Tuesday, June 2, 2026
In today’s digest, 34th Street gets an upgrade, where that iconic NYC coffee cup went, and the latest on the state of CS education in NYC. 💻📚
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Michael Scott called, The Office is back. The Manhattan office market is on pace for its best year since 2000, as tenants signed deals for 4.2 million square feet in May. That’s up 17% from April and 35% year-over-year. 🏢 (The Real Deal)
Google inked a 411,000-square-foot renewal at 315 Hudson St. and Midtown accounted for more than half of all leasing activity last month.
Speaking of Midtown, the city is dusting off plans for a 34th Street busway, aiming to turn one of Manhattan’s most congested crosstown corridors into an area with faster, more reliable bus service. 🚌 (FOX New York)
The project would stretch from Third Avenue to Ninth Avenue and serve more than 28,000 daily riders.
City officials point to the success of the 14th Street busway, where bus speeds increased and traffic injuries dropped after implementation.
It’s June, which means it’s officially Pride Month! 🌈 The annual NYC Pride March will take place at the end of the month (June 28), and there are plenty of other ways to celebrate Pride throughout the city, from film screenings to parties and more. Check out this guide to Pride in NYC. (Gothamist)
In other reading:
These are the House districts to watch in New York this primary season (New York Times)
The real reason this NYC icon has disappeared (NY 1)
New Yorkers can flip a coin to win a free Oura Ring this week at a one-of-a-kind wellness pop-up (Secret NYC)
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NYC’s Computer Science Experiment Turns 10. The Next Challenge? AI.
Ten years after New York City launched its ambitious Computer Science for All (“CS4All”) initiative, a new report from the Center for an Urban Future argues the city has dramatically expanded access to computer science education, even if there’s still work to be done. 💻
Here’s what stood out from the report:
A decade of growth: CS4All, co-founded by Union Square Ventures partner and Tech:NYC board member Fred Wilson, has significantly expanded computer science education across New York City public schools. 🚀
Annual computer science enrollment grew from 54,177 students (5.5% of students) in 2016 to 193,171 students (20%) in 2024.
The number of computer science classes increased nearly tenfold, from 534 in 2016 to 5,005 in 2023.
Today, 93% of schools offer computer science instruction to at least some students across every major grade band.
Progress has reached more students: Some of the largest gains have come among groups that have historically been underrepresented in tech. 📈
Enrollment more than quadrupled among Hispanic students, rising from 4.7% to 19.1%, and among Black students, increasing from 3.6% to 15.6% between 2016 and 2024.
Female participation grew from 5.1% to 19.5%, slightly faster than growth among male students.
English language learners now participate in computer science courses at a higher rate (23.3%) than non-English language learners (19.3%).
Yes, but: Access isn't the same as participation.
Despite major progress, most students still aren’t taking computer science classes.
Citywide, only 20% of students were enrolled in a computer science course in 2024, even though 93% of schools offer them.
Location, location, location: Where a student lives still plays a major role in whether they get exposure to computer science. 🗽
Staten Island leads the city with 28% of students enrolled in computer science courses, followed by Queens (26.1%), Manhattan (13.7%) and the Bronx (14.8%).
Looking ahead: The report calls for a “CS4All 2.0” that goes beyond coding and focuses on helping students understand how technology works, how to evaluate it critically, and how to use AI responsibly.
The report also recommends investing more heavily in teacher training and expanding computing education across subjects and grade levels.
💡TL;DR: New York City's decade-long push into computer science education has dramatically expanded access, but as AI reshapes industries across the city, closing participation gaps may be just as important as expanding access itself.
In other reading:
Anthropic IPO storylines to watch (Axios)
How people are really using AI in 2026 (HBR)
New generation of AI tenants rewrites culture of office leasing (The Real Deal)
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 roles from Tech:NYC member CLEAR:
Senior Software Engineer, Fullstack ($175,500-$215k / year + equity): You’ll advance CLEAR’s capabilities across a wide array of industries and domains and gain hands-on experience with privacy, security, data modeling and architecture while delivering code across the full stack, driving engineering excellence by defining best practices in testing, documentation, and observability. Apply here.
Senior Product Manager ($200k-$275k / year + equity): You’ll define product strategy and roadmap for key areas of CLEAR’s platform, always working backwards from the customer and driving measurable business impact. You’ll also build and manage complex products end-to-end, from discovery and prioritization through launch, iteration, and long-term optimization. Apply here.
Enterprise Account Executive (C1 - B2B) ($150k-$350k / year + equity): You’ll drive enterprise growth by sourcing, developing, and closing strategic partnerships across key industries, while owning the full deal lifecycle from prospecting through negotiation, contracting, and launch. Apply here.
