used for family reunion parties. (New York Times)

  • New state guidance affirmed that the collection of broker fees is legal and may be charged in full. (New York Times) The fees were briefly banned in early 2020 as a part of a sweeping rent protection law, but new legal decisions have permitted them to be restored. Review the full updated guidance here.

In other news:

  • As COVID-19 dissipates in the US, cold and flu viruses may return with a vengeance (STAT News)

  • Tech training organization Per Scholas is bringing its programs to Staten Islanders looking to gain employment in the sector (Staten Island Advance)

  • Outdoor dining has take over New York streets, now it will get its own “Alfresco Awards” (Wall Street Journal)

One important reminder: Tomorrow, May 28, is the last day to register to vote in New York’s closed primaries on June 22. Check out our election guide for everything you need to know. Register here, or if you’re already registered, check to make sure everything is good to go here.

Office reopening timelines are getting clearer as we approach the summer season, a time many companies have penciled in a reopening date. While some are still sticking to return dates around Labor Day, others are citing strong vaccination rates in the city as reason to come back a month or two sooner:

  • Facebook will reopen its New York City offices on July 12 at 25 percent capacity. Although, employees will have the choice to continue working remotely until one month after a return to 50 percent capacity, which the company expects will occur in early September. (Bloomberg) Masks and weekly COVID-19 testing will be required for anyone working on-site.

  • Credit Suisse is taking a two-step approach, bringing vaccination employees back sooner. Phase one will allow fully vaccinated employees to voluntarily return to the office beginning June 14, and phase two will begin in early September when all staff will resume regular, full-time in-office work schedules. (Insider)

  • Several other companies are jumping on an earlier June return as well. Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Cantor Fitzgerald, and pretty much all major financial institutions are in that group.

To make those timelines possible, operations and facilities teams are busy transforming offices not only to be more COVID-safe, but also attractive, comfortable spaces employees will actually want to come back to.

  • Movable walls that can create flexible team pods, touchless elevators, and more sophisticated technology solutions will become more commonplace. (Bloomberg) Significantly changing the ways offices are laid out and set up can be expensive, but experts say that hybrid work is here to stay, and these changes are an investment in flexible, adaptable designs that could last a decade. (Fast Company)

  • If you’re looking for guidance on this, real estate company JLL’s 2021 Office Fit Out Guide is helpful.

It’s decision time: Many executives are back in the office ahead of their employees and soon will have to put pen to paper setting when everyone else is encouraged — or required — to do the same. In private, some executives say they’re inclined to take a harder stance on office working requirements, but they fear doing so could result in workers bolting for jobs at other companies offering more flexibility.

  • A study last month by global staffing firm Robert Half found that about one in three professionals currently WFH due to the pandemic would be willing to quit if given an ultimatum to return to an office full-time.

The takeaway: At stake are potentially competing visions of the future of the workplace. As important as the actual decision is who gets to be involved in the deciding — there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for office culture, but the most successful are usually those that let employees have some say on where and how they do their jobs.  

Further reading:

Company efforts to vaccinate their workforce are mixed, and some are playing a much more active role than others. What is your company’s current vaccine strategy?

  • Allstar, a platform for sharing gaming clips, has raised $3.85 million in seed funding. New York Angels led the round with participation from Studio.vc, Emerging Ventures, J-Ventures, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, Miami Angels, Gaingels and Sand Hill Angels. (PR Web)

  • Axle, a New York-based payments company focused on the freight industry, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Crosslink Capital led the round and was joined by investors including FJ Labs, Flexport, Tribeca Early Stage Partners, Anthemis Group, Techstars and Plug and Play Ventures. (TechCrunch)

  • Back Market, an online marketplace for refurbished electronics, has raised $335 million in a Series D funding. General Atlantic led the round and was joined by Generation Investment Management, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, Aglaé Ventures, Eurazeo and daphni. (TechCrunch)

  • Betterworks, a strategy execution software platform for enterprises, has raised $61 million in a venture funding round. The company’s current investors participated in the round. (PR Web)

  • DailyPay, an on-demand pay solutions for employers, has raised $500 million in a combined equity and debt round. The $175 million Series D equity round was led by Carrick Capital Partners. Various investors participated in the $325 million of credit facility. (PR Web)

  • Rally, a fractional investing platform for alternatives investments such as luxury cars, has raised $30 million in a Series B financing. Accel led the round with participation from Upfront Ventures and Social Leverage. (BusinessWire)

  • June 1 – 3: Virtual: URBAN-X Summit, with Cohort 09 companies, including OONEE CEO Shabazz Stuart, Dorothy CEO Arianna Armelli, Singularity CEO Wenbo Shi, and others. Hosted by URBAN-X and Canary Media. Register here.

  • June 3: Virtual: VC Voices: A Conversation with Tribeca Venture Partners co-founder and managing partner Brian Hirsch. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. Register here.

  • June 9: Virtual: Machines + Media 2021: Facing the Future, with Tech:NYC founder and executive director Julie Samuels, Primary Venture Partners co-founder Ben Sun, NYCEDC Senior Vice President of Tech Karen Bhatia, and more. Hosted by NYC Media Lab and Bloomberg. Register here.

The pandemic caused a surge in anti-Asian discrimination and violence that is by no measure not a problem of the past. Additionally, recent international conflicts have had a ripple effect on violence in the city, with a spate of attacks against Jewish and Muslim New Yorkers.To help address this troubling trend, NYC today launched the P.A.T.H. Forward initiative, a partnership with six community organizations to expand hate crimes prevention resources. If you are victim of or witness to a hate crime, get more information on how to report it here.

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