This is the February 2019 edition of the Tech:NYC newsletter. If you're not already getting this in your inbox, sign up now.

Needless to say, the big news last month was Amazon’s decision to pull its planned HQ2 out of Long Island City. We, like many others, were disappointed. We are particularly concerned about the message these dynamics might send to the next tech company, or generation of entrepreneurs, about doing business in New York. That’s why we’re glad to support our friends at the Partnership for New York City, who put together this petition reinforcing New York as a welcoming place for tech. We urge you to sign it.

At Tech:NYC, we spend a lot of time working to ensure New York remains among the best places to build and grow a tech company. Right now, some of the most exciting growth that is happening in our network takes place in the outer boroughs. That feeling was initially amplified when Amazon announced it was setting up shop in Queens, and we found the same to be true when our team spent the day in the Bronx recently. We toured the borough and met with member companies, local elected officials, and other tech leaders to hear directly about their ideas and how they’re working to ensure their residents benefit from the jobs and workforce development opportunities tech brings.

Throughout the day, there was a lot of celebrate, but it was also a stark reminder of what was lost in the next borough over — and the ripple effects Amazon’s presence could have had. Amazon’s commitments to Long Island City had the potential to be transformative for the neighborhood, and indeed the entire city. We’re committed to continue doing that work, creating an environment where New York is good to tech and tech is good to New York.

Julie

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

Earlier this month, we hosted a conversation on the future of NYC transit with City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and a panel of tech leaders.

The same week, our monthly Companies to Watch feature profiled five transit startups working on improving our infrastructure. Read about them here.

For the latest edition of our Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg speaker series, we hosted Shaun Stewart, the newly-minted CEO of Tech:NYC member New Lab. Stay tuned for the video recap the conversation.

Last week, the Tech:NYC team spent the day touring the Bronx with member companies, local elected officials, and other tech leaders in the borough. We recapped the day and some thoughts on the importance of diversity in tech on our blog here.

GET INVOLVED

NYC Open Data and BetaNYC will present Open Data Week 2019, a week long series of more than 45 events across all five boroughs from March 2-9 to celebrate New York City’s Open Data Law. Find more details here.

Mothercoders, the initiative working to help moms break into tech, is seeking tech professionals and career coaches who specialize in tech to work to serve as guest speakers for their inaugural class of NYC moms. For more details and to sign up, click here.

URBAN-X, an accelerator for startups reimagining city life is now accepting applications for its sixth cohort 06 — $100K/20 weeks and 1000 hours of world-class product development, engineering and design, all in preparation for fundraising. Learn more and apply here by April 1.

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator is accepting applications for its summer 2019 program. The companies selected to participate in the four-month program will receive a $100,000 investment and the potential for follow-on funding from ERA’s Fund. Find more details and apply here by April 1.

Together with TEALS and CSNYC, Tech:NYC brings back its annual Computer Science Opportunity Fair to the Washington Heights Armory on April 2. The CS Fair is an opportunity to inspire students to pursue interests and careers in tech by giving them unparalleled access to leading tech companies, universities, and extra-curricular programs. Check out a video summary of last year’s CS Fair here. If you’re a technology company that wants to get involved and host a booth this year, get in touch with Bryan Lozano at bryan@technyc.org.

NYC TECH COMMUNITY EVENTS

March 2: Join BetaNYC for NYC School of Data, a community conference that demystifies the policies and practices around civic data, technology, and service design. Featured speakers include Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and NYC Chief Analytics Officer Kelly Jin. Get tickets here.

March 5: Betaworks Studios hosts a conversation with creative technologists on the challenge of finding project funding, featuring representatives from Kickstarter, NEW INC, and more. Register here.

March 5: FINOS hosts a meetup about building a decentralized technology ecosystem in financial services. Amber Baldet (Clovyr; formerly lead blockchain at JPMC) and Dan Guido (CEO of Trail of Bits) are speaking. Register here.

March 6: Join City College’s Zahn Innovation Center for their annual summit, featuring a day of workshops, panels, and competition practice pitches, all on the diversity of NYC’s population, its challenges, and the opportunities to design community solutions. Register here.

March 7: Join New Lab to celebrate the first year of The Circular City, a program that brings together entrepreneurs, city leaders, corporate partners, and university innovators to tackle urban challenges. The event will feature demos from Tech:NYC members Carmera, Numina, and others. Register here.

March 8: Join Civic Hall for a full afternoon of panel discussions, workshops, and more in celebration of International Women's Day. See the full program and register here.

March 11: Join ABNY in conversation with the Deans of Engineering from City College, NYU Tandon, and Columbia University on the rapidly changing New York tech ecosystem, shifts in engineering education, and how they’re preparing for the future of the workforce. Register here.

March 12: The Knowledge House hosts a panel conversation on privacy in an open date world. Register here.

March 14: Company hosts a conversation with a panel of women tech leaders on their paths to starting and building companies. Get more details and tickets here.

March 20: Products That Count, which presents a monthly speaker series for product leaders, hosts a conversation on growing marketplaces with Shutterstock VP of Product Chris Cosentino. Get tickets here.

March 21: Join Company for the next edition of its AMA series, featuring Taylor Lorenz, staff writer covering tech and culture for The Atlantic. Get tickets here.

WELCOME TO TECH:NYC

A warm welcome to our newest members:

• AbsoluteRelo, Inc: Online "Pay-As-You-Go" personal relocation service platform and mobile web app

• Bright: the simple guide to great parenting

• Bureau: Office furniture that works

• CoverWallet: Reinventing insurance for small business

• DataKind: Harnessing the power of data science in the service of humanity

• FairFare Inc: Ride hail marketplace app that allows riders to search, compare, book, ride

• Harlem Tech Village: Committed to solving gaps in tech equality

• IANULY Talent Accelerators: Talent acceleration partner for fast growth companies

• Lately: Marketing Dashboard that pulls together content scheduling, publishing, task management, analytics and more

• Numina: Makes cities more responsive by empowering them with the most comprehensive and dynamic view of multimodal traffic available yet

• Quora: A place to share knowledge and better understand the world

• Routinely: Provides workout clothes on-demand from your app-based virtual locker

• Tarform: An automotive startup with a mission to set a new standard for two wheeled transportation

JOIN US

Tech:NYC is looking for a Communications and Marketing Director to join our team. Apply now or share the listing with someone you know!

We want your company to be a member of Tech:NYC! Sign up at our membership page, and let us know if you have any questions.

Aerial view of the Bronx by TierneyMJ/Shutterstock.com