Board, an NYC-based face-to-face game console led by Mirror founder Brynn Putnam, raised $20 million in Series A funding. USV led the round, joined by Adjacent, BoxGroup, Coalition Operators, First Round Capital, Lerer Hippeau, IRL Ventures; Metrodora Ventures, Patron, SV Angel, and Twelve Below.
Novellia, an NYC-based real-world pharma data company, raised $18 million in Series A funding. Spark Capital led the round, joined by Khosla Ventures, Acrew Capital, Bling Capital, and TMV.
SpeedLabs, an NYC-based live sports prediction market, raised $6.5 million in seed funding. Parlay Capital led the round, joined by Bullpen Capital, TA Ventures, and EdgeEquity.
ZeroDrift, an NYC-based AI compliance startup, raised $10 million in seed funding from a16z, Reign Ventures, PitchDrive Ventures, and U&I Ventures.
Featured New York Tech Week events:
⭐ June 1-7: New York Tech Week, featuring 1,600+ tech events throughout the city. Get Tech:NYC’s curated Guide to NY Tech Week here in grid view (or list view here).
⭐June 3: An Insider Look at Empire AI, a peek behind the $500 million consortium of leading universities building world-class supercomputing for the public interest. Register here.
⭐ June 3: Axios AI+ NY Summit, a half-day event convening top leaders across tech, finance, media, health care, and beyond to explore what’s next for artificial intelligence in conversations live from the Big Apple. Register here.
⭐ June 4: Tech:NYC’s Decoded Futures Build Day, bringing together nonprofit leaders and technologists to explore practical ways to use AI to build organizational capacity and scale impact. Register here.
⭐ June 4: Edelman & Tech:NYC Media & Comms Happy Hour, rooftop cocktails and a panel on how new media is reshaping the tech landscape. Register here.
⭐ June 4: The Future of Tech & Talent in NYC: A New Hub for Startups with IBM, exploring how NYC is attracting tech, talent, and growing the startup ecosystem. Register here.
⭐ June 4: Economic Justice + Startups: A Conversation with Deputy Mayor Julie Su + Impact-Driven Demos, a discussion between the Deputy Mayor and startup founders working to solve hard problems for everyday New Yorkers in small business, housing, healthcare, childcare, workforce development, government services, and more. Register here.
Other great events:
June 3: Founders & Investors Happy Hour, a curated evening at Haven HQ for early stage founders and active investors. Register here.
June 3: Grind & Grow: A Cacao Ceremony for Founders & Investors, an intimate cacao ceremony for Seed to Series B founders and Partner-level VCs. Register here.
June 3: Anthropic Founder Salon: Inside the AI-Native Era, an exclusive, curated gathering brings together founders and leaders from across the AI ecosystem for a conversation on how advancements in model capabilities are rapidly reshaping the startup ecosystem. Register here.
June 4: KPMG Founder Sessions, where experts will share practical insights and strategies on setting up the financial infrastructure necessary to accelerate your company’s growth trajectory. Register here.
June 4: Founder Run Club, a conversation-pace run along the Hudson with a group of founders. Register here.
June 4: Pancakes* with PENSA, a breakfast and networking gathering of hardware startup leaders. Register here.
June 4: NYTW Conversations: Crafting Community, a focused, intimate conversation with Jaclyn Johnson, Founder of Create & Cultivate about what it takes to build a community that lasts. Register here with promo code TECHNYC for a discounted pass.
June 9: Mission-Ready Identity: The New Standard of Defense in the AI Era, an executive summit from CLEAR bringing together security, fraud, operations, and business leaders from across industries to reframe identity from a static “system of record” to mission-ready infrastructure. Register here.
June 11: Runway AI Festival, an interdisciplinary celebration of creatives experimenting at the forefront of art and technology, this year featuring a fireside chat with acclaimed director Ron Howard. Register here with promo code TECHNYC for a discounted pass.
June 9-10: DeveloperWeek New York, bringing together thousands of software engineers, architects, dev team leads, and product builders, for an event that spans every major area of software development: from AI and cloud to frameworks, DevOps, APIs, and emerging tech. Register here for a discounted pass for Digest readers.
June 11: Rust Demo Night with PostHog and One, featuring technical implementations and conversations about what it takes to build great products. Register here.
June 16: Business Incubator Association of New York State’s 2026 Annual Conference, featuring high-impact panels with communities building across New York. Register here with promo code TECHNYC for a discounted pass.
June 18: [untitled] Series // Craft and Code, a fireside with a few engineers who care about design talking honestly about craft, taste, and how they actually work. Register here.
June 22: NYC Summer Retail Mixer, an evening designed for meaningful conversations, genuine connections, and fresh perspectives with peers across the retail ecosystem. Register here.
June 25: Pitching Yourself in the Moments That Matter, an interactive workshop where you can learn how to introduce yourself in a way that is clear, natural, and designed to start real conversations. Register here.
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