Wednesday, January 14, 2026
In today’s digest, cat cafés, garbage truck makeovers, and four futures for work in the age of AI. 🔮
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*Screeeeech* The Second Avenue subway is taking a sharp left turn! The next extension of the Q train won’t continue south along Second Avenue, but will instead head west along 125th Street once it reaches East Harlem, Governor Kathy Hochul announced in her State of the State yesterday. 🚂 (Gothamist)
The shift marks a break from more than a century of transit planning aimed (unsuccessfully so far) at running a Second Avenue line all the way to the Financial District.
The state will cover the cost of designing the 125th Street extension, though construction can’t begin until the East Harlem phase is completed (expected in 2032).
New York City is inviting artists to make garbage trucks… beautiful?! 🎨🗑️ DSNY’s “Trucks of Art” program is back, asking artists to transform 46,000-pound sanitation trucks into rolling works of art using donated or recycled paint. (amNY)
Apps are due February 8, and selected artists receive a $1,500 stipend.
Artists, apply here.
Get ready for the cold, New York! A cold front passing through NYC tonight will bring cooler temperatures and a wintry mix of rain and snow on Thursday. 🥶 (Gothamist)
The worst of it (or best of it, for you cold lovers) will occur Thursday night into Friday, as temps plunge into the 20s.
In other reading:
A guide to top cat cafés in NYC (New York Family)
MLK Day: NYC subways, buses, and commuter rails will run modified service. Here’s what you need to know (amNY)
Standing 70 stories above ground, the tallest tower in Queens has just launched leasing (NY Post)
Four Futures for Work in the Age of AI
We’re thinking about it, you’re thinking about it, everyone’s thinking about it: What does AI mean for the future of work?
A new report from the World Economic Forum sketches four future-of-work paths to 2030, shaped by two forces: how fast AI advances and how prepared workers and institutions are to adapt.
Let’s break them down:
Supercharged progress: Exponential AI + widespread skills = soaring productivity and whole new job categories (“agent orchestrators” managing fleets of AI agents). 🚀
The age of displacement: Fast AI, slow reskilling, and rising inequality if workers are left behind. ⚠️
Co-pilot economy: Gradual AI, high AI literacy, and human-AI teams boosting output across sectors. 🤝
Stalled progress: Steady tech gains, but limited skills and uneven adoption keep growth patchy. ⚙️
🗽 The New York angle: Across scenarios, the report stresses that regions investing early in training, digital infrastructure, and AI governance are best positioned to adapt.
For New York, that means the future of work hinges on how quickly workers and institutions can adjust.
Tech:NYC and Accenture’s Build to Lead report makes the city look a lot like the optimistic “Co-pilot” (with a bit of “Supercharged” energy).
According to the report, in just one year:
AI adoption jumped from 55% to 78% among surveyed NYC companies.
AI job postings are up 220%, growing at twice the national rate.
99% of 500 NYC C-suite execs plan to increase recruitment for AI roles.
84% have already upskilled employees into AI jobs, and 91% say reskilling boosts retention.
Most execs say the city’s upskilling efforts are “leading the way,” and over 90% believe NYC can maintain its AI leadership if it keeps investing in training and education.
Plus, programs like Decoded Futures are making sure the social sector isn’t left behind when it comes to AI.
The takeaway: Taken together, the WEF report offers the scenarios and the Tech:NYC/Accenture report offers a proof point: a big, complex economy actively building toward the future where AI growth and human opportunity move in tandem. 🤝
Dive deeper: Read the World Economic Forum’s white paper on the future of work here.
Dive even deeper: What 2026 holds for the future of work
In other reading:
Our AI future is already here (Wall Street Journal)
When there’s nowhere to promote a star employee (HBR)
Beyond productivity: How leaders can drive real ROI with AI (Workday)
Flip, an NYC-based developer of an AI program that automates customer service calls, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Next Coast Ventures and Ridge Ventures led the round and were joined by Data Point Capital and others.
GrowthPal, an NYC-based developer of an AI copilot designed for M&A, raised $2.6 million in funding. Ideaspring Capital led the round and was joined by angel investors.
Proxima, an NYC-based AI-powered drug discovery platform for proximity therapeutics, raised $80 million in seed funding. DCVC led the round and was joined by NVentures, Braidwell, Roivant, AIX Ventures, and others.
The PantryLink Challenge is calling on innovators and technologists to reimagine emergency food assistance in NYC. The NYC Department of Social Services and the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy is seeking tech-enabled solutions to strengthen the city’s emergency food network and reach thousands of households. Learn more here and submit your proposal by January 26 here.
New York City Economic Development Corporation has launched a Request for Applications for the NYC Catalyst Fund II, an investment fund aiming to create social and environmental impact, fuel economic growth and development in New York City, and generate income for NYCEDC. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis across several submission deadlines, beginning on January 30 here.
Applications are now open for the eighth annual Transit Tech Lab, an accelerated innovation program founded by the Partnership Fund for New York City and the MTA to improve public transit in the NY metro area. This year’s Lab is seeking tech companies with solutions that can help transit agencies advance infrastructure systems or modernize data and operational workflows. Apply here by February 27 or attend an info session on February 6.
HubSpot’s How You Hustle, where you and your business could be featured and receive free press exposure to their 1.5 million subscribers. Apply here.
Company Ventures’ Grand Central Tech Residency’s spring 2026 cohort, a 12-month residency program for founders and teams looking to build in-person in NYC. Apply here.
Union Square Ventures’ “usvwork” — a casual coworking day once a month for founders and builders in NYC. Apply here.
Zero Irving — the Union Square tech hub home to Civic Hall — is relaunching its Workforce Development Project Fund, which awards $200,000 annually for programs that expand tech access and economic mobility for underrepresented New Yorkers, especially those in Manhattan Community District 3 (Lower East Side, East Village, Chinatown). Submit your proposal here.
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