Tech:NYC Digest: May 6

Tech:NYC Digest: May 6

May 06, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Friday, May 6, 2022 

In today’s digest, FDA restricts use of J&J vaccine, new rent increases get Board approval, and how to create pet-friendly office policies everyone can tolerate.

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 13,902  

    • New positive cases, NYC: 7,264

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 4.6 percent (no change)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 90.2 percent 

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 77.0 percent  

In today’s latest:

  • Public health experts are warning a “fifth wave” of COVID-19 could take over NYC, driven largely by a more contagious subvariant of Omicron. Virus transmission in the city is up 32 percent in the last ten days. (NBC New York)

    • If the trends continue, the city’s health commissioner said he would consider reinstating mask mandates and other safety protocols. (New York Daily News)

  • The FDA placed additional limits on Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, recommending it only for adults who cannot or refuse to get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The restriction comes in response to updated analysis of the risks of a blood-clotting condition in some people who received it. (New York Times)

  • The NYC Rent Guidelines Board voted to allow rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments between two and four percent for one-year leases and between four and six percent for two-year leases — the largest increases in nearly a decade. (Gothamist) About 2.4 million tenants will be impacted by the increases.

  • And lastly, don’t forget Mother’s Day is this Sunday! Need a last-minute gift? Adopt a plant on the High Line in mom’s name! 

In other reading:

  • How the E-Bike Effect Is Transforming New York City (Bloomberg)

  • A Sandwich That’s Worth 192 Minutes on the Subway (Grub Street)

  • Zoomers are calling the East Village just ‘East Village’ on TikTok and you can’t stop them (Gothamist)

Have you returned to the office recently and found you have a lot of new (furry) colleagues? You aren’t alone. As workers shift back to in-person work, they’re increasingly bringing their pets with them.

  • Amazon, Etsy, Google, Salesforce, Uber (and Tech:NYC!) have all implemented pet-friendly office policies. (Forbes)

And while pet-friendly offices were a trend long before COVID-19, it gained traction after a record 23 million Americans adopted pets during the pandemic, according to the ASPCA. 

Many people — especially those who got a pet for the first time during the pandemic — are worried about the shift from WFH, their pets accustomed to them always being nearby. As a result, more companies are being pressured to prioritize pet-friendly office environments for their new furry family members. 

  • According to one survey, Fifty-seven percent of the 1,500 pet owners said they would prefer to return to a pet-friendly job. And half of the 500 top executives polled said they intend to allow pets in the workplace.

But all employees aren’t necessarily on the same page: Some are happier and more productive with their pets by their sides, while others are annoyed or have even quit because of allergies or phobias — or because they’re just distracting. (Washington Post)

So how do workplaces get that balance right? Here’s some good tips to keep in mind — setting up clear guidelines is key. Employers: defining designated roaming areas away from the kitchen or more active common spaces could help. Employees: Clean up after your pet — don’t earn yourself the ‘worst employee of the month’ award for leaving it to custodial staff.

PS: Your cute pet pic submissions are always welcomed here.

In other reading:

  • Why the Great Resignation has no end date (Axios)

  • 6 places investors look for problems when you’re fundraising (TechCrunch)

  • Bitcoin is Coming to Your 401(k), If Your Employer Allows It (TIME)

  • Graphite, a NYC-based CIL and code review tool,raised $20 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowtiz led the round. (TechCrunch)

  • Seaspire, a Boston and New York-based skincare startup, raised $3 million in seed funding led by The Engine and was joined by investors including MassMutual through the MM Catalyst Fund, MassVentures, Alumni Ventures, Safar Partners, and angel investors Drs. Daniel Siegel and Susan Bryde.

  • Tomorrow Farms, a New York-based sustainable food-tech company, raised $8.5 million in seed funding. Lowercarbon Capital led the round and was joined by Maveron, Valor Siren Ventures, Simple Food Ventures, and SV Angel. (TechCrunch)

  • Walnut, a BNPL provider focused on healthcare, raised $110m in Series A equity and debt funding. Gradient Ventures led the equity round and other investors include Newark Ventures, Afore Capital, 2048 Ventures, AngelList, Weekend Fund, Company Ventures, Banana Capital, Goodwater Capital, and Muse Capital. (TechCrunch)

  • May 10: Virtual: #newtovc: Deal Sourcing, BBG managing partner Nisha Dua, FirstMark Capital managing partner Matt Turck, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures partner Charlie O’Donnell. Hosted by Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. Register here. 

  • May 11: In-person & virtual: Investing to Combat Climate Change, with Union Square Ventures investor Mona Alsubaei, Softbank Energy investor William Layden, Breakthrough Energy Ventures investor Stefan Zlatev, and others. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. Register here.

  • May 19: In-person: State of NYC Business Summit, with Tech:NYC executive director Jason Myles Clark, Partnership for New York City Kathryn Wylde, NYC Hospitality Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie, and others. Hosted by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. Register here.

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