Thursday, April 3, 2025

April 03, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Thursday, April 3, 2025 

In today’s digest, map makeovers, summer shows, and Gen Z shapes tech. 🤳

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  • If your NYC geography skills aren’t up to date, fear not: The MTA announced plans to roll out a fully redesigned subway map for the first time in more than 40 years. Over the next few weeks, crews will install the new design on every subway car and station. 🚂 (Gothamist)

    • The redesign eliminates references to several city landmarks, shows where riders can make free out-of-station transfers, and identifies which stations are accessible to riders with disabilities. 📍

  • Return-to-office rates have barely changed despite increased calls for workers to come back, according to a new survey from the Partnership for New York City. Fifty-seven percent of Manhattan office workers have returned on the average workday, a one-point increase from 2024. (Crain’s New York Business)

    • About 30 of the city’s 125 leading employers surveyed between March 5 and 20 said they would impose stricter office-attendance requirements later this year. 🏠 

  • Looking for the greatest new restaurant to try out? Check out this year’s New York finalists for the 2025 James Beard Awards, considered the food world Oscars. 😋 (Eater NY)

    • The winners will be announced June 16.

In other reading:

  • Thai Diner is serving a White Lotus-themed menu for a limited time (Secret NYC)

  • Little Island just announced its summer programming, and it looks pretty great (TimeOut New York)

  • Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk returns this May, featuring hundreds of emerging artists and dozens of local businesses (Brooklyn Paper)

Turns out Gen Z isn’t just scrolling — they’re reshaping the media industry. 

Deloitte’s new 2025 Digital Media Trends report spotlights how younger consumers are driving a shift in what, how, and why we consume content — and NYC’s tech and media ecosystem is perfectly positioned to ride this wave. 🏄

Gen Z 🤝 social media:

  • Younger audiences, especially Gen Z, spend 54% more time on social platforms than traditional media.

  • Nearly 50% of Gen Z and millennials feel stronger connections to social media creators than traditional celebrities.

Plus, audiences are increasingly demanding diverse and inclusive content. 

  • Over half of Black consumers prefer TV shows and movies featuring people who resemble them, and nearly 70% of Black consumers, along with more than half of Asian, multiracial, Hispanic, and Latinx consumers, value diverse creative teams behind the scenes.

📲 Short-form > long-form: Young consumers aren’t watching less content — they’re watching it differently.

  • Gen Z and millennials spend more time watching user-generated content (UGC) than shows or movies from major streamers.

  • Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram (all part of the Tech:NYC membership ecosystem!) dominate their media diets — because content feels personal and authentic.

🎮 Gaming is the new social network:

  • Over half of Gen Z and millennials say gaming is a key way they socialize.

  • That’s good news for the NYC tech ecosystem: 

    • There are 341 digital gaming companies in New York (No. 4 in the U.S.)

    • The digital gaming industry is responsible for $5 billion of economic impact.

    • The industry has supported close to 13,300 jobs in the State. 

Bottom line: Gen Z isn’t just consuming content — they’re redefining the industry. And NYC has the creative, technical, and cultural firepower to lead this shift.

Dig deeper: Read Deloitte’s ‘Social platforms are becoming a dominant force in media and entertainment’ report here.

In other reading:

  • Can I interest you in an app that tracks your driving behavior? (The Verge)

  • Trump’s tariffs could reshape the US tech industry (Wired)

  • Actively AI, an NYC-based GTM superintelligence company, raised $22.5 million in funding. Bain Capital Ventures led the $17.5 million Series A round and was joined by First Round Capital. First Round Capital led the $5 million seed round and was joined by angel investors.

  • Roam, an NYC-based low-rate assumable mortgages housing marketplace, raised $11.5 million in Series A funding. Keith Rabois led the round and was joined by Founders Fund.

  • Runway, an NYC-based AI video startup (and Tech:NYC member!), raised $300 million in Series D funding. General Atlantic led, joined by Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, NVIDIA, and SoftBank.

  • 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.

  • April 7: Entrepreneurs Roundtable 200, an opportunity for five startups to pitch their businesses and receive feedback and guidance. Register here.

  • April 8: #NotAPitch, to get feedback on concepts, prototypes, and ideas without it counting as a pitch. Register here.

  • April 8: Startup Fundraising Summit, designed to give 70 early-stage tech founders the opportunity to meet investors. Register here.

  • April 9: Hype Night, where founders don’t just pitch themselves — they bring a hype man, or an investor/advisor/mentor/customer, to pitch the founder and startup. Register here.

  • April 10: GenAI Collective Demo Night, where eight startups will showcase their products. Register here.

  • April 27: hackNY Spring, a one-day conference for early- to mid-career developers who want to level up in tech. Register here.


  • April 28-29: Momentum AI New York 2024, to connect with people who are pioneering global AI transformation. Register here.


  • April 29: Latest & Greatest from Jonathan Frankle, an AI Review talk from the Chief AI Scientist at Databricks on his latest research on the newest AI methods. Register here.