BetaNYC is New York City’s civic technology, open data, and civic design community. Starting as a meetup in 2009, it has since grown to be a non-profit organization that hosts events, facilitates policy change, demystifies big ideas, and empowers a new generation of civic hackers. In a strategic partnership with the Manhattan Borough President Gale […]
Earlier this week, the NYC Technology Committee voted in favor of Int. 1137-2018 (introduced by Council Member Adrienne E. Adams), which would codify the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics (MODA) into the City Charter. BetaNYC strongly supports the legislation. MODA was created through Mayor Bloomberg’s Executive Order 306. Since then the Office has played a pivotal […]
Introduction to the Civic Innovation Fellows Program: The Civic Innovation Fellowship is the first and only comprehensive program dedicated to improving community boards’ use of data and technology while training the next generation of civic leaders from CUNY. Manhattan Borough President Gale A Brewer founded the program in 2014, and BetaNYC has run it since […]
Note — This report is one of two reports we are releasing this Fall, and a follow up to our 2015 report. Please read our executive summaries of both reports; you can download a PDF copy of this report here – Community Board Technology Needs Report 2018 – Final Version (pdf). You can download our […]
While NYC might not have direct democracy, it does have a Charter Revision Commission. This commission gives the people the power to rewrite the City’s constitution — aka the City Charter. In an era where democracy seems under attack, over the course of 24 months, NYC will have hosted TWO Charter Revision Commissions! The […]
We have published two reports based on several years of research into the technical and information infrastructure supporting community boards. The first report, BetaNYC and Civic Innovations Fellows Community Board and Technology Needs Report, summarizes interviews with district managers about the current state of technology within district offices and their most pressing technology needs going forward. […]
We are honored to share a project showcase of the Fund for the City of New York’s Community Planning Fellows and NYC’s Civic Innovation Fellows hosted by the Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and BetaNYC. Both programs are using geographic information system (GIS), civic technology, and open data to improve Community Board operations. This post […]
To: NYC Charter Revision Commission From: Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC Subject: Civic Engagement and Independent Redistricting Thursday, 21 June 2018 Where we are now: The 1989 Charter revision created COPIC, the Commission on Public Information and Communication. Its ideals were virtuous: educate the public about the availability and potential usefulness of city produced […]
To: NYC Charter Revision Commission From: Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC Wednesday, 9 May 2018 Dear Chair Cesar Perales, Vice Chair Rachel Godsil, and Commissioners, It is an honor to have this opportunity to represent New York City’s civic technology, design, and data community. I am the Executive Director of BetaNYC, a member […]
We are conducting research to better understand the information infrastructure that supports community boards and are producing recommendations on how to make municipal information more useful! Can you give us five mins and tell us your successes and/or data needs? For the last three months, we have documented the existing information workflows within community […]
