Monday, July 28, 2025

July 28, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Monday, July 28, 2025 

In today’s digest, the heat increases, transit crime decreases, and tech and press releases. 📰

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  • Transit crime is down across the city year to date, according to new data from the MTA and NYPD. Overall, crimes per million rides are down 21% versus the 2024 monthly average. (amNY)

    • Subway robberies also fell 8% year over year, with just 192 subway robberies reported in the first half of the year, the lowest since tracking began in 2007. 👮

  • It’s a scorcher! 😓 NYC is set for another heat wave over the next three days, with real-feel temps over 100 degrees at times. (Yahoo)

  • You can also beat the heat by getting on the water. Check out this guide to getting around NYC on the city’s various boats and ferries. ⛴️ (The CITY)

👑 Referral royalty: Big thanks to Agnese Rozite, Akash Krishnani, Alice McLaughlin, Anupam Dutta, Jazmyn Friesz, Kurt Daniel, and Liz Polaniecki for referring subscribers to the Tech:NYC Digest this week! Join them and win swag by participating in our referral program — details at the end of this email.

In other reading:

  • How New York Schools will crack down on cellphones (New York Times)

  • Office-to-apartment conversions could mean 17,000 new housing units in NYC, says new report (TimeOut New York)

  • Brooklyn Cyclones to host ‘Purrrfect game’ where fans can bring their cats to Maimonides Park (Brooklyn Paper)

In everyone’s group chat: After two top Astronomer executives resigned following the Coldplay kiss cam incident, the New York-based tech company hired Gwyneth Paltrow as a temporary spokesperson. 🎤

  • The firm leaned into the viral moment by having the Academy Award winner answer questions about the company in a tongue-in-cheek video that alluded to the incident without directly commenting on it.

The response allows us to discuss an interesting intersection: Media relations and the tech industry. 🧑‍💻

Tech and the media: PR is in its tech era. Today’s comms pros are blending media savvy with machine learning, using platforms that deliver real-time journalist engagement data, predict narrative resonance, and optimize outreach strategies. (Observer)

  • Comms teams at Microsoft (a Tech:NYC member!) use natural language processing to monitor social media conversations in real-time, allowing them to respond rapidly to potential issues before they escalate.

  • IBM (also a Tech:NYC member!) uses AI-driven analytics to identify the most effective times and channels for press releases, to increase media pickup rates.

AI 🤝 PR: Pubic relations teams at tech firms have also been using AI tools to analyze public attitudes, predict emerging trends, and create targeted content.

  • 78% of PR professionals use AI tools for at least one aspect of their job.

  • 71% of journalists say they’re open to the practice from PR pros, according to Cision’s 2025 State of the Media report.

  • Still, 72% of journos expressed concern that AI-generated content may contain factually inaccurate information.

🗽 The New York angle: NYC is where media and tech intersect. 

  • The city is home to the convergence of top news outlets, leading tech startups, and comms agencies all piloting tech in real-time with clients across fintech, healthtech, AI, and more.

  • NYC’s unique density of tech, media, and marketing talent is turning it into the proving ground for the future of PR.

In other reading:

  • What content strategy looks like in the age of AI (Fast Company)

  • Don’t let an AI failure harm your brand (HBR)

  • april, an NYC-based embedded AI tax platform, raised $38 million in Series B funding. QED Investors led the round and was joined by Nyca Partners and Team8.

  • Maro, an NYC-based cognitive security platform designed to control human risk, raised $4.3 million in seed funding from Downing Capital Group.

  • July 29: AI CFO Roadshow, ​an exclusive evening with New York’s senior finance leaders shaping the future of AI in the CFO suite. Register here.

  • August 5: August Tech Rooftop Mixer, for founders, investors, and tech professionals to enjoy an evening of sunset views, conversations, and connections. Register here.

  • August 5: Fashion & Fashion-tech Mixer, where you can connect with fashion-tech innovators and disruptors. Register here.

  • August 6: How to Raise a Pre-Seed Round in 2025, to learn what investors are actually looking for in 2025, how other founders broke through the early-stage wall, and who you should be talking to next whether for advice, feedback, or funding. Register here.

  • August 7: August Founder Breakfast, a private breakfast for a curated group of pre-seed to series A founders. Register here.

  • August 8: Deep Dive Into LLMs Watch Party, an all-day watch party and discussion of Andrej Karpathy’s video on LLMs. Register here.

  • September 10: NYC Summit, Primary’s annual invite-only conference, bringing together 2,000 top founders, VCs, and LPs. This year’s speakers include Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals), David Karp (Tumblr), Toyin Ajayi (Cityblock Health), Lina Khan (FTC), Kareem Amin (Clay), and more. Apply to attend here.

  • September 23: Deep Tech Forum + Startup Showcase in NYC, bringing together deep tech startups from across the globe alongside corporate innovation leaders, investors, and ecosystem partners, for a full day of mainstage sessions and startup exhibitions. Register with promo code TECHNYC for a 20% discount here.

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