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Graphic with a blue overlay showing a table covered in markers and kids’ drawings, and plexiglass boxes labeled HOPES, FEARS, and QUESTIONS in the background. White text reads: ‘This week in NYC’s #CivicTech – Week 46 of 2025.’ A white box lists bullet points: ‘Share your community recommendations for the Mayor-Elect! Join us at FOUR events next week!! Insights on City Hall from former deputy mayors. Event alert – Data Workshop with JustFix! Verizon’s nationwide App Developer Challenge – $25,000 grand prize!!’”

This week in NYC’s #CivicTech – November 14, 2025

Gabby Langston

Hello friends,

Our city has a Mayor-Elect, and we want to hear your thoughts. As this new administration takes shape, we’re building out a new section: Dear Mayor-Elect: Our Community Recommendations, and would love your help. If you have must-read pieces on govtech, procurement, service design, or digital equity, send us an email at at the_message@beta.nyc so we can share them with the wider community.

Alongside the Mayor-Elect’s transition, City Council Member-elect Virginia Maloney is hiring a team! If you’re interested in working for NYC Council, now is a crucial moment to keep an eye on new Council offices as they staff up.

We hope you had a meaningful Veterans Day! We extend our thanks to all Veterans and their families for their service. As we head into a busy holiday season, we’re wishing you care, rest, and the right balance of connection and downtime.

Next week marks OpenStreetMap Geography Awareness Week (#OSMGeoWeek), a global celebration of open mapping and the power of community-made data (learn more at openstreetmap.us/events/osmgeoweek). To mark the moment, we’ve got multiple chances to learn and connect next week, from Mapping for Equity, to PIT workshops and open data classes. Scroll down to our events section to RSVP, share your recommendations for the Mayor-Elect, and stay plugged into the work of building a fairer, better-mapped city together.

Thank you for being part of this community, and for all the ways you help make New York City work better for everyone.

With gratitude,

Gabrielle Langston & Dimitri Mimy

Dear Mayor-Elect: Our Community Recommendations 📚

We’re kicking off a new section dedicated to articles you think belong on the Mayor-Elect’s reading list—pulled from the worlds of civic tech, equity, and good government. Share your recommendations with us at the_message@beta.nyc!

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Our newsletter keeps New Yorkers current on civic tech: the news, tools, and events that drive open government and community problem-solving. It’s built for residents, advocates, and public interest technologists.

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Also, our very own Dimitri Mimy published an insightful blog post recapping his experience participating in MIT’s Delta V Start-Up Accelerator as an executive board member. It’s a must-read as he shares his personal journey to discovering the value of his voice in a new professional space.

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Upcoming Events with BetaNYC 🎊

Election Corner 2025 🗳️

  • Fix City Hall from the inside out: Vital City lays out why Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani can’t deliver on his agenda without tackling New York’s civil service system and modernizing how the city hires talent.
  • Start here if you care about a flood-safe NYC: This City Sponge piece rounds up rapid-fire advice from frontline experts on what the new mayor should tackle first to reduce flooding, from cleaning catch basins and overhauling green infrastructure to tying stormwater, housing justice, and community-powered data into one climate resilience agenda.
  • Reboot civil service for the 21st century: This Public Sector Job Board essay argues that to actually “deliver for” residents, governments need to overhaul rigid hiring rules and build people-first public sector career paths.
  • Hear how power really works at City Hall: Four former deputy mayors talk candidly about budgets, Albany, personnel, crisis management, and what practical advice they’d give Mamdani on day one.
  • Meet the people shaping the next comptroller’s office: City & State profiles the heavyweight transition team around Comptroller-elect Mark Levine, from labor leaders to nonprofit executives, and what their expertise signals about his priorities.
  • See what 50,000 job applications look like: SILive covers the flood of people, 50,000, who applied within a week to work for Mayor-elect Mamdani, and what that says about excitement around the new administration.
  • Latest on daylighting in NYC: Streetsblog breaks down how a flawed DOT study helped water down universal daylighting, even as advocates and council researchers point to global evidence that clear corners save lives.

This Week’s Media Watchlist 🎥

  • Turn up the volume on governing by the numbers: The “What’s The [DATA] Point” podcast offers data-driven conversations about New York City’s budget, services, and leadership choices—perfect if you like your politics with spreadsheets.
  • Celebrate the folks who make NYC work quietly: City & State’s “2025 Unsung Heroes” list spotlights behind-the-scenes New Yorkers—organizers, operations leads, policy hands—whose work keeps government, nonprofits, and communities running.
  • Marvel at a trucker’s tiny New York: Gothamist reports on Joe Macken’s TikTok-famous, hand-built scale model of every NYC building—and how it’s heading for an official debut at the Museum of the City of New York.

Artificial Intelligence Roundup 🤖

  • Follow the money when A.I. gets it wrong: This New York Times piece looks at what happens when AI tools defame real people, and who should be legally and financially responsible when automated output causes human harm.

Data Privacy Watch 🔐

  • Peek behind Palantir’s politics: This Politico interview dives into a new book about Palantir CEO Alex Karp, his work with ICE, and how one Silicon Valley leader made a hard turn toward MAGA.

Jobs Alert and Announcements 💼

Upcoming Events 📅

Note: All times are listed in EDT

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Take care of each other, and have a great weekend!