Tech:NYC Digest: September 21

Tech:NYC Digest: September 21

September 21, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

In today’s digest, the NYC vax mandate heads back to SCOTUS (again), what to expect with NYC Council redistricting, and why tech workers are key to climate advocacy coalitions.

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

  • The big news out of New York today, if you somehow missed it, was the Attorney General’s sweeping suit against former Pres. Trump and his family. (New York Times) AG Letitia James accused Trump, his three adult children, and two company executives of committing financial fraud and inflating his net worth by billions of dollars.

    • The suit is civil in nature, but James made clear she believes they also violated state and federal law and referred her findings to federal prosecutors.

  • The US Supreme Court will hear an NYPD detective’s challenge to New York City’s vaccine requirement for municipal workers after all. (Politico)

    • Last month, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected a request by Det. Anthony Marciano to take up his legal challenge, but Marciano resubmitted the exact same request to conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, and the case will be deliberated at a conference Oct. 7.

  • The second round of the redistricting process has come for the NYC Council, and new lines defining the body’s 51 districts are expected to be released tomorrow. Here’s what to expect.

  • And in lovely Climate Week news: the NYC Parks Dept. announced the city has planted more trees this past fiscal year than in the five years, with over 130,000 new trees added this year to expand the city’s tree canopy initiative. (However, it’s also paused pruning them for now in a twist we didn’t see coming.)

In other reading:

  • How to Get Your COVID Booster and Flu Shot at the Same Time (NBC New York)

  • So you haven't caught COVID yet. Does that mean you're a superdodger? (NPR)

  • Corn Kid Is Doing Just Fine (New York Times)

All eyes are on NYC this week as the world’s leaders descend to UN Plaza to make major commitments on global climate goals, among other things. The city is also observing Climate Week NYC with events all over the city.

But in addition to the work of diplomats and activists, Justin Gillis and Hal Harvey say it should become a more important priority for tech workers, as well. (Protocol)

  • Employee pressure has been especially effective, said Gillis. “I think tech companies have found that they need a serious plan to have internal credibility.”

Gillis and Harvey are the authors of The Big Fix, a new book out yesterday giving individuals, communities, and companies alike an action plan for addressing the climate crisis.

  • “On balance, the tech industry has been a constructive force. There are wind and solar farms getting built because the American tech industry has said to states, ‘We're not going to put server farms in your state — with the jobs and the investment and the tax base that entails — unless you're willing to sell us renewable energy.’”

Jonathan Strauss, the co-founder and CEO of Climate Draft, yesterday announced the next round of its “draft,” an effort to connect top tech talent with fast-growing climate startups.

  • The first draft was an invite-only network that spanned across 140 companies and 30 VC firms. There’s also a 1,000+ waitlist. (Protocol)

Climate change is also an HR issue: Some tech workers are pushing companies to take stances on climate even before they work for them: candidates are signing a pledge that says when they start interviewing for jobs, they will ask climate questions as part of the interview.

In other reading:

  • Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela: My 2-step rule for having hard conversations at work (CNBC)

  • What the office return means for workers with disabilities (Charter)

  • AI Art is Here and the World is Already Different (New York Magazine)

  • Dame Products, a Brooklyn-based maker of vibrators and other sexual wellness products, raised $7 million in Series A funding. Amboy Street Ventures led the round, and was joined by Listen Ventures, Flybridge, Echo, and Forest Road Co. (TechCrunch)

  • Knoetic, a NYC-based people analytics software platform, raised $36 million in Series B funding. EQT Ventures led the round and was joined by Menlo Ventures and Accel. (TechCrunch)

  • PowerToFly, a NYC-based end-to-end diversity recruiting and retention program, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital led the round and was joined by the Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund, Chartline Ventures, and Grasshopper Bank. (Pitchbook)

  • Sparrow, a NYC-based financial search engine for student loans, raised $5.83 million in seed funding. Sozo Ventures led the round and was joined by Good Friends VC, SHAKTI, Dash Fund, Ripple executive chairman Chris Larsen, and Stash CFO Adriel Lares. (Businesswire)

  • The Muse, a NYC-based job search and career development platform, raised $8 million in funding. MBM Capital led the round. (Newswire)

Newlab, in partnership with Globant, is accepting applications for its Ethical AI Studio. Early-stage companies looking to test new products and solutions that promote wellbeing and restore public trust in emerging tech are invited to apply. Benefits include access to a $100K grant funding pool, access to an angel investors network, as well Newlab space, industry experts, and prototyping resources. Learn more and apply by Sept. 21 here.Hack.Diversity, an initiative founded in Boston with a commitment to advancing Black and Latine/x professionals in tech, is expanding to New York and accepting applications for its inaugural NYC fellowship program. The nine-month program is seeking early-career software engineers interested in accelerating their careers in tech and building a diverse network. To get involved, reach out here. Learn more and apply by Oct. 1 here.Primary Venture Partners is accepting applications for its sixth NYC Founders Fellowship cohort. Early-stage entrepreneurs building a data startup are eligible to apply for the six-month, part-time, no-equity immersion program. Learn more and apply by Oct. 3 here.Urban-X, is accepting applications for its next accelerator cohort. Founders building businesses that solve cities’ thought challenges in areas such as transit and mobility; built environment and real estate; food, waste, and water; and energy and grid are eligible to apply. Learn more and apply on a rolling basis here.

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here. Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.