In our weekly prep meeting, Gabby reminded the team that we are living through history. The gravity of the times we are living in can not be ignored. Last week, The Verge’s Elizabeth Lopatto wrote about the Great Leap Forward we are living through. This week, GSA terminated the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee and announced a purge of military leadership and transgender service members.
And as Black History Month comes to a close, Adam Serwer reflects on the Great Resegregation. All of this just as consumer confidence took a tumble, and we’re now looking at a dire economic situation. If it isn’t clear enough, we are in the darkest days of our democracy. Yet, let me tell you about the light….
BetaNYC has always centered on compassion and empathy. We seek to understand each other and learn from our neighbors. Together, we build better systems! For over a decade, we have celebrated March as “Sunshine Month” — not for the warm weather but for open government, freedom of information, and the City’s open data law.
Throughout March, we will finalize plans for NYC School of Data, the nation’s best community public interest tech and open data conference, Open Data Week, and Data Through Design (an annual companion art show). This is the last week for you to save $10 on a School of Data ticket via early bird pricing!
“SoData,” as we sometimes call it, is a daylong conference in a fully accessible venue. For participants, presenters, and volunteers, we provide FREE professional, on-site childcare. This year, with support from Reinvent Albany and New York State’s ConnectAll program, we will be livestreaming the mainstage AND providing American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for all sessions delivered on the main stage.
Starting this week through March 15, you will see your neighbors with long green papers going door-to-door or outside highly trafficked locations (think farmers markets, subway entrances, high streets, etc). These tend to be volunteers with campaign petitions! Sometimes, you will find the candidate! This is the time to ensure our community is working with future elected officials who support inclusive and open governments. Our City and State governments need people with backbones who are going to fight fascists and an anti-open federal government. Note that you can sign only one petition per office.
According to the State Law, “Voters may not sign a petition for more candidates than there are openings for an office. For example, if there is one council seat open, then the voter may only sign one petition for a candidate for that office. If there are 2 seats open, the voter may sign petitions for 2 candidates.”
In other news, Manhattan and The Bronx are closing their Community Board Applications soon! Manhattan ends on March 7, and The Bronx closes on March 9.
Never forget your power, your energy, and your capital.
— Noel Hidalgo
Community Resources 📚
- How to stay sane AND informed – Caitlin Dewey
- Some NYC families can get $120 per child in summer food benefits. Here’s how to apply. – Julian Shen-Berro
- Black Housing Wealth Varies across Local Markets, Despite Recent Improvement in the Black Homeownership Rate Nationally – John Walsh and Jung Hyun Choi
- We the Builders. Real stories from federal employees – We the Builders
- Civic Tech is About Benefiting The Public Good, not Government Efficiency – Christopher Whitaker and Derek Eder
- How the Vatican is shaping AI ethics – Project Liberty
- Rethinking Participatory Mapping as a Justice-Oriented Practice – Parisa Setayesh
- Who’s Who in Emerging Tech – City & State
- Seven planets to be visible in night sky for last time until 2040 – Maddie Molloy
This Week in NYC Civic Tech 🗽
- NYPD and NYC councilmembers face off over tracker of alleged gang members – Brittany Kriegstein
- Ahead of Council hearing, NYPD releases trove of info on surveillance tech – Joe Anuta and Cris Seda Chabrier
- How the CUNY Mapping Service Supports a Fair Census – “The Thought Project” podcast
- Trump’s bid to kill congestion tolls could send Staten Island bus riders back into gridlock – Ramsey Khalifeh
- Adams’ second Charter Revision Commission takes aim at land use gatekeepers – Sahalie Donaldson
- Who at City Hall Is Taking Away Agency Money? – Katie Honan
- NYC to unveil high-tech flood barriers in coastal resiliency preview – Giulia Heyward (10+ years, we’re still recovering from SuperStorm Sandy.)
- As Poverty Rises in New York City, 1 in 4 Can’t Afford Essentials – Benjamin Oreskes
- 311 Resolution Satisfaction (RSAT) dashboard – The NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (This is part of Int 587 passed in the NYC Council!)
This Week in Gov Watch 🏛️
- Memo to the President: Manhattan Economy Improving, Thanks to Congestion Pricing – Dave Colon
- Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado won’t run again with Gov. Kathy Hochul – Jon Campbell
- All 50 States Have Now Introduced Right to Repair Legislation – Jason Koebler (By the way, NY has led the way!)
- Hochul’s NYC guardrails proposal faces long odds in Assembly – Rebecca C. Lewis
- ISPs fear wave of state laws after New York’s $15 broadband mandate – Jon Brodkin
- RED ALERT: Now Is the Moment, Folks – Josh Marshall
- The DOGE Acting Administrator Isn’t New to the Trump World – Artis Curiskis and Julia Métraux
- 21 legacy USDS staffers resign rather than work for DOGE – Natalie Alms
- Who Is the Anonymous Data Expert Telling Elon Which Cuts to Make? – Jacqueline Sweet
- Biden Justice Department downplayed U.K. demand for Apple ‘back door’ – Joseph Menn
Jobs Alert and Announcements 💼
- NYC Housing Preservation & Development is hiring a Deputy Director of Data & Program Analytics.
- The New York Public Library is recruiting a Director of Product, eReading and Director of Product, Scholarly eBooks.
- The Simons Foundation is seeking a Director of Digital Platforms and Technology.
Upcoming Events 📅
Note: All times are listed in EDT
- February 28 at 1 pm NYC Council Committee on Women and Gender Equity Hearing: Oversight – Ensuring Access to Supports for Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, and Nonbinary (TGNCNB) People in New York City
- March 4 at 6 pm Speed Limiters for the Most Reckless Drivers Webinar
- March 7 at 12 pm Discovering NYC Open Data: Online Session
- March 13 at 6 pm VC Reality Check: Pitch Your Startup & Get Live Feedback
- March 19 at 9 am Beyond Numbers: Navigating NYC’s Budget in Times of Uncertainty
- March 21 to April 6 Data Through Design’s Corpus: Bodies of Data
- March 22 to 30 NYC Open Data Week
- March 29 NYC School of Data (Early bird tickets on sale!)
- June 19 to 21 State of the Map US, Boston
- June 10 to 11 TICTeC 2025, Mechelen, Belgium and Online
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