Thursday, February 26, 2026
In today’s digest, a self-driving shuttle bus to the airport, what’s going on with the Second Avenue subway, and Black founders building what’s next in NYC tech. 🗽
Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
Welcome to the future of the airport schlep: Port Authority is testing zero-emissions, self-driving shuttle buses to Newark Airport this spring as it builds toward a $3.5 billion AirTrain overhaul. 🚍 (Gothamist)
Three companies will each run two-week pilots in a closed section of the airport starting in March.
The Port Authority says this could shape a formal RFP in 2027.
The first of five “rental ripoff” hearings goes down tonight in Brooklyn. 😤 It’s a chance for New Yorkers to speak directly to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration about their housing conditions and their landlords. (NBC New York)
There will be hearings in each borough through April — more info here.
Another ranking we’re sure everyone will agree with: A tiny West Village café just broke into the global coffee elite, ranking as one of the top coffee shops in the world. ☕ (Time Out New York)
Arcane Estate Coffee on Cornelia Street ranked No. 12 on the World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops list (out of more than 15,000 candidates!). It was one of just nine U.S. cafés to earn a top spot.
The Panama-styled shop is known for rare Chiriquí highland beans, rotating micro-lots, and expert baristas who talk terroir like coffee-sommeliers.
In other reading:
Timber! Snowstorm knocked down dozens of trees across NYC (Gothamist)
Mount Sinai uses AI to help screen for congenital heart defects before birth (Crain’s New York Business)
What’s going on with the Second Avenue subway? (Time Out New York)
Companies to Watch: Black Founders Building What’s Next in NYC Tech
Even as Black-led venture capital shows encouraging signs, the data makes clear we’re still early in the story. 📖
According to BLCK VC’s 2025 State of Black Venture report:
The median fund size for Black-led firms is $20 million (and the average is $59 million), still below the broader industry median of $50–$100 million — a reminder that access to scale remains uneven.
And on the startup side, new research finds that only 3.1% of VC-funded high-growth startups are Black-owned, and those that do raise venture capital raise about half as much as others.
So there’s still work to be done.
In honor of Black History Month, we caught up with seven Black founders from five startups who are shaping the NYC tech ecosystem and innovating to improve health, ecommerce, retail, and more.
Here’s why each founder launched in NYC:
💡 Obi Chukwuma and Onyi Chukwuma, founders of MMARA, a digital hair health platform that helps women experiencing hair loss uncover the underlying causes behind shedding and slow growth:
“[New York] brings together healthcare, beauty, technology, and culture while reflecting the diversity of the women we serve.”
💊 Halston Prox, founder of Tabz, a unified pharmacy commerce platform that helps pharmacies accept omni-channel payments, manage checkout, connect fulfillment, and reconcile revenue in a single system:
“Healthcare, fintech, media, talent — it’s all here, compressed into one city.”
🤖 David Gabeau, founder of Tapestry, a company building the consumer interface to the AI agent economy.
“I love the energy of this city. You have people of every age, race, religion, and industry chasing their dreams side by side.”
👛 Olaitan Ajilore and Haboon Nur, founders of VAULT, an operating system for premium retail that connects a social, client-facing style platform with an operating system for retail, merchandising, and client experience teams:
“If you are building something category defining, this city sharpens you.”
❤️🩹 Dr. Tsikata Apenyo, founder of Volta Health, an operating system for college health services that uses AI and data to make healthcare workflows more efficient and coverage more affordable:
“Here, companies focus on fundamentals: revenue, durability, real customers, real-world integration, all in service of building institutions, not just dominating a single cycle. Get that right, and Sinatra’s famous lyrics ring true.”
In other reading:
Four ways to radically rethink your workweek (Wall Street Journal)
Do you have to be polite to AI? (BBC)
Workers with AI skills may get more jobs — but they lose negotiating power in this key area (Fast Company)
February 27: 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.
March 2-3: Cornell Tech and Weill Cornell Medicine’s 2026 Health Tech Summit, bringing together leaders across healthcare, technology, academia, and government to map out what’s next for responsible, human-centered AI in clinical care. Register here.
March 3: Access Enterprise Customers Through Partnerships, a panel with Nvidia, Microsoft, Plug & Play, and more on how to navigate and plug into partner ecosystems and how to maximize value through the marketplace. Register here.
March 4: NYC Indie Games March Social, a long-running monthly gathering for indie game devs and pals of all stripes to mix and mingle in a relaxed setting. Register here.
March 5: NYC AI Demos, from Tech:NYC, Pensar, and The Refinery at Domino, featuring an all-female lineup of technical leaders from Anthropic, Datadog, Suno, Housewarming, Greenly, and Vellum building real AI products across infrastructure, dev tools, healthcare, fintech, and more. Register here.
March 5: Commonweal Ventures Briefing: Procurement at the Department of War, a virtual conversation with Andrew Hunter, Former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Register here.
March 6: Startup Weekend Women, an exclusive experience in celebration of International Women’s Day to pitch your business, find a team, and build an idea in just 54 hours. Register here.
March 10: Hiring Beyond the 5 Boroughs, a roundtable for Heads of HR/People Ops and Talent to have an honest, off-the-record conversation about what’s working, what’s broken, and what no one really talks about when it comes to non-local hiring. Register here.
March 19: City & State’s Digital New York Summit, for New York’s technology and information leaders from government and industry to gather for candid discussions and thought-provoking presentations on innovative ideas that are making everyday life for all New Yorkers more livable, safer, and more convenient. Register here with promo code TECHNYC for 25% off.
March 19: Founder Breakfast, a highly curated breakfast for founders who have raised Seed to Series B. Register here.
March 19: Human by Design: The Empathy Edge in an AI World, for women and allies who build — PMs, founders, designers, marketers, and engineers — to discuss how empathy, judgment, and collaborative AI tools can help you grow your influence and deliver meaningful impact in your work. Register here.
March 19: Airtable Buildathon, a one-day, live builder competition where participants solve real business challenges using Airtable and AI-powered workflows. Register here.
March 25: Speed Pitch: Guaranteed 1:1 Meetings With Investors, for tech startups with market-ready MVP or revenue generating, preferably with one underrepresented founder, pre-seed to Series A. Register here with promo code TECHNYC20 for 20% off.
March 26: Founder Dinner, an intimate evening with a highly curated group of Series A+ founders that are scaling. Register here.
March 31: Runway AI Summit, bringing together industry leaders across media, technology, consumer brands, robotics, and more to explore how AI is reshaping how work gets done — and what comes next for enterprise. Register here with promo code TECHNYC50 for 50% off.
April 6-9: HumanX’s conference for AI leaders in San Francisco, uniting 6,500+ leaders, builders, and investors driving real transformation. Discover cutting-edge innovations and accelerate your impact through networking opportunities. Register here with promo code HX26P_TECHNYC to get $$$ off your pass.
Daily Digest Rewards 🎁
Treat yourself: Send subscribers our way, and we’ll send swag your way.
1 Referral: Shoutout in the Digest
5 Referrals: Obviously NYC Hat
10 Referrals: Obviously NYC Tote Bag
25 Referrals: Obviously NYC Sweatshirt
{{rp_personalized_text}}
Or share your personal link with others: {{ rp_refer_url }}
Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here.
Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.
