Thursday, May 15, 2025

Thursday, May 15, 2025 

In today’s digest, free money, bike to work, and NY’s biggest tech conference — ever. 🤯

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• “Free” money, anyone? New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced yesterday that inflation refund checks — ranging from $150 to $400 — will be mailed to eligible New Yorkers starting in October. 🤑  (PIX 11)

  • There’s no need to apply, but you can check your expected refund amount here.
    
    

• Mayor Eric Adams said that over $32 million will be allocated to the Department of Sanitation to help keep city parks clean over weekends and to maintain litter basket pickups. 🛝 (BK Reader)

  • Brooklyn’s Canarsie Park, Commodore Barry Park, Marine Park, Prospect Park, and Sunset Park will all see additional staff on Thursday through Monday.

  • Bathrooms will also stay open longer.
    
    

• The Department of Transportation is encouraging New Yorkers to partake in Bike to Work Day tomorrow, to promote cycling as a healthy and environmental form of transportation. Bike ridership is at an all-time high in NYC, with an estimated 226 million cycling trips each year across five boroughs. 🚲 (NYC DOT)

  • To encourage and support ridership, NYC DOT has built 87.5 miles of new protected bike lanes and upgraded an additional 20 miles in the past three years. 🤝
    
    

In other reading:

• Airport workers at JFK and LaGuardia win expanded benefits under state budget (QNS)

• Egg rolls, egg creams, and empanadas: Lower East Side street festival returns for 24th year (6sqft)

• Will AI policies make or break New York’s tech future? (Real Talk NYC)
  
  

We’re just a little over two weeks out from New York Tech Week — the largest decentralized conference in tech, bringing together the top founders, funds, and companies around the globe. 🧑‍💻

• From June 2-8, New York will play host to 900+ (!!!) events celebrating the tech ecosystem across the city. 🗽

To help you plan your own itinerary, we combed through each event to assemble the Tech:NYC Guide to New York Tech Week. Get the guide here. 📑

• With our curated list of events by Tech:NYC and our member companies, you can view by date, host, and even interest area — there are suggestions for those interested in fundraising, product development, or just good ol’ networking.

🤖 All things AI: It’s no surprise the calendar is dominated by conversations and demos of AI applications:

• AI Startup Pitch Day (June 2): NYC’s top pre-seed AI startups will take the stage to pitch their startups to a roomful of 100 investors with a grand prize of $50K.

• NYC AI Demos (June 3): Tech:NYC has teamed up with Pensar and Two Trees for a night featuring technical demos from well-known enterprises and early-stage startups.

• Axios AI+ NY Summit (June 4): Tech:NYC has partnered with Axios to bring its AI+ Summit to NYC for a second year, featuring appearances by Runway’s Cristóbal Valenzuela, Lumen Technologies’ Kate Johnson, actor & entrepreneur Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and more to be announced! 

• Social Impact AI Showcase (June 6): Decoded Futures at the Tech:NYC Foundation will showcase 10 stories, from youth development to criminal justice to education equity, highlighting how nonprofit leaders and technologists are building AI tools that save time and scale impact.

Other topics we’re excited to draw attention to this year:

• 💻 New media: Tech:NYC has partnered with Edelman to host a happy hour and panel on how new media is reshaping the tech landscape. More here. 

  • Plus, we’re teaming up with J.P. Morgan Payments to bring together leading tech journalists to explore how fintech innovation is transforming industries and shaping media coverage. More here.

• 🌎 Climate tech: Go deeper into climate solutions that can make real differences in the livability of our cities and planet. More here.

• 💸 Fintech: NYC’s leading VCs, founders, and executives are assembling for networking and a panel discussion on the current state of Fintech and AI. More here.

• 🏨 Hospitality: Learn what it means to apply AI across restaurants and hotels — where customers might be B2B or guests, but expectations are always high. More here.

What events are you going to? We’re looking forward to saying 👋!

If you’re interested in the full calendar of all 900+ Tech Week events, click here.

In other reading:

• The grittiness of Gotham's tech scene (Tim Devane)

• Meta releases new data set, AI model aimed at speeding up scientific research (Semafor)

• Google DeepMind’s AI agent dreams up algorithms beyond human expertise (Wired)
  
  

• May 16: Spring 2025 Startup Awards + Open Studio, where 10 student teams from Cornell Tech will be competing for $100,000 of investment in their startup ventures, and showcasing their research and projects. Register here.
  
  

• 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 20: The Future of the Intersection Between Design and Technology, a Cornell Tech panel discussion exploring how emerging technologies are transforming design practices and solving critical global challenges. Register here. 
  
  

• May 21: Company Ventures’ Demo Night, an AI Review event featuring a fireside chat with Distill’s Russ Heddleston followed by demos from some of the more compelling AI applications being built in New York today. Register here.
  
  

• May 22: Brderless’ May Founder Breakfast: Fundraising Readiness Beyond the Deck,  for early-stage founders to gain insights from experts and connect with other founders going through the fundraising process. Register here.
  
  

• May 23: NYPL’s free job fair & expo, focusing on tech sector jobs. 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 28: FirstGen Founders Powering American Dynamism, a gathering spotlighting the immigrant and first-gen entrepreneurs building the next wave of American industries. 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.
  
  

• June 2-8: NY Tech Week, a decentralized tech conference featuring 900+ events throughout the city. Get Tech:NYC’s guide here.
  
  

• June 2: AI Startup Pitch Day, where NYC’s top pre-seed AI startups will take the stage to pitch their startups to a roomful of 100 investors with a grand prize of $50K. Investors, register here. Startups can apply to compete here.
  
  

• June 4: Generative AI in the Built Environment, a networking breakfast and panel exploring how generative AI is reshaping design, development, and operations across the built world. Register here.