Friday, March 28, 2025

How Warby Parker turned its flagship SoHo store into a living gallery (It’s Nice That)

• Warby Parker, the designer eyewear and lifestyle brand (and Tech:NYC member), has turned its flagship SoHo store into a space of immersive design — with the goal of providing an experience to people who walk through its doors. ✨ 

  • The dynamic gallery space includes custom installations by the likes of Geoff McFetridge and Andy Rementer with curated art like terrazzo-tiled floors, brass lamps, and artistic collaborations. 

South Bronx students unplug — and thrive — under all-day cell phone ban (Bronx Times) 

• A full-day cell phone ban has already been implemented at several high schools in the South Bronx. At Humanities II, school officials said they were seeing positive results when a week after the ban — kids who would normally be glued to their phones were having a dance party. “To see kids being kids again is so powerful,” said Principal Sandy Manessis. 👯‍♀️

  • ICYMI: Here’s our statement from last month in support of Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal to restrict smartphone use in schools.
    

Decoded Futures Demo Day recap (NY Post via Instagram)

• Twenty-two education and workforce development nonprofits wrapped their journey through Decoded Futures, a program from the Tech:NYC foundation that helps mission driven nonprofit leaders put AI to practical use. A main takeaway? AI is enabling people to focus again on the mission-based work they care about most.

  • Know a nonprofit that might be interested? Applications are open for Cohort 3 till April 15.

  • Want to volunteer? Technologists, apply here.
    

She goes to Trader Joe’s for the art (New York Times)

• Trader Joe’s isn’t just a place for eclectic and delicious grocery store options. According to Julie Averbach, a Trader Joe’s fan and art historian, the supermarket chain is an “art gallery” that has captivated her admiration so much so she wrote a book about it.

  • Next time you’re in the store, take a look at the elevator doors, walls, and ceilings, and even the products themselves. The image on the can of french roast coffee in your cabinet? It’s inspired by the 1913 book “The Spirit of Paris.” ☕
    

This is New York’s most electrifying theater season in years (Crain’s New York Business)

• From scrambling for a ticket for the last few performances of A Streetcar Named Desire to dancing wildly in the aisles at Buena Vista Social Club, this may be one of Broadway’s most exciting seasons of theater yet. “I can’t remember a season of theater with as many new shows as thrilling as the ones we have before us,” said Bloomberg’s Pursuits reporter Chris Rovzar. 🎭

Here's your AI-generated cartoon of the week, conceived entirely by humans.

• Tech:NYC prompted ChatGPT to create a black-and-white one-panel cartoon.

  • The concept for the cartoon was entirely thought of by a human, and a human put on the finishing touches manually. But AI drew the bulk of it.

This week’s cartoon might take you a second. But you’ll see what’s up:

Submit your own human-conceived, AI-generated cartoon to [email protected] for a chance to be featured in an upcoming Friday Digest!

See you next week, New York! 🐶

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