Greetings everyone, we present to you the April edition of our monthly newsletter! Read up and be sure to subscribe for future editions. Also, feel free to share your events, announcements, and anything else that’s happening. Take care and see you in May!
Friday, April 7, 2023
Ramadan Mubarak, happy Passover and happy Easter — a rare occurrence that happens every 30 years! For those who celebrate, many blessings to you and your families. Spring is here, along with sunshine, showers, and blooming flowers — we hope you’re enjoying the scenery!
Last month, thousands of people celebrated Open Data Week with us. We learned about the many ways New Yorkers use open data to empower their communities, build transparency, and create accountability. If you participated as an organizer, an artist, a volunteer or as an attendee, thank you! Next week, all recorded events will be available on the BetaNYC YouTube channel. Many thanks to the Internet Society New York Chapter for processing our recordings.
Want to stay in touch for next year’s festival? Sign up for Open Data Week announcements! You’ll be notified when all recordings are available, plus we plan to publish a call for 2024 sessions this Fall.
In this month’s newsletter, we’re back in full swing with civic tech news, upcoming events and announcements! If you have something to share with the community, please submit it for May’s newsletter.
Take care and see you next month!
— BetaNYC 🫶
What’s New at BetaNYC?
We have some project updates to share!
Become a NYC Open Data Ambassador! 📊
A New Step for Playgrounds Map 🏀
Last month, Zhi launched NYC Parks Playgrounds Map in collaboration with the Office of Council Member Eric Dinowitz. This map highlights which playgrounds are accessible, have inclusive play elements, contain restrooms and which restrooms are ADA accessible.
Recently, the NYC Parks Department updated its website to include a map! In addition, the Office of New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released a report on park accessibility for people with disabilities. We will continue documenting public space accessibility as part of our mapping for equity.
Civic Innovation Fellows Mapping for Equity 🗺️
Our fellowship’s Spring project, Mapping for Equity, has gotten coverage in the Gothamist and their work was featured by CUNY on Instagram! Their work is part of a semester-long project in partnership with the office of Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez District 34 and the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance. We plan to host a few intro to OpenStreetMap (OSM) classes in the next few months!
But wait, there’s more!
Read on for recent content picks from our team and community. Share yours for next month’s newsletter.
Civic Tech and Legislation Watch 👀
State budget negotiations are ongoing: Governor Hochul and the New York State Assembly have key differences in their proposals. New York Focus has an interactive guide on these differences, and THE CITY has an informative guide on key items to lookout for.
The City’s budget process continues: The NYC Council released a formal response to Mayor Adams’ preliminary budget proposal from January. Later in the week, Mayor Adams reached out to city agencies requesting they slash their budgets by an additional four percent.
The wait for MyCity is over: Mayor Adams launched the first phase of the MyCity Portal, in an effort to streamline access to various City services. While we are excited by the premise, we hope it lives up to its promise.
Making racial wealth equity transparent: Last year, the Black Wealth Data Center and DataKind released blackwealthdata.org to shine a light on Black wealth. This year at NYC Open Data Week, they launched the prototype for their new investment tool the Data Observation Toolkit (DOT).
Bike lanes for electric and non-electric devices? The NYC Department of Transportation announced it is exploring new street designs to make this a possibility.
An open-data blockchain? A report by Emil Skandul, through the Tony Blair Institute, proposes an interesting intersection of the blockchain, open data, financial transparency, and UI designs.
Upcoming Events 📆
April 12 at 12pm Webinar “Introduction to Time Series Analysis and Forecasting”
April 12 at 1pm Paving the way for an inclusive future tech workforce
April 12 at 6pm Do No Harm Guide: Centering Accessibility in Data Visualization
April 21 at 3pm Sustainable Urbanization Fireside Chat
April 25 at 6pm To be poor is to be surveilled
April 28 at 9am How Can Open Heroines “Cook” Data with Feminist Recipes?
May 1 at 1pm GISMO’s Rat App Coming Your Way!
May 11 at 6pm Andrew Hagstrom: Colossus of New York Subway Maps
June 12-16 Pride Summit
Announcements, Job Openings and Opportunities (Submit yours here and see our #Jobs channel in Slack for more posts.) 📢
- ANHD is seeking a Mid/Senior Program Coordinator for Energy & Housing Justice.
- The Aspen Tech Policy Hub’s applications for the Nonprofit and Public Interest Fellowship are open until April 18.
- Amelia, an exclusive gathering place for women in tech, venture, and business, will launch in NYC this month! Apply for a free membership to join in-person social events.
- The Black Wealth Data Center is recruiting a Communications Manager and Network Engagement Manager.
- The City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) applications are open until April 14. THE CITY has a guide on what applicants need to know.
- Co:census is hiring an Enterprise Account Executive and seeking people for their user research panel.
- The College of Staten Island Tech Incubator’s new Thrive Program is accepting applications until April 14.
- COOP Careers is recruiting a Technology Solutions Analyst.
- The Manhattan Borough President’s Office has openings for Community Planning Board Coordinator, Housing Policy Analyst, Senior Urban Planner and a Director of Constituent Services.
- The New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) is hiring a Program Manager for the Tech Training program.
- The New York State Office of Information Technology Services is seeking a Chief Information Officer.
- The Office of Council Member Carlina Rivera is seeking volunteers to survey the East Side street tree beds in City Council District 2!
- Queens Public Library is hiring a Data Analyst.
- Transportation Alternatives is seeking a Data Visualization Coordinator.
Keep in touch with our community! 🛸
- Slack
- YouTube (Open Data Week Videos will be up soon!)
- NYC Civic Tech Facebook Group
- Mastodon
- Open Data Week
- GitHub
Like this newsletter and what we do? Donate $23 or more to our 2023 campaign and support employment opportunities for our Civic Innovation Lab, Civic Innovation Fellows and Apprentices to grow with us.
See you next month! Peace, openness and gratitude 🗽