Monday, May 4, 2026
In today’s digest, the Met Gala, where to eat in May, and how AI is moving in state governments. 🤖
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres announced today a $2 million federal investment to expand free internet access for low-income New Yorkers across the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. 🛜 (Bronx Times)
The new funding will go toward expanding the Neighborhood Tech Help program, including infrastructure upgrades over the next two years to help thousands of New Yorkers get internet access.
Sorry, New Jersey commuters: Your ride just got a little more expensive. As of today, PATH fares have officially increased 25 cents per ride, going from $3 to $3.25. 🚇 (Gothamist)
More 25-cent fare hikes are planned for January 2027, January 2028, and January 2029.
The Met Gala returns tonight with a “Fashion Is Art” dress code and Beyoncé as a co-chair after a decade away. Here’s everything you need to know so you can impress even Miranda Priestly. 👗 (New York Times)
In other reading:
Opinion: Legalize bodega cats (City & State)
Where to eat in May (Grub Street)
The 40 best things to do in NYC this May (Time Out New York)
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How AI Is Moving in State Governments
A new Code for America report shows states racing to build the policies, pilots, and infrastructure needed to use AI in public services.
Let’s take a look. 👀
State governments are moving fast on low-risk AI tools: Code for America describes government AI adoption as a four-stage journey: readiness, piloting, implementation, and impact. 🤖
Nearly every state has launched some form of an AI pilot, often using generative AI to help public employees with research, summarization, and administrative workflows.
Experiments are everywhere: The report finds states are moving quickly through governance and experimentation, but more slowly through operational scaling and impact measurement. 🧪
🏛️ How states are tackling AI: Leaders from states like Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and of course New York are helping shape government AI adoption.
These leaders tend to share strong executive leadership, cross-agency governance, enterprise data infrastructure, AI labs or sandboxes, structured pilots, and early systems for measuring outcomes.
🗽 The New York angle: New York brings considerable AI firepower, ranking as “Advanced” in AI readiness, up from “Established” just last year.
The city is home to more than 2,000 AI startups and over 40,000 AI professionals.
NYC universities graduated more than 87,000 AI-ready degree holders between 2018 and 2023.
In 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul expanded Empire AI, a consortium of public and private research institutions advancing AI research for the public good.
The Governor also recently launched the FutureWorks Commission to help train State employees on how to responsibly use AI safely in the workplace, and advise on policy strategies that safeguard workers’ economic security while capturing the economic upside of AI.
In other reading:
It’s a weird time to be named Claude (Bloomberg)
Four ChatGPT ‘Custom Instructions’ that’ll cut your busywork in half (Fast Company)
I vibe-coded the app of my dreams and only lost my mind twice (Wall Street Journal)
Featured event:
⭐ May 20: Nysernet Leadership Symposium: Cyber Resilience for Museums and Cultural Organizations, bringing together CIOs and CISOs from museums, arts, and cultural orgs for peer discussion and executive-level insight on today’s cyber risks. Register here with promo code TECHNYC for 10% off.
Other great events:
May 5: Inside the Startup Investor Mind: What Actually Gets Funded in 2026, cutting through the “founder-speak” to bring you directly into the conversation with the people writing the checks. Register here.
May 5: Quantum Harlem: Building New York’s Quantum Innovation Community, convening a curated panel of leaders across the quantum ecosystem: researchers, founders, investors, and enterprise adopters, offering a view into where quantum is headed and how it will be built, deployed, and scaled. Register here.
May 6: AI Founder × VC Breakfast, featuring candid, off-the-record conversations on what’s working in fundraising right now, what investors are paying attention to in 2026, and how operators are building durable companies in the current market. Register here.
May 7: OpenClaw for Startups Workshop, where you can learn how to use OpenClaw to streamline operations, improve execution, and build more efficiently from day one. Register here.
May 7: Ecom Happy Hour with Chuck AI, a mixer where you can network with DTC founders and operators. Register here.
May 8: Pitch and Run Friday, where founders can connect with Angels and VCs without the pressure of a pitch meeting. Register here.
May 13: Defending Your Budget, focusing on bridging the gap between marketing investment and board-level expectations, equipping you to drive and communicate performance in a way that builds clarity, confidence, and alignment. Register here.
May 13: Founders & Funders: NYC VC Reverse Pitch, an evening of networking and a chance to hear VCs pitch on their investment theses, target industries, check sizes, key differentiators, portfolios, and what they look for in founders. Register here.
May 14: Cornell Tech’s annual Startup Awards, bringing together the most promising student ventures for an evening of pitches, research, and community. Register here.
May 14: Brderless Founder Breakfast, a private founder breakfast for a curated group of Seed & Series A founders. Register here.
May 18-20: Sports Business Journal Tech Week, bringing together sports tech leaders to network, drive innovation, and discuss the trends impacting the sector. Register here with promo code LG-TECHNYC-2025 to get 15% off your pass.
May 19: Commerce Leaders Mixer at The Lead Summit, a curated evening of networking with senior retail and brand leaders across ecommerce, marketing, and digital. Register here.
May 20: Brits in Tech — Rooftop Happy Hour, a no pressure, no agenda, informal night, supporting the British tech space in NYC. Register here.
May 21: Brderless Founder Dinner, a private founder dinner for a curated group of Series A+ founders. Register here.
May 27: Cornell Tech Frontiers of AI Summit, bringing together academia, industry, and the public sector to explore the foundational perspectives that are shaping the future of AI. Register here.
May 28: Niural AI Summit, a pre-NY Tech Week summit bringing together CFOs, finance leaders, HR executives, founders, and investors shaping the future of AI-native finance and people operations. Register here for a discounted rate for Tech:NYC Digest readers.
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