Monday, May 5, 2025

May 05, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Monday, May 5, 2025 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In today’s digest, City Council elections, e-bike expansion, and a look into April’s tech jobs report. 💼

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  • All 51 seats in the New York City Council are up for grabs this year. To help voters make sense of the races ahead of the June 24 primary elections — early voting starts June 14! — here’s a guide to the 11 most competitive races in the boroughs.🗽 (The CITY)

    • ☑️ Not sure who represents you in the City Council? Find out here.

  • Citi Bike is expanding its e-bike charging dock locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Lyft (a Tech:NYC member!) will be electrifying 13 additional Citi Bike dock locations, three in Brooklyn, 10 in Manhattan. ⚡(NY Daily News)

    • E-bike rides have surged to nearly 8 million in the first four months of 2025, making up 70% of total Citi Bike rides. 🚲

  • Staffing issues, weather, and low visibility have caused major flight delays and cancellations from Newark Airport over the last few days. Planning on flying out of Newark this week? Be sure to check out the Newark flight tracker for status updates. (PIX 11) 

In other reading:

  • Manhattanhenge returns this month with 'the best sunsets of the year' (Gothamist)

  • World Trade Center director works to make the commuter hub a community destination  (Crain’s New York Business)

  • What rain? Thousands turn out for TD Five Boro Bike Tour through NYC on Sunday despite dreary skies (amNY)

Tech hiring intent in April intent remained steady, though hiring activity showed signs of the weight of economic uncertainty. 

What’s 🆕: There were over 203,000 new tech job listings last month, totaling almost 450,000 active job postings. Software developers and engineers, systems engineers and architects, tech support specialists, cybersecurity engineers and analysts, and network engineers and architects were in high demand.

Yes, but: Across the economy, tech employment decreased by 214,000 positions and the unemployment rate rose to 3.5% from 3.1%.

The better news:

  • 📈 Positions in AI or that require AI skills now stand at 55,726 — a 184% increase from the same period last year. 

  • 🧠 Employers continue to pursue skills-based hiring strategies — about one-half of all April tech jobs did not specify a need for a four-year academic degree.

🏙️ NYC shoutout:

  • 🏅 NYC had the most tech job postings in April compared to other metro areas, leading the way at 12,526 postings!

  • Did you know? Tech:NYC has a jobs board, powered by Getro, with over 7,000 (!) open tech roles just a click away. 🖱️

  • Explore the jobs board here.

“Employer tech job postings continue to hold up, so [that’s] a possible sign that hiring will resume as companies find their bearings,” said Tim Herbert, Chief Research Officer at CompTIA.

In other reading:

  • Daniel Ek’s vision for the future of Spotify: Why AI is driving the discovery of human creativity (New York Post)

  • How to prepare for a meeting where emotions will run high (HBR)

  • Airbnb: 50% of users turn to AI bot for customer service (PYMNTS)

  • Astronomer, an NYC-based DataOps platform developer, raised $93 million in Series D funding. Bain Capital Ventures led the round and was joined by Salesforce Ventures and existing investors Insight, Meritech, and Venrock.

  • Swivel, an NYC-based provider of a no-code AI workflow automation platform for advertising operations and account management, raised $5.8 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Tribeca Venture Partners and Ardent Venture Partners and joined by Ardent Venture Partners, Roster Capital, and AperiamVentures.

  • May 6: 43North Startup Showcase: Upstate NY, to hear pitches from founders in the 43North portfolio and across Upstate New York, and to connect, collaborate, and network with venture leaders and ecosystem builders. Register here.

  • May 6-7: AI Agent Conference, for leaders driving the next era of autonomous artificial intelligence, featuring 300+ world-class AI leaders, senior execs and top founders. Register with promo code TECHNYC15AI here.

  • May 7: The latest installment of our Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg speaker series, featuring economist & writer Chris Hughes, who will share insights on how understanding past marketcrafters can inform the development of future markets to be innovative, stable, and inclusive. Register here.

  • May 9: Founders NYC, by Union Square Ventures, Lux Capital, First Round Capital, and BoxGroup, bringing together NYC’s best builders from the most iconic companies — founders from MongoDB, Warby Parker, Ramp, Ro, and others — to talk about lessons learned, off-the-record-tips, and well-trodden tales with the goal of helping NYC’s big next wave. Apply to attend here.

  • May 13: Watches and Wearables, a happy hour by Remedy and Ganance for anyone excited to chat watches and wearable tech, featuring drinks, hands-on product demos, and a fireside chat. Register here.

  • May 14: OpenAI and the AI for Nonprofits Sprint present Advanced Features for Nonprofits: ChatGPT's Next-Level Tools, a webinar to learn how to go beyond simple chats and explore ChatGPT’s next-level capabilities for more efficient and impactful work. Co-sponsored by the Tech:NYC Foundation. Register here.

  • May 14: Unlock LATAM by nocnoc, for VIP execs from leading U.S. companies looking to tap into Latin America’s $100 billion+ e-commerce opportunity. Register here. 

  • May 15-16: Black Women Talk Tech hosts its 9th Annual Roadmap to Billions Conference, a platform to forge connections, expand your knowledge, and drive generational wealth for you and your community. Register here and save 20% with code RTBPARTNER20.

  • May 20: Grow and Secure Your Business with Google, an in-person session on essential digital tools to grow your business, improve operational efficiency, and protect your business against cybersecurity threats. Register here.

  • May 23: NYPL’s free job fair & expo, focusing on tech sector jobs. Employers can apply to table at the event here. Job seekers, register to attend here. 

  • May 28: Go for Growth: Mastering Strategy, Technology, People, and Culture for Long-Term Success, a virtual event for pre-IPO and growth-focused companies to get insights, connections, and a roadmap to scale. Register here.

  • May 30: NYC Coffee Club for early-stage B2B SaaS founders & funders, a no-stress way to connect with NYC VCs and founders. Register here.

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here.
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