Friday, August 1, 2025

August 01, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

Friday, August 1, 2025 

Welcome to another Friday edition of the Tech:NYC Digest, featuring our favorite five highlights in New York tech this week.

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This stunning new project maps every word found on NYC streets (TimeOut New York)

  • Yufeng Zhao and Matt Daniels have sifted through 18 years of Google Street View imagery to build a searchable map of every word visible on NYC’s streets. Every. Single. Word. 

    • Using optical character recognition software, they fed eight million (!) Street View panoramas into a tool that transcribed everything from storefront signage to bumper stickers to graffiti tags.

    • Did you know there are 111,290 sightings of “pizza” across the five boroughs? 🍕

    • Check out the project here and search for your favorite word here.

The quintessential urban design of ‘Sesame Street’ (New York Times)

  • Speaking of NYC streets, come with us on a journey through the evolution of one of the most famous streets in the city: Sesame Street. 🔴

    • The design of the famed block filled with big yellow birds, garbage grouches, and red muppets has changed over the years, just as New York City’s streets have changed.

NYC's coolest new tech shop feels like a modern Sharper Image (PCMag)

  • A new tech store called “tm:rw” soft-opened in Times Square this week. But this isn’t your grandfather’s tech store.

    • Think: Robot vending machines, virtual reality personal flight simulators, holographic displays, and, we’re guessing, a hefty electricity bill. 🤖

    • The shop will have its grand opening in September.

People line up for hours for these pancakes. Now you don’t have to. (New York Times)

  • Chef Sam Yoo opened Golden Diner in downtown Manhattan in 2019. Four years later, a patron posted his now-famous pancakes to TikTok, and the rest, as they say, is history.

    • The pancakes went viral, and along with the fame came sales, but also copycat recipes.

    • Now, the chef has decided to publish the actual recipe for the Golden Pancakes for diners to make at home. 

    • Check out the recipe here. 🥞

Backgammon may be New York’s new favorite game (Financial Times)

  • One great way to explore NYC? Follow the backgammon scene.

    • From a dive bar in Clinton Hill to the NYC Backgammon Club meetings in Tribeca, to the flimsy tables in Union Square Park, the backgammon scene in the city is thriving, and we’re here for it. 🎲

Bring your A game this weekend, New York! 💪

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