This is the August 2017 edition of the Tech:NYC newsletter. If you're not already getting this in your inbox, sign up now.

We thought summer might slow down a little bit. But if you’re news junkies like us, you know that wasn’t the case. Maybe next year?

In the meantime, you’ve got one weekend left to enjoy summer in NYC. If you haven’t spent any time outside in the city this summer, this is your last chance. Go to the beach. Go to an island. Go to our amazing parks. Go for a bike ride. Go for a long hike. Go for a ferry ride. There’s so much here that’s waiting for you. There’s no better way to celebrate the city we all love than by enjoying it.

What We’re Up To

First up, we are happy to welcome our new Policy Director, Taline Sanassarian! Taline was previously Managing Director for Government Affairs at Teneo Holdings in New York, Senior Advisor for International Trade with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and an executive team member with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) both domestically and abroad. She’s done a lot of other cool things too. We’re so excited that she’s here.

And what better way to welcome Taline than to do some team building by watching the solar eclipse and visiting Governor’s Island the same week? Last Monday, we took in the celestial event next to Central Park. And on Friday, we spent time on the nearby island that has a rich history, a great view of the city, fun activities, and a relatively new selection of great food and drinks.

Earlier this August, we spent some time exploring Queens and meeting some amazing entrepreneurs throughout the borough. We toured Shapeways’ factory in Long Island City alongside State Senator Michael Gianaris and the offices of Congressman Joe Crowley and City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer. We then ate delicious food in Flushing and met with promising startups at the Queens College tech incubator alongside Assemblywoman Nily Rozic.

Policy Developments

Many of you have expressed frustration that our public transit system has been in disarray, especially this summer. We are with you. While we agree that much is still to be done, we also don’t want the city or our companies to stop looking ahead to what our system should look like down the road too. Ideas like the Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) are a step toward New York City controlling its own transit destiny.

What Our Members Are Up To

Like many of you, we’ve been closely watching Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath, especially the catastrophic flooding in Houston. We were happy to see our member Airbnb help offer free accommodations for the displaced and to see New York send 120 first responders to Texas. And if you want to offer aid too, there are lots of places that need it.

We launched our first installment of Five Startups to Watch with a spotlight on our members Carmera, Clark, Hive, Mack Weldon, and Metaprop NYC. Founders from each startup answered questions like why they chose NYC to found their companies or what pizza place has the best slice. One of our favorite answers? When asked about memorable times in the city, MetaProp NYC co-founder and managing director Aaron Block described the powerful moments when NYC came together following 9/11 and both blackouts.

Casper and its CEO Philip Krim were spotlighted by Fortune recently for upending the mattress industry by turning a household basic into something cool.

Brad Olson, former CFO of Guggenheim Partners, has joined our member Mezocliq as the company’s first-ever President.

Lauralynn Drury‏ and Tina Beilinson, two Warby Parker employees, have launched a campaign called #TechLeadersAre to highlight what traits are needed for successful tech leadership.

Our members Facebook, Foursquare, Google, and Microsoft will be speaking in NYC on Sept. 28 at the Place Conference, an event focused on location intelligence, offline analytics, and proximity marketing. If that sounds groovy, you should check it out.

Speaking of places to be, we’d also recommend the NYC 311 Data Jam on Sept. 23. This event will celebrate NYC's National Day of Civic Hacking and looks to explore how to best use insights from 311 calls to improve the community.

Welcome to Tech:NYC

Say hello to some of our newest members!

• Bar & Club Stats - Apple or Android ID scanner app. Protect your business and know your customers.

• Bixby - Easy-to-use tenant communication & hospitality platform for all property types.

• Cross Case - Breakthrough viewing technology offering 12 different handheld and hands free user modes.

• Donarly - Allowing users to donate what would be spare change to a charity of their choice.

• Doppler Innovations - End-to-end information security services.

• DoorDash - Get breakfast, lunch, dinner and more delivered from your favorite restaurants right to your doorstep.

• Emerging Market Media - Fintech and media company on the world’s emerging and frontier markets.

• Intello - Intelligent SaaS Optimization.

• Interchecks - Automates the creation and issuance of year end filings for agents for contractors.

• Jetty - Insurance for your place in the city.

• Maude - With better ingredients, easier-to-use packaging and friendly content, we’re on a mission make sex better for all.

• Netomat - Helps make content and services mobile and touch friendly.

• NextDayBetter - Storytelling platform for diaspora communities.

• OweYaa - Prepares veterans and their spouses for meaningful civilian careers in the tech industry.

• Planted - Helps high-growth companies hire the best non-technical talent for roles like sales, customer service, and operations.

• Roomi - Find roommates, apartments, and sublets for rent online.

• RBC - Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada.

• Swellby - Connects coordinators to agencies for boosted billing, increased referral intake, and more efficient case staffing in early intervention.

• Tinybeans - An online baby journal for sharing with family.

• UrbanStems - Order flowers online, send happiness.

Join Us

If you’ve been thinking about having your company join Tech:NYC as a member, now’s the time! Check out our membership page, and let's start the conversation.