Friday, January 30, 2026
Welcome to another Friday edition of the Tech:NYC Digest, featuring our favorite five highlights in New York and tech this week.
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Mobile midwife: MTA bus driver helps deliver baby girl on B37 in Gowanus (Brooklyn Paper)
Christopher Accettulli, a 20-year MTA veteran (and one-day midwife veteran) was driving the B37 bus down Third Avenue last Friday when a passenger’s water broke. He did what any bus driver is trained to do: helped her give birth! 👶
It’s not the first time a New Yorker has entered the world via public transportation, though health experts don’t recommend it.
How AI is helping NYC English teachers improve middle school reading and writing (The74)
Two NYC superintendents have decided to lean in and embrace AI in the classroom. 📚💻
How it worked: Students used an AI platform, which took the texts and questions from the curriculum and made them interactive with more targeted support for students who need it.
The results: In District 11 in the Bronx students saw growth on New York State exam scores between 14 and 16 percentage points over the previous year.
New York Robotics launches with 160 startups in its ecosystem (The Robot Report)
From construction and healthcare to art and theater, NYC is quietly becoming a major hub for robotics. Look no further than this week’s official launch of New York Robotics. 🤖
Another (adorable) example: Meet Sprout, an expressive foam-covered robot designed to be more approachable like “WALL-E” with less “Terminator” energy.
The best of the new New York architecture (Curbed)
Few cities take their architecture as seriously as NYC, but New York’s newest buildings don’t share a single “look.” And maybe that’s the point. 🤔
Instead of chasing flashy, headline-grabbing designs, today’s architecture in NYC leans into what works for the Big Apple: blending into neighborhoods, prioritizing how people use spaces, and reflecting New York’s mix-and-match identity.
Inside the huge new terminal that will transform JFK (New York Times)
JFK’s massive (and we mean massive) new Terminal One is so big it rivals the Empire State Building, and it’s designed to finally make New York’s most notorious airport feel world-class. ✈️
The first phase of the $9.5 billion project will open later this year, and features everything from tree-like columns and giant art installations to remote security screening and an AirTrain literally running through it.
Have a high-flying weekend, New York! 🗽
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