NYC Charter Revision Commission and You!
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…
Testimony to the New York City Council on Int. No. 14 of 2018 and Publication of Online Reports — BetaNYC & Reinvent Albany
Testimony to the New York City Council Governmental Operations Committee on the Publication of Online Reports and the Broadcasting of Mandatory Debates April 26, 2018 Good morning Chair Cabrera and members of the New York City Council Governmental Operations committee. My name is Alex Camarda, and I am the Senior…
BetaNYC’s Testimony to NYC Council’s Technology Committee — Oversight Hearing on LinkNYC
To: NYC Council – Committee on Technology From: Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC Re: Link NYC Oversight Hearing Wednesday, 18 April 2018 Chairman Koo & the Committee on Technology, BetaNYC has fully supported Mayor Bloomberg’s and Mayor de Blasio’s reinvention of the municipal payphone. We are excited to see…
Testimony for Intro 1696-2017 (Open Algorithms Bill)
“We […] want to ensure that New York City leads the way in ethical algorithmic government. We want transparency around data tools, algorithms, artificial intelligence, and tracking. We want New York City to be the thought leader in smart, ethical, algorithmic government.” – 4 Jan 2016 – http://bit.ly/BetaNYC-2016-YearInReview To: NYC…
How to improve NYC’s open data law 2.0?
Last week, we had the chance to join with members of the NYC Transparency Working Group and provide feedback on the future of NYC’s open data law (video). As this bill is under discussion we encourage all to provided your thoughts via councilmatic. Intro 1525-2017 This bill would require updates to…
Affirming BetaNYC’s values
I want briefly talk about BetaNYC’s values and affirm our vision of the future. Frankly, this new Federal administration is walking away from open government principles, facts, and the fundamental principles that make America great. The last 11 days have brought much heartbreak to our staff and volunteer leadership committee….
2016’s written testimony for NYC #opendata oversight hearing
Wednesday, 21 September 2016 To the NYC Committee on Technology & Chairperson Vacca, Introduction. BetaNYC is a civic organization dedicated to improving all lives in New York through civic design, technology, and data. We envision an informed and empowered public that can leverage civic design, technology, and data to hold…
In Support of Int 0564 – 2014
Dear Chairperson Vacca and members of the Technology Committee, We are supportive of Intro 0564 – 2014. We strongly believe that New York City needs an internal technology and design team to help accomplish the goals of this legislation. Similar to the US Federal Government’s 18F or US Digital Services,…
Testimony in support of Free and Open Source Software Act and Civic Commons Act
To: NYC Council – Committee on Contracts From: Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC Re: Int 365-2014 & Int 366-2014 Tuesday, 22 February 2016 Dear Chairperson Rosenthal and the NYC Committee on Contracts, It is an honor to have this opportunity to represent New York City’s civic technology, design, and…