January 16, 2026
CUNY PIT LAB AND BETANYC RELAUNCH THE NYC PUBLIC INTEREST TECHNOLOGY (PIT) POP UP AT THE OCULUS WORLD TRADE CENTER, SHOWCASING PUBLIC INTEREST TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION
The NYC PIT Pop Up Open House and Relaunch convened civic leaders, educators, foundations, artists, and community partners around hands-on demos, digital literacy, and civic tech for equity and the public good.
NEW YORK, NY — On Friday, January 9, 2026, the City University of New York Public Interest Technology Lab (CUNY PIT Lab), in partnership with BetaNYC, hosted an Open House and Relaunch of the NYC PIT Pop Up at the Oculus World Trade Center Transit Hub in Lower Manhattan. The event welcomed guests, community partners, and public officials to experience the immersive public storefront featuring interactive installations and civic tech demonstrations that highlight how technology can advance equity, justice, and public benefit in New York City and beyond.
The NYC PIT Pop Up is a community-facing “living lab” designed to bring public interest technology into an accessible, high-traffic public space, inviting New Yorkers to explore hands-on projects and meet creators and collaborators. Initially open for 11 days in November 2025, the PIT Pop Up has been extended throughout the Spring of 2026.
“This space came about as a crazy idea,” said Rev. Dr. Katie Cumiskey, Professor at CUNY and Director of the CUNY PIT Lab. “What if we created a publicly accessible space where New York City could be welcomed in to interact with projects that represent public interest tech in action?” Cumiskey added, “We see this as a co-learning space…helping us advance important projects centered on tech advancing the public good.”
Following the relaunch, the NYC PIT Pop Up will be open January through April, Tuesdays–Thursdays, from 12:00-6:00 PM, continuing to host interactive exhibits, demonstrations, and community programming. Plans are in the works to host CUNY based open data projects at the Pop Up in support of Open Data Week in March 2026 and a week focused on Sonic Spaces in April 2026. The NYC PIT Pop Up is organized by the CUNY PIT Lab in partnership with BetaNYC, with support from the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) and the CUNY Office of Research. For more information visit: https://nycpitpopup.org
Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC, reflected on the importance of accessible civic tech gathering spaces. “When Katie said, ‘Let’s put together a storefront’ – I said ‘Let’s put it into one of the busiest transit centers in America!’ We are beyond thrilled with the reception we’ve had here in the Oculus World Trade Center. Public Interest Tech is truly at the crossroads of our lives” Hidalgo said. “We’re really excited to have the popup throughout Open Data Week… and to do this with support of our elected officials and private foundations.”
Elected leaders emphasized the role of public interest technology in transparency, accountability, and equity. Council Member Gale Brewer highlighted the importance of open government and community learning. “This space is so important…making the public able to see the great work the community is doing in community tech, where people get to participate and learn.”
Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez underscored how civic technology strengthens the relationship between government and communities. “For those of us that believe the government is there to serve, using tools like open data… that’s what keeps us accountable,” Gutiérrez said. She added, “This is a wonderful, beautiful, thoughtful project…when you bring community, when you bring tech, when you open government up, something beautiful and sustainable can emerge.”
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal pointed to the NYC PIT Pop Up’s potential to help address everyday quality-of-life concerns and equity gaps. “Transparency, government accountability, tech in our schools and at CUNY are some of the most important issues we’re discussing,” he said. “I want to work with BetaNYC to understand these quality of life issues and the equity concerns that should be at the top of everyone’s agenda.”
Supporters noted the urgency of public interest technology in the present era. Joshua Elder, Senior Vice President and Head of Grantmaking at Siegel Family Endowment, spoke about how technology now shapes daily life for everyone. “You used to have a choice as to whether you wanted to be a technologist. Today, that choice no longer exists. Technology is woven into every part of our lives,” Elder said. “What excites me about this moment is the opportunity for people to see, clearly and concretely, what public interest technology makes possible, and how we can come together as a community to co-create it.”
CUNY leadership highlighted the cross-sector collaboration and funding partnerships powering the NYC PIT Pop Up and related programs. Aankit Patel, University Dean for Technology, Computer and Information Sciences at CUNY Central, praised the team’s ability to build a multidisciplinary network across institutions and communities, saying “they’ve figured out a way to tell the story of how public interest tech matters…connecting with nonprofits, civic organizations, and city agencies to figure out how they can use this space.”
For more information, visit nycpitpopup.org.
Media Contact:
CUNY Public Interest Technology Lab
PITLab@cuny.edu
