Tuesday, July 1, 2025

July 01, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Tuesday, July 1, 2025 

Welcome to Q3! In today’s digest, futuristic bathrooms, July stargazing, and LLM SEO. 🤖

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

  • Stargazers, assemble! July will feature peak stargazing events in NYC, including three meteor showers, the so-called “Summer Triangle” of bright stars, and, of course, the famous Manhattanhenge. ✨ (Gothamist)

    • The first meteor shower, Alpha Capricornids, begins July 12 and will peak July 29, where there will be as many five shooting stars per hour.

    • On July 24, there will be a new moon, making it an ideal time to spot meteors or go stargazing.

    • Manhattanhenge — when the sun lines up with Manhattan's grid — returns July 11-12.

    • For those checking out fireworks on July 4th, Mercury will make an appearance an hour after sunset just above the western horizon. Look for a yellowish dot low in the sky. 

  • Speaking of July 4th fireworks, remember that public transportation service changes will be in effect on America’s birthday. (amNY)

    • Subway, bus, Staten Island Railway, and LIRR service will operate on a Saturday schedule, while parts of the Metro-North Railroad will run on a Sunday schedule.

    • The MTA will provide additional service on train lines near the Macy’s fireworks show on the east side of Manhattan. 🎇

  • New bathroom, who dis? Five “futuristic” public bathrooms have opened throughout the five boroughs. The designs are flush with sleek, metallic facilities that can be installed for a fraction of the price of a traditional restroom ($1 million vs. $3.5 million). 🚽 (PIX11)

    • The $6 million pilot program identified five neighborhoods with insufficient access to public restrooms to serve as the first locations.

    • You can find the bathrooms at Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx, Irving Square Park in Brooklyn, Thomas Jefferson Park in Manhattan, Hoyt Playground in Queens, and Father Macris Park in Staten Island.

    • All NYC public bathrooms can be found using this tool.

In other reading:

AI-powered search is poised to reshape the digital marketing landscape, and NYC’s tech scene should take note. ✍️

A recent Semrush study projects that by early 2028, AI search traffic could surpass traditional search traffic for digital marketing and SEO topics.

  • This shift is fueled by the rise of tools like Google’s AI Overviews (aka those AI-generated summaries that appear above traditional search results) and ChatGPT, which are changing how users seek and find information online.

🔑 Key insights:

  • 🤖 AI search on the rise: AI-driven platforms are expected to overtake traditional search in directing web traffic within the next few years. This trend highlights the need to adjust SEO strategies for AI search behaviors.

  • 📈 Higher conversion rates: Visitors arriving via AI search are 4.4 times more likely to convert compared to those from traditional search. This suggests that AI search not only changes traffic patterns but also improves lead quality.

  • 📉 Reduced click-throughs: AI search often provides full answers directly, reducing the need for users to click through to websites. This could lead to a decline in overall web traffic, emphasizing the need for businesses to ensure their content is featured within AI-generated responses.

📍 Other interesting tidbits:

  • Quora is the most commonly cited website in Google AI Overviews, followed by Reddit (translation: get featured on those sites).

  • Half of ChatGPT links point to business/service sites (translation: make sure your company’s website is clear, up-to-date, and optimized for crawlability).

Bottom line: AI is transforming content marketing. The winners will be those who blend automation with authenticity, speed with substance, and data with storytelling. In other words: let AI do the heavy lifting, but keep the human heart at the center.

In other reading:

  • The booms and bombs of defense-tech investing (Axios)

  • Why this bank is hiring full-time AI employees (Fast Company)

  • What happens to work when AI does the easy parts? (Forbes)

  • Audos, an NYC-based startup studio, raised $11.5 million led by True Ventures, with participation from Offline Ventures and Bungalow Capital.

  • Deeto, an NYC-based sales enablement startup, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Jump Capital.

  • July 5: Reverse Networking (AI) Event — Linkedin First, Meet Later, where select ticket holders will be listed on the event page with their LinkedIn profile so attendees can connect in advance and show up with purpose. Register here.

  • July 8-9: What Businesses & Communities Need to Know about the NY Health Information Privacy Act, avirtual webinar series featuring expert panelists who will explain the potential implications of New York State Bill S929 on your organization, should the legislation be enacted. Register here.

  • July 12: Vibe Coding Hackathon, featuring a lightning-round session where attendees can share their favorite tools, tips, and vibe coding setups. Register here.

  • July 15: How to Form an Effective Board, a free breakfast event designed to help startup founders — from pre‑seed through Series A and beyond — build and manage high‑impact boards. Register here.

  • July 16: Brderless’ July Founder Breakfast, ​for seed-stage founders who have raised or are in the process of raising series A, and are now focused on scaling — building the team, refining GTM, and shaping the story for the next round. Register here.

  • July 16: Pitch Deck Bootcamp: Build, Test, & Perfect Your Founder Pitch, where you can build, present, and refine your deck with real feedback from experienced judges and fellow founders. Register here.

  • July 16: Get AI-ready for Q4: Ecommerce AI Lab, a look at how AI agents are reshaping commerce — from support to marketing to sales to insights to operations. Register here.

  • July 23-24: Go-To-Market: Building Distribution Engine that Scales, a two-day intensive designed to help founders build the single most important part of their startup: a repeatable, scalable go-to-market engine. Register with promo code BRDERLESS20 here.

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

You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving a Shoutout in the Tech:NYC Digest.

Or share your personal link with others: https://technycdigest.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

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.