On April 8, 2021, Tech:NYC hosted a virtual forum with leading NYC mayoral candidates to discuss their plans to support the tech sector and the city at large. Tech:NYC put the event together with our partners at Warby Parker and other leading NYC tech companies, and with support from AT&T.

Stream the full conversation here:

It's a unique and important context that NYC is electing its next mayor in the midst of a pandemic, and in short conversations, seven top candidates each presented their visions for getting the city on the road to recovery — and the role tech and innovation can play to help.

While by no means exhaustive, here’s a brief readout of some of the ideas that each candidate discussed (in order of appearance):

• Andrew Yang: how to incentivize workers to return to their commutes and their offices.

• Kathryn Garcia: how to get trash off the streets and reimagine how we utilize streetscapes and greenspaces.

• Eric Adams: how to build public-private partnerships that improve city services.

• Shaun Donovan: how to solve quality of life issues to help companies attract and retain talent.

• Ray McGuire: how to decrease cost and increase efficiency to keep government working.

• Scott Stringer: how to invest in technology to have a broader citywide benefit for NYC residents.

• Maya Wiley: how to achieve digital equity and close the digital divide.  

Is your company offering opportunities to encourage voter education and participation in the 2021 elections? We’d love to hear about you plans — get in touch here.