Friday, August 15, 2025

August 15, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Friday, August 15, 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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Midtown South rezoning officially approved; opens the door for 9,500 new homes to be created (AMNY)

  • This week, the City Council approved a major rezoning plan to build 9,500 new homes in Midtown South — including more than 2,800 affordable units — marking a major use of NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ “City of Yes” land-use initiative. Spanning 42 blocks from West 23rd to 40th Streets, the Midtown South Mixed-Use (MSMX) plan opens up an area with a density of office buildings to allow residential development in the heart of Manhattan. 🏢

    • “This is what it looks like when people come together to solve complex problems,” said Council Member Erik Bottcher.

Hidden inside our electronics, tiny doodles from another era (New York Times)

  • In the 1970s and ’80s, chip designers were quietly leaving microscopic doodles etched into silicon on interface chips as a signature and security measure. These “silicon Easter eggs” — dinosaurs, pyramids, and (in a true pro find) Waldo — were hidden deep inside the hardware powering early mobile phones and computers. 

    • Today, “hardware archaeologist” hobbyists are on a mission to excavate these relics of tech history in a race against time before the chips are scrapped for gold.

A summertime haven for homeless children (New York Times)

  • Just 45 miles from the city, Camp Homeward Bound offers an oasis for hundreds of New York children living in shelters each year. Run by the Coalition for the Homeless, the 16-day no-cost camp — which may be the longest-running sleep-away camp in the country exclusively for homeless children — is packed with underwater tag, friendship bracelets, and marshmallow roasts. 🏕️

    • Many junior counselors are former campers themselves, now paying it forward.

NYC is officially one of the world’s best cities for Gen Z (TimeOut New York)

  • The first-ever Best Cities for Gen Z ranking release, and New York landed #1 in the U.S! Not at all surprising to us. Gen Z respondents called us the most “exciting” city on the list, with top marks for nightlife (84%) and walkability (82%). 🗽

AOL will stop offering dial-up internet service after more than 30 years in business (AOL)

  • AOL dial-up is logging off for good on September 30, ending a 30+ year run. The other AOL products and services continue uninterrupted.

    • We raise a toast to some great memories — at its peak, AOL dial-up shaped online culture, flooded our mailboxes with CDs offering free trials to access the internet, introduced an entire generation to AIM, and had a starring role in iconic NYC movie “You’ve Got Mail”. ☎️

Make some memories this weekend, New York!

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