Happy December, everyone! To kick off, we have some exciting news to share:
- We want to hear from you about our newsletters! Take a few minutes to share your thoughts about our newsletters—the content, format, and anything else you’d like to see added or improved. As a thank you, we’ll randomly select five participants to win a stylish BetaNYC tote bag!
- Our Associate Board is hosting a Happy Hour, and you’re invited! Everyone is welcome, whether you’re new to public interest tech or a longtime fan! Join us at TALEA Beer Co in Williamsburg on Thursday, December 12, from 6-8pm. RSVP at https://bit.ly/betanyc-ab-dec24.
- This Sunday marks one week until Open Data Week and School of Data proposals are due — the deadline is December 15 at 11:59pm. Catch our guidelines and share your ideas at open-data.nyc. To learn more about what to expect, tune in to our call for proposals information session.
- BetaNYC is hiring a Public Programs Consultant! We’re seeking someone who loves public interest tech, will keep our community thriving, and will help produce Open Data Week and School of Data. Sound like you or someone you know? Learn more and apply at bit.ly/betanyc-consultant.
Community Resources 📚
Here are our picks for this week’s must-reads. Share yours to be featured in the next newsletter!
- FTC Bans Location Data Company That Powers the Surveillance Ecosystem – 404 Media
- Writing Alt Text for Data Visualization – Nightingale, the journal of the Data Visualization Society
- 83 Percent of ShotSpotter Alerts Might Not Have Been Gunfire at All – Hell Gate
- What’s the Point of LinkNYC? – Hell Gate
- U.S. officials urge Americans to use encrypted apps amid unprecedented cyberattack – NBC News
- ICYMI: With Google dropping support for many privacy plugins, learn to bypass paywalls via Firefox and bypass paywalls clean. Also, you can use 12ft.io to help bypass paywalls.
This Week in NYC Civic Tech / Gov Watch 🏛️
- Despite a divided chamber, the New York City Council passed the ‘City of Yes’ Housing Agenda. THE CITY has a recap on the final tally, dissents, and celebrations.
- According to a report from the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy’s Program on Applied Demographics, New York State’s population will decrease by more than 2 million over the next 25 years.
- The New York City Independent Budget Office highlights that CFC pantries served more than 8.4 million New Yorkers in the last quarter of fiscal year 2024 – more than twice the number of New Yorkers than during the onset of Covid-19.
- The MTA is holding several public webinars ahead of congestion pricing going into effect on January 5. Learn more about the webinars and sign up here.
- The Data Collaborative for Justice launched the New York City Jail Population Tracker. The dashboard provides real-time data on New York City’s jail population and progress toward closing Rikers Island by 2027. Thank you Liz Johnson for sharing!
Jobs Alert and Announcements (for more listings, check out #Jobs) 💼
- BetaNYC is hiring a Public Programs Consultant.
- The Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ Civil Service Pathways Fellowship applications are open through January 3.
- The New York City Campaign Finance Board is seeking a Graphic Designer.
- The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development is hiring a Data Community Coordinator, Business Intelligence & Data Strategy.
- The New York Times is recruiting a Senior Data Engineer.
- Technologists for the Public Good’s Mentorship Program applications close today.
Upcoming Events 📅
Note: All times are listed in EDT
- December 11 at 7pm CUNY Tech Prep Demo Night 2024
- December 12 at 6pm Starting and Building a Career in Data
- December 15 at 11:59pm Submission deadline for NYC School of Data
- December 17 at 10am Navigating the New York System for People With Developmental Disabilities
- January 10 at 12pm Discovering NYC Open Data: Online Session
- March 21 to April 6, 2025 Data Through Design’s Corpus: Bodies of Data
- March 22 to 30, 2025 NYC Open Data Week
- March 29, 2025 NYC School of Data
- June 19 to 21, 2025 State of the Map US, Boston
That’s all for today! Want to be featured in future posts? Share your community resources, projects, events, and anything else happening with our community. Please take care of each other, and have a great weekend!