Tech:NYC Digest: November 17

Tech:NYC Digest: November 17

November 17, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Thursday, November 17, 2022

In today’s digest, the push for curbside composting at every Manhattan building, an artist honors the MetroCard, and how tech startups are supporting New York's climate goals with the next generation of clean transportation infrastructure.

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  • A new city proposal has released a pay scale that will require a minimum wage for food delivery workers. As proposed, a minimum rate would go into effect in January and increase to $23.82 per hour plus tips by 2025. (THE CITY)

  • Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and a group of NYC Council Members are requesting the curbside composting program similar to the program launched in Queens last month be extended to their borough. The proposal, citing that a third of NYC’s waste is organic, aims to offer compost pickup at every building in the borough. (Gothamist)

  • The confirmed number of monkeypox cases in NYC is down to an average of three per day, from more than 70 a day in July. As a result, the city’s mobile vaccination program placing vans outside community centers and nightclubs will end. Vaccinations will still be available at sexual health clinics. (New York Times)

  • And for the first time ever, Fifth Avenue will be closed to all car traffic during three Sundays in December. Here’s why.

In other reading:

  • As NYC Swipes Out MetroCards, One Artist Honors the Yellow and Blue (New York Times)

  • How three new moms are changing the New York City Council (City & State)

  • Where in NYC to Watch the World Cup This Weekend (Grub Street)

A key part of New York’s economic development agenda has prioritized clean infrastructure — goals codified to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050, with at least 35 percent of clean energy investments directed to disadvantaged communities. 

That’s where the Clean Transportation Prizes come in. 

  • Ten grand prize winners just announced will receive a share of $85 million in investments to improve clean transportation and mobility solutions.

  • And we're excited to see two Tech:NYC members among the winners: Dollaride, a commuter services provider focused on transit deserts, and Revel, an electric moped and rideshare startup based in Brooklyn.

Su Sanni, Dollaride’s co-founder and CEO, will use the prize for its Clean Transit Access Program plan to electrify a fleet of “dollar vans” serving disadvantaged neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens:

  • “The prize is truly catalytic funding. It's going to help us support small fleet owners with low-cost financing needed to purchase 100+ electric vehicles and charging stations. Financing fleet electrification is simply out of reach for small businesses. And for early-stage startups like Dollaride, using project finance would have been impossible without the backing from the New York State government agencies behind the prizes.”

Paul Suhey, Revel’s co-founder and COO, told us the investment will be used to build the Red Hook Recharge Zone (RHRZ) in a neighborhood long overlooked by infrastructure development:

  • “The RHRZ is unique compared to the rest of our Superhub network — along with ultrafast public EV charging, it will include a community center providing green jobs training and a clean energy ecosystem of solar canopies, vehicle-to-grid technology and battery energy storage. We hope the site can be a model for bringing green technology and jobs to the communities that need them the most.”

Both projects are part of the state’s larger $1 billion investment to electricity the transportation sector in an effort to meet its sweeping climate goals:

  • “We need to make it as easy as possible for New Yorkers to own and drive electric vehicles,” said Suhey. I think the state has made really important moves towards that, especially through EV tax credits which help with the affordability issue. But we can’t ignore how different it is to charge an EV in New York’s urban centers versus more suburban or rural areas.”

  • A statewide picture — and one that focuses on small businesses — is the right path forward, says Sanni: “If we want New York State to continue to lead the nation on clean energy and mobility, we have to support 'main street' through this energy transition in a very intentional way. Enabling startup companies like Dollaride and BlocPower, which are both dedicated to serving disadvantaged communities is a great start, but we need more help and collaboration from government to finish this fight.”

In other reading:

  • NYCEDC chief Andrew Kimball: City's future will rely on live-work hubs: EDC chief (Crain’s New York Business)

  • The Office is Half-Dead (Or Half-Alive) (Curbed)

  • Meet Your New Corporate Office Mate: A ‘Brainless’ Robot (New York Times)

  • Akeyless, a NYC and Ramat Gan-based cybersecurity company, raised $65 million in Series B funding. NGP Capital led the round and was joined by Team8 Capital and Jerusalem Venture Partners. (TechCrunch)

  • Beti, a NYC and Tel Aviv-based construction site management software company, raised $11 million in funding. PSG led the round and was joined by 97212 Ventures. (CTech)

  • Energy Impact Partners, a NYC-based venture capital firm, raised $485 million for a new fund focused on early-stage climate technology companies. (Wall Street Journal)

  • Fennel, a NYC-based ESG-focused investing app, raised $5 million in seed funding. Participating investors include Temerity Partners and a group of individuals. (Axios)

  • November 18: In-person and virtual: 10th Annual Official New York Cyber Security Summit, featuring executives from Google, IBM Security, Darktrace, Hacware, and more. Use code TECHNYC22 for $100 off in-person admission or free virtual admission by registering here.

  • November 22: In-person and virtual: A fireside chat with Squire Technologies CEO Songe LaRon and Techstars managing director Gary Stewart. Hosted by Techstars and J.P. Morgan. Register here. 

  • November 22: Virtual: #notapitch: Unofficial Feedback on your Idea/Prototype from a VC, with Brooklyn Bridge Ventures partner Charlie O’Donnell. Register here.

  • November 29: In-person: AI Week: Generative AI’s Impact on the Future of Work, with Bloomberg Beta investors Amber Yang and Lori Berenberg. Hosted by Betaworks. Register here.

  • December 2: In-person: A Night of Climate Innovation, Collaboration, and Action, with Dollaride founder and CEO Su Sanni and We Don’t Have Time president Dr. Sweta Chakraborty. Hosted by Urban-x and Newlab. Register here.

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