Tuesday, April 28, 2026
In today’s digest, a pause on the city’s budget timeline, a guide to outdoor dining in NYC, and a spotlight on Red Sea Ventures’ Scott Birnbaum. 💡
But first: The New York Tech Week calendar is live! It’s the biggest NY Tech Week yet, with 1,000+ events happening across the city from June 1-7. Check out the cal and build your own personalized schedule here.
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City Hall is hitting pause on its budget timeline and turning to Albany as it looks to close a projected multi-billion-dollar budget gap, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Speaker Julie Menin outlining a mix of new revenue and cost-saving proposals. 💰 (Politico)
The proposed delay to mid-May reflects uncertainty around the still-unfinished state budget, which plays a key role in closing the city’s projected $5.4 billion gap.
They also pointed to potential savings from pension restructuring, while emphasizing the need for updated state-city funding arrangements as budget talks continue.
NYC just launched a new “peek inside the classroom” tool, letting parents track exactly what kids are learning in English class — down to the topic, materials, and even guiding questions. 📚 (Chalkbeat)
The platform pairs lessons with free digital books and is meant to help families and after-school programs reinforce literacy skills beyond the school day.
It’s still a work in progress that is prone to missing data and system glitches, but officials say it’s part of a broader push to standardize reading curriculum across schools and make it more transparent.
Fare evaders, beware: The MTA is officially expanding its “European-model” for fare enforcement on most bus routes, with civilian fare agents (known as EAGLE teams), beginning to scan for proof of payment with handheld devices. 🦅 (amNY)
In other reading:
The Resy guide to outdoor dining in New York (Resy)
Public spaces help communities thrive, new study finds (NYU)
Feeling lucky? NYC’s first-ever table games casino opens Tuesday: What to know (NBC New York)
Together with MADE 🤝
Why more growing companies are looking at Sunset Park
For startups and scaling businesses thinking about a New York footprint, finding the right space can be a challenge.
MADE — a hub for manufacturers, artisans, designers, and entrepreneurs in Sunset Park — offers flexible space from 5,000 to 30,000+ square feet for companies ready to grow.
For teams that want a practical entry point into NYC’s innovation economy, MADE is worth a look.
Explore the space and learn more here.
VC Spotlight: Scott Birnbaum, Founder and Managing Partner, Red Sea Ventures
Scott Birnbaum, Founder and Managing Partner at Red Sea Ventures (and a Tech:NYC board member), first began building as a senior at Georgetown University 25+ years ago, when he founded Epok, a collaboration and data sharing platform for the intelligence and law enforcement communities.
“Running Epok for seven years, starting at 21, taught me about all the challenges a founder and business can face,” Scott told us. “Today, when I’m sitting across from a founder I can feel in my gut when someone is building from a burning need versus building because they smelled an opportunity.”
Red Sea Ventures is hosting its second annual Consumer Tech Summit Wednesday, bringing together the players shaping the future of consumer digital.
We caught up with Scott to learn more about the future of consumer tech, his career, and much more. A preview:
🧑💻 On the future of the consumer tech sector:
“We also think that we are headed into the golden age of consumer where both brands and consumer tech will massively benefit from the new stacks powering those industries from AI to molecule development and performance marketing.”
📊 On what motivated him to found Red Sea Ventures:
“The timing felt right on a structural level, what used to cost $5 million to build in 2001 when I started my first company cost a fraction of that a decade later. That meant a wave of first-time founders was coming who needed real support, not just a check from a fund that showed up for board meetings.”
🤔 On the most common mistake he sees founders make when pitching investors:
“Not building a sober capital plan and failing to recognize the capital efficiency that is possible today... Founders need to come to the table with a story about defensibility and unfair advantages to raise quality rounds.”
🤩 On recent investments he’s excited about:
“Granted Health, which we incubated with the thesis that AI can finally make medical billing error detection, negotiation, and resolution of medical costs accessible to people who can’t afford a team of specialists…”
“The other one I’d highlight is Range, our AI wealth management platform for the mass affluent, people with $1 to $10 million in net worth who’ve historically been underserved by the big banks.”
👥 On resources he recommends for founders just starting out:
“Get into a room with other founders as fast as possible and build relationships with inspiring people to learn from them.”
🍕 And, of course, on the best slice in the city:
“Fini Pizza — shout out to Sean Feeney!”
