Monday, February 9, 2026

Nurses have reached tentative deals on new contracts to end their strikes at hospitals run by Mount Sinai and Montefiore. Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian said they were still negotiating. 🏥 (Gothamist)

New York lawmakers want to freeze new data centers for three years amid AI power concerns. ⚡ (POLITICO)

In news we expect everyone to agree with, an Upper West Side pizza slice was just named the best in the world. Yes, the world. 🍕 (West Side Rag).

NYC colder than Antarctica after brutal chill blows in — here’s when it will finally warm up (NY Post) 

The old Kickstarter Office is now a ‘Soho House for creators’ (Curbed)

The world’s second largest fish market is hosting a waterfront rave in NYC this May (Secret NYC)

ICYMI: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly pushed back, turning brand marketing into a proxy fight over how AI should be funded.

Ro frames the game as one of the last true monoculture moments: a chance to talk to ~100 million people at once and compress years of awareness into one night. If you can tell a credible story about impact, trust, and real product value, the “$233k-per-second” sticker shock starts to look less irrational.

Instead of highlighting fancy specs and using insider jargon, the pitch is “this can actually help you.” 

For New York’s tech scene, that’s a green light for companies that make AI useful, trustworthy, and easy to work with — not just impressive on a demo stage.

Is having AI ghostwrite your Valentine’s Day messages a good idea? (Fast Company)

Rebuilding the Lighthouse of Alexandria, block by virtual block (New York Times)

When your AI hobby becomes a supermeme (Wall Street Journal)

Advance, an NYC-based finance platform for insurance, raised $8.6 million in seed funding. nvp capital led the round and was joined by Crystal Ventures, Vesey Ventures, Mensch Capital, and angel investors.

Daytona, an NYC-based infrastructure company building programmatic, composable computers for AI agents, raised $24 million in Series A funding. The round was led by FirstMark Capital, with participation from Pace Capital and existing investors Upfront Ventures, E2VC, and Darkmode.

VillageSQL, an NYC-based innovation platform, raised $35 million in Series A funding. FirstMark Capital led the round and was joined by GV, Spark Capital, Homebrew, and angel investors.

February 10: Gen Z NYC Founder & Creator Mixer, where you can celebrate your entrepreneurial journey with fellow Gen Z founders. Register here.

February 11: Enterprise AI Leadership Forum, a discussion on practical approaches to responsible and inclusive AI adoption, emerging governance challenges, and lessons learned from real-world implementation. Register here.

February 11: The New Financial Internet, for developers, founders, investors and operators shaping the future of finance. Register here.

February 12: Govtech Happy Hour, for all govtech founders and operators, civil servants past and present, and policy enthusiasts. Register here.

February 13: Where is the Money At? From Web2 to Web3, an education-focused, macro-aware discussion designed to explain how global forces shape Web3 innovation and capital flows. Register here.

February 17: AI Engineers NYC: Drinks & Bites, an evening of L’Industrie pizza, good conversation and drinks for builders to talk shop and make connections in the city. Register here.

February 19: VC Community Happy Hour, a relaxed setting to catch up with peers and reconnect with familiar faces. Register here.

February 19: Vertical AI Founders & Investors Dinner, bringing the best vertical AI startups of NYC together for a seated dinner. Register here. 

February 19: Towards Emissions-Free Microfreight, a multi-stakeholder discussion presents an opportunity to explore whether BATWorks, the new $100 million climate innovation hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, can become a center of expertise in decarbonized microfreight solutions. Register here. 

February 23: Build & Deploy Voice Agent Workshop + Hackathon, a series of short, practical workshop sessions followed by a building session that will help you build voice AI for your company's needs. Register here.

February 24: Element 46 Tech Accelerator informational session, for Westchester County-based founders interested in applying for the accelerator program before the application closes on March 6. Register here.

February 25: The New York Official Cybersecurity Summit, a full day of expert insights, interactive sessions, and high-value networking with leaders across the cybersecurity community. Register here with promo code CSS26-TECHNYC for a free pass.

February 25: Hiring Beyond the 5 Boroughs, a roundtable for Heads of HR/People Ops and Talent to have an honest, off-the-record conversation about what’s working, what’s broken, and what no one really talks about when it comes to non-local hiring. Register here.

February 26: Her Tech Community Launch Gathering, the launch of a new women in tech community designed to create meaningful connection, shared learning, and a space where your voice directly shapes what we build together. Register here.