Thursday, October 23, 2025

October 23, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Thursday, October 23, 2025 

In today’s digest, the BQE gets some TLC, Broadway avoids a strike, and how AI is transforming key industries in NYC. 🧑‍💻🗽

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  • If you missed the final mayoral debate last night, we’ve got you covered. 🫡 Here were five takeaways from the evening. (The CITY)

  • The BQE is getting a glow up. 💅 Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $79 million repaving spree for NYC’s bumpiest highways — including the BQE and Jackie Robinson Parkway — as part of a record $800 million state investment.(amNY)

    • Translation: fewer potholes, smoother commutes, and fewer spilled coffees on your way to work.

    • Check out all the NYC roads getting paved here.


  • Mamma Mia! The show must (and will) go on! Broadway avoided a strike in an 11th-hour deal (it was literally tentatively agreed upon at 4:30 this morning) between the labor union representing musicians and Broadway League. 🎭 (Playbill)

    • If the musicians strike were to occur, it would have shut down nearly every musical on Broadway.

    • It’s a Wicked Maybe Happy Ending for Broadway fans, eager to spend their Hamiltons (sorry).

➕ One more thing: Big news from Tech:NYC’s Decoded Futures! In partnership with Google.org and The New York Community Trust, we’re thrilled to announce the 12 nonprofits receiving $1 million in AI grants to help scale their impact and bring responsible AI innovation to communities across New York City. More here.

In other reading:

  • The best Halloween events for 2025 in NYC (Time Out New York)

  • Teachers union debuts AI training partnership with Big Tech (Gothamist)

  • NYCEDC and NYU Tandon announce inaugural cohort and new leader for Game Design Future Lab (NYCEDC)

AI 🤝 NYC Industries: Highlights from the Tech:NYC x Crain’s 2025 Tech Summit

AI took center stage at today’s Tech:NYC and Crain’s Tech Summit, where city leaders, founders, and investors explored how artificial intelligence is reshaping New York’s core industries, from real estate and healthcare to finance, law, and public transit.

Here’s what stood out: 👇

🚇 Building the future, block by block: Via CEO Daniel Ramot — fresh off the company’s IPO — described how AI has been at the heart of the New York-born transit tech firm since day one.

  • Ramot explained how Via’s systems now help 700 cities plan and optimize transit routes globally. 

  • Building in NYC, he added, “proved to the world that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”

🏥 AI at the bedside: Healthcare leaders Eric Kinariwala (Capsule), Kate Ryder (Maven Clinic), and Dr. Paul A. Testa (NYU Langone Health), detailed how AI is cutting through inefficiency in patient care. 

  • Capsule uses AI to double-check prescriptions and automate insurance hurdles, while Maven is launching an AI agent to guide families through fertility journeys — bridging the medical, emotional, and financial aspects of care.

🏦 Wall Street’s AI moment: Fintech executives like Everett Cook (Rho) and Sanjiv Das (Pagaya) highlighted how automation is transforming risk management and lending. 

  • “We focus on using AI to really deliver the best client experience in the world,” Cook noted, underscoring how machine learning can expand financial capabilities.

🏢 Smarter buildings, smarter policy: Zillow’s Jennifer Butler explained how AI now helps analyze legislation and even schedule job interviews: “[AI] actually helps me be more present in (interviewing candidates) than typing notes or looking down.” 

  • MetaProp’s Aaron Block predicted that bots will eventually be part of real estate teams: “I think every real estate organization, for every one human employee that you are managing as a manager, you will probably manage between three and six robots.

⚖️ Policy in motion: The policy panel, led by John Borthwick (betaworks), Elana Berkowitz (Springbank), and Jerome Walker (NYC Bar Association), debated New York’s proposed RAISE Act. 

  • Berkowitz warned that overbroad AI regulation could “create an incumbency advantage” for tech giants, while Walker urged engagement as lawmakers navigate AI safety and innovation.

💡 The big picture: Our very own Julie Samuels joined Laura Peterson (Accenture) to unpack the “Built to Lead” report — a deep dive into how the city’s economy, workforce, and companies are adapting to the AI era. TL;DR: New York execs are optimistic about AI in NY.

Bottom line: New York’s next economic wave is being trained right here, in the global capital of applied AI. 🗽

In other reading: 

  • Changing your company’s culture is hard. Here’s how to do it right (Fast Company)

  • How the busiest people find joy (HBR)

  • CurbWaste, an NYC-based operating system for waste hauling, raised $28 million in Series B funding. Socium Ventures led the round and was joined by Flourish Ventures, TTV Capital, B Capital Group, and SquarePoint Capital.

  • Shop My Shelf, an NYC-based curated commerce infrastructure company, raised $70 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. Avenir led, joined by Bain Capital Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Menlo Ventures.

  • Starbridge.ai, an NYC-based AI-powered sales platform designed for the public sector, raised $42 million in Series A funding. Craft Ventures led the round and was joined by others.

  • October 24: AI Builders & Ramen, for a curated group of AI engineers, consultants, or enthusiasts for an evening of great conversations over ramen. Register here.

  • October 27-November 6: NYC PIT Pop Up at The Oculus, a temporary, immersive, pop-up event where technology, art, science, and community converge. Learn more here.

  • October 28: SIEDC Elevate Tech Summit, where you can dive into specialized tracks in AI, marketing, and business operations, featuring top leaders and innovators shaping the future of tech in the tri-state area. Register here.

  • October 28: Curated Founder Breakfast, a private breakfast for a curated group of founders from Seed to Series B. Register here.

  • November 3: AI in Real Estate: A Conversation, unpacking the state of play for AI in real estate, including where it’s delivering value now and which parts of the stack are ripest for disruption. Register here.

  • November 6: AI Made Simple: From Curiosity to Confidence, a hands-on evening where you'll turn real work challenges into practical AI solutions — no tech background required, just curiosity and a laptop. Register here.

  • November 7: AcceleratorCon, for top early-stage founders connect directly with investors, accelerators, and ecosystem partners. Register with promo code NYCDIGEST for a 30% discount here.

  • November 11-12: Urban Tech Summit, offering insights and examples of how researchers, companies, governments, and communities can continue to drive innovation, and how urban tech can help cities do more with less as they prepare for the future. Register here.

  • November 19: Decoded Futures Build Day, a day of collaboration between technologists and nonprofit organizations to explore practical, hands-on ways to apply AI to real challenges. Register here.

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