Thursday, December 18, 2025
In today’s digest, so long rats, the latest tech jobs numbers, and a new coffee crown in the city. 👑
But first: How well do you know NYC and tech — and therefore the Tech:NYC Digest? Take our quiz to find out!
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Mayor Eric Adams just took the rat war to the next level. Adams signed an executive order creating the Mayor’s Office of Rodent Mitigation, aiming to keep anti-rat efforts alive beyond his term. 🐀 (NY Post)
The new office will be run by another mayor-appointed “rat czar,” with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani deciding whether to keep or kill the initiative.
City Hall says rat sightings have dropped for 12 straight months, thanks largely to sealed trash containers and public education.
NYC’s chain-store landscape is shifting fast. A new Center for an Urban Future report shows legacy brands shrinking while food and fitness chains surge. ☕ (The CITY)
Dunkin’ now has more Manhattan stores than Starbucks for the first time ever.
Expanding chains skew heavily toward food, which now makes up 56% of tracked chains citywide.
Street vendors are getting a legal lifeline. The City Council is set to pass legislation dramatically raising the cap on vending permits. 🌭 (New York Times)
By 2031, NYC could have nearly 17,000 food-vendor permits, up from fewer than 7,000 today.
The goal: bring thousands of vendors out of legal limbo and cut down on fines and enforcement crackdowns.
In other reading:
NYC's most festive holiday bars and restaurants (6sqft)
The Manhattan borough president asked New Yorkers for housing ideas. They responded (Gothamist)
New Absolute Bagel set to open this month, employee says (West Side Rag)
Tech Jobs: NYC’s Talent Advantage Shows Up Again
The latest tech employment snapshot from CompTIA shows a cautious hiring environment. But beneath it, strong demand for tech skills, NYC’s unmatched talent pipeline, and early evidence suggests that AI is creating more opportunity than disruption.
Here’s what to know:
🌤️ The tech job market did cool — but it’s stabilizing: November data shows a modest pullback in tech employment as companies pause and recalibrate amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
Tech unemployment ticked up to 4%, still relatively low by historical standards.
Hiring has been more selective:
Employers still posted nearly 436,000 tech job openings last month, including more than 174,000 new listings.
Software development, cybersecurity, systems engineering, tech support, and AI roles continue to lead demand.
🗽 New York’s talent advantage keeps getting stronger:
A new JLL report ranks NYC as the #1 talent hub in the U.S., with unmatched depth across tech, finance, consulting, and law.
Nearly 77,000 office-centric graduates are entering the NYC workforce in 2025, with half relocating from other metros.
🎓 Graduates still see NYC as a career accelerator:
The city’s dense university network, global employers, and transit system make it a top destination for both domestic and international talent.
Median salaries for NYC-based grads remain strongest in technology, finance, consulting, and law.
🤖 AI is creating work:
New research shows jobs most exposed to AI saw faster wage growth and stronger job gains than less-exposed roles over the past two years.
AI is boosting productivity and expanding demand, especially in software and technical fields.
🚀 The big takeaway: Tech hiring is adjusting, and NYC’s talent pipeline, combined with AI-driven productivity gains, positions the city well for the next growth cycle.
Did you know? Tech:NYC has a Jobs Board, powered by Getro, with 3,700+ open NYC tech roles from 400+ tech companies just a click away. We’ve added ~1,800 new NYC tech roles in just the last month.
Explore the jobs board here.
We also post a weekly list of job openings from our jobs board on our LinkedIn — follow along!
In other reading:
A filmmaker made a Sam Altman deepfake — and got unexpectedly attached (WIRED)
YouTube will stream the Oscars — exclusively — beginning in 2029 (TechCrunch)
‘It made me a little bit kinder’: How managers use AI to make decisions (Fast Company)
Welcome to our new weekly jobs section, where we spotlight a selection of the NYC tech jobs from our Jobs Board — all recently posted. 🔥
New York City health tech companies have raised $2.77 billion in 2025 (so far) per PitchBook data. Here are three roles from NYC health tech companies for job seekers to consider:
Principal Software Engineer — Ro ($251,200-$340k / year + equity): You’ll operate as a senior technical leader across the engineering organization — helping shape the long-term technical direction of the platform, stewarding the health and evolution of critical systems, and driving architectural decisions that enable Ro to scale sustainably, safely, and quickly. Apply here.
Founding Talent Lead — Marble Health: You’ll own key hires end-to-end, drive hiring velocity and predictability, build visibility into hiring bottlenecks, implement hiring planning and prioritization, and work with company leadership to build a hiring roadmap. Apply here.
Senior Manager, Digital Product — TUSHY ($90k-$120k / year + equity): You’ll serve as Product Manager of TUSHY’s direct-to-consumer website and play a leading role in developing and implementing their e-commerce strategy. Apply here.
Imprint, an NYC-based loyalty rewards platform, raised $150 million in Series D funding at a $1.2 billion valuation. Khosla Ventures led the round, joined by Thrive Capital, Ribbit Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Hedosophia, Spice Capital, and Timeless.
Thread, an NYC-based service desk platform for IT providers, raised $18 million. Susquehanna Growth Equity led the round, joined by Headline.
December 19: Holiday Tech Happy Hour, a low-key way to connect with the NYC tech and startup community to discover shared interests, explore areas for collaboration, and find your next co-founder or key hire. Register here.
December 20: Iconic Coffee Club: Design + Tech Founders, an event for designers & builders! if you’re building the next big thing and looking for the right people to bring it to life, this one’s for you. Register here.
December 22: NYC B2B: AI Founders & Investors Meetup, hosted by NYC B2B. It’s a great way to meet other founders, builders, and investors. Whether you’re building a company, exploring a side project, or considering a new idea, this event is for you. Register here.
January 7: Women with Saas: Female Founder Coworking Day, an opportunity to work alongside other female SaaS and AI founders to brainstorm, and build a more powerful network. Register here.
January 7: Founders Basketball New York City, a 4-on-4 tournament for NYC-based startup founders and investors who love to hoop. Register here.
January 8: TechWalk | Jersey City, a different sort of networking event for members of the Tech and SaaS communities to get outside, meet new people, and enjoy some fresh air, while practicing mindful movement. Register here.
January 10: Founder Game Night, for those who are building something new, like to win, and want to meet other sharp minds in infra and AI. Register here.
January 21: Building a Personal Brand in the Age of AI, where you can learn how AI can help you create content faster, understand your audience better, and stay authentic while standing out. Register here.
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