In other reading:
Prompt like a pro (Axios)
The missing step between hype and profit (MIT Technology Review)
You may not notice if an AI chatbot responds with ads. Here’s how to tell (Fast Company)
Welcome to our weekly jobs section, where we spotlight a selection of the NYC tech jobs from Tech:NYC’s Jobs Board — all recently posted. 🔥
Today, we’re highlighting a few engineering roles.
Software Engineer, Compute Infrastructure — OpenAI ($230k-$405k / year + equity): You’ll build and deeply optimize reliable system software for large-scale compute systems that run some of the world's most demanding AI workloads. Apply here.
Staff Software Engineer — Traba ($240k-$300k / year + equity): You'll serve as the technical visionary for a scrappy founding team, bridging the gap between high-level architectural strategy and hands-on execution. You’ll be responsible for building the intelligent systems that power the future of flexible industrial staffing. Apply here.
Forward Deployed Software Engineer — Flatiron Health ($129,600-$178,200 / year + equity): You'll work at the intersection of engineering and cross-functional collaboration — designing data solutions while partnering closely with quantitative scientists, clinical data analysts, research oncologists, and project managers. Apply here.
Clarasight, an NYC-based AI operating system for enterprise travel and expenses, raised $11.5 million in Series A funding. AlleyCorp led the round and was joined by Rackhouse Venture Capital, Clocktower Ventures, Pulse Fund, Thayer Ventures, Future Back Ventures, Vestigo Ventures, and XYZ Venture Capital.
Fathom Therapeutics, an NYC-based quantum and AI drug design company, raised $47 million in Series A funding. Sutter Hill Ventures led the round, joined by Chemistry, Alexandria Venture Investments, and Empire State Development.
Windmill, an NYC-based performance review platform (and Tech:NYC member!), raised $12 million in pre-seed and seed funding from Inspired Capital, Primary Venture Partners, Founder Collective, and Oceans Ventures.
Featured event:
⭐ May 20: Nysernet Leadership Symposium: Cyber Resilience for Museums and Cultural Organizations, bringing together CIOs and CISOs from museums, arts, and cultural orgs for peer discussion and executive-level insight on today’s cyber risks. Register here with promo code TECHNYC for 10% off.
Other great events:
April 29: NY Fintech Week Founder Happy Hour, designed specifically for tech founders from Series A to Series C. Register here.
April 29: Founder Finance Night: Poker and a Free Second Opinion (Post Tax Day), for founders who want to play some poker, and startup or SMB founders who want a gut check on their finances. Register here.
April 29: How to Raise a Series A, for founders who want to learn what investors are actually evaluating, how to think about timing and traction, and how to walk into the room knowing what to ask for, what to push on, and what to leave alone. Register here.
April 30: Fintech Takes 3v3 Classic @ NY Fintech Week, a friendly 3v3 competition complete with good conversation afterwards. Register here.
May 1: Tech Pickleball NYC, a chance to gather with fellow tech workers for coffee, bagels, pickleball, and good vibes. Register here.
May 3: Startup Friends — Coffee & Chill Session at Branch, featuring convos with ambitious people who know how to keep things light while chasing big goals. Register here.
May 5: Inside the Startup Investor Mind: What Actually Gets Funded in 2026, cutting through the “founder-speak” to bring you directly into the conversation with the people writing the checks. Register here.
May 5: Quantum Harlem: Building New York’s Quantum Innovation Community, convening a curated panel of leaders across the quantum ecosystem: researchers, founders, investors, and enterprise adopters, offering a view into where quantum is headed and how it will be built, deployed, and scaled. Register here.
May 13: Defending Your Budget, focusing on bridging the gap between marketing investment and board-level expectations, equipping you to drive and communicate performance in a way that builds clarity, confidence, and alignment. Register here.
May 18-20: Sports Business Journal Tech Week, bringing together sports tech leaders to network, drive innovation, and discuss the trends impacting the sector. Register here with promo code LG-TECHNYC-2025 to get 15% off your pass.
May 19: Commerce Leaders Mixer at The Lead Summit, a curated evening of networking with senior retail and brand leaders across ecommerce, marketing, and digital. Register here.
May 28: Niural AI Summit, a pre-NY Tech Week summit bringing together CFOs, finance leaders, HR executives, founders, and investors shaping the future of AI-native finance and people operations. Register here for a discounted rate for Tech:NYC Digest readers.
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