Tech:NYC Digest: September 16

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Thursday, September 16, 2021

In today’s digest, federal approval for third doses is called into question, New York’s rent relief program has finally hit its stride, and what tech leaders are saying to their workforces about the Texas abortion ban.

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By the numbers:

• New positive cases statewide: 6,729 (+1,877)

  • New positive cases, NYC: 1,991 (+320)

• Statewide Fatalities: 34 (+3)

• NYC Positivity Rate: 2.1 percent (no change)

• Statewide Vaccine Progress:

  • Percentage of adults (18+) with at least one dose: 82.0 percent

  • Percentage of total population with at least one dose: 69.4 percent

Today’s latest: 

• Another sobering milestone: one in every 500 Americans has died from COVID, according to new CDC data. (Washington Post) People older than 85 are only two percent of the population, but a quarter of the total death toll.

• The NYC Dept. of Health is investigating a cluster of at least 16 positive COVID-19 cases linked to the Electric Zoo music festival held on Randall’s Island over the Labor Day weekend. (Gothamist)

  • If you attended the festival, city officials are recommending you get a COVID test, regardless of vaccination status.

• A series of scientific reviews has cast doubt on Pres. Biden’s plan to begin offering booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine to the general public beginning next week. (New York Times) Health officials, including those at the FDA, are at odds over whether the vaccine efficacy does in fact decline and if everyone even needs a booster shot.

• After a slow start, New York now ranks first in the nation for total federal rent relief assistance funding approved. $1.2 billion has been allocated across the state in the last six weeks, about half of the $2.7 billion available. (The Real Deal)

  • Beginning this week, relief will open up to more New Yorkers, with tenants who make between 80 percent and 120 percent of the area median income now eligible to apply for the remainder of the funding. (Democrat & Chronicle)

• FEMA has agreed to reimburse NYC public hospitals almost $1 billion to cover costs associated with the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020. (New York Times) The funding will cover the staffing, equipment, and patient care efforts that were necessary during the first surge in cases.

In other reading:

• NYC Has Once Again Defied the Doomsayers. Here’s Why. (Bloomberg)

• How to seek care for non-COVID health issues during the pandemic, and why you shouldn't delay (Washington Post)

• How One Principal Got Students Back to a Bronx Public School (New York Times)

We’re old enough to remember the headlines from earlier this year of major tech companies, new entrepreneurs, and workers flocking to Texas to take advantage of the lower cost of living and zero income tax rate during the era of remote work.

• Oracle, Hewlett Packard, and Tesla were just a few of the companies that made announcements about moving their center of operations to the state during the pandemic.

And now, as quickly as that wave of talent arrived, it seems to be seeking an equally swift exit strategy, largely due to restrictive news laws in the state on access to reproductive healthcare, as this deep dive by the Washington Post points out.

• Salesforce, which has an office in Dallas, sent a company-wide Slack message offering to cover relocation expenses for any employees and families who want to leave the state due to the law’s passage. (CNN)

In addition to what are being called fundamental violations of constitutional rights, the new laws also create some thorny questions for tech companies and workers, as Protocol has highlighted here.

• Uber and Lyft have both responded by committing to pay their drivers’ fines and legal fees if they got caught up in the law’s rule that anyone aiding and abetting access to abortion services (i.e., driving a woman to a clinic offering abortion services, even unknowlingly) can be reported and sued. (NBC News)

• Bumble and Match Group, parent company to Tinder, OKCupid, and other online dating platforms (which are are both Texas-based and led by women), have each set up special funds to help people affected by the abortion ban. (NPR)

For a lot of tech workers new to the state, the abortion ban was the final straw — it added to other recent laws, including a ban on requiring vaccinations or masks, allowing the carrying of a handgun in public without a permit, and the passage of restrictive new voting rules.

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, alongside other statewide elected officials, also formally responded to the laws as “appalling.” Standing in front of the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument installed in Central Park last year, she announced a new agenda to affirm abortion rights in the state. (New York Daily News) Gov. Hochul: “Lady Liberty is here to welcome you with open arms."

The big picture: In an era when employees are demanding their employers step up during these political and cultural flashpoints — and when social issues overlap with business strategy — we can expect more action like this from the business community. And that starts at the top: founders and CEOs have the greatest resources and influence to put toward affecting change, and now more than ever, they’re expected to use it. (Axios) 

In other reading:

• Meet the new workplace benefit inspired by the strictest abortion law in the country. (Inc.)

• What social issues younger workers want their employers to focus on (Axios)

• Close Email, Open Netflix. How TV Replaced the Commute as a Workday Wind-Down. (Wall Street Journal)

• Concreit, New York-based real estate investing platform, raised $6 million in seed funding. Matrix Partners led the round and was joined by Hyphen Capital. (TechCrunch)

• Grailed, a New York-based marketplace for men’s luxury, streetwear, sneakers, and vintage fashion, raised $60 million in Series B funding. GOAT Group led the round and was joined by Groupe Artémis, Gucci CEO Marco Bizzari, Thrive Capital, and Index Ventures. (WWD)

• SellersFunding, a New York-based fintech platform for e-commerce marketplaces, raised $166 million in Series A funding. Northzone led the round and was joined by Endeavor Catalyst. (Reuters)

• Spring Health, a New York-based platform for employee mental well-being, raised $190 million in Series C funding. Kinnevik led the round and was joined by new investor The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian Life), along with existing investors Tiger Global, Northzone, RRE Ventures, Rethink Impact, Work-Bench, William K Warren Foundation, SemperVirens, Able Partners, and True Capital Ventures. (Forbes)

• September 20 – 23: Diversity Reboot Series: Early Career Connections and Mid-Career Pivots, with Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani, Path Forward executive director Tami Forman, and others. Hosted by PowerToFly. Register here.

• September 22: Virtual: How to Revive NYC’s Economy, Spark Good Jobs, and Build a More Equitable City, with Glitch CEO Anil Dash, Per Scholas president and CEO Plinio Ayala, United Way of NYC president and CEO Sheena Wright, and more. Hosted by Center for an Urban Future. Register here.

• September 30: Virtual: Decoding Product-Led Growth Success with GitLab product group manager Sarah Waldner, Figma product manager Katie Szeto, and Airtable product lead Kelly O’Shaughnessy. Hosted by Work-Bench. Register here.

• September 30: Virtual: Q3 Female Founder Office Hours, for 1:1 meetings with early-stage female founders and Tribeca Ventures Partners’ investment team. Register here.

• October 6 – 7: Virtual: Future Imperfect Summit 2021, with WNYC editor in chief Audrey Cooper, Partnership on AI head of AI and media integrity Claire Leibowicz, The Knowledge House CEO Jerelyn Rodriguez, and others. Hosted by NYC Media Lab. Register here.

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