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Photo of a civic tech workshop in a bright room, with people seated at tables and a presenter speaking at the front near a projected slide. A blue overlay and white headline text reads, “This week in NYC’s #CivicTech — Week 4 of 2026.” A semi-transparent rounded box lists four bullet points: “Event alert: BetaBagels is back for 2026!!” “Visit the NYC PIT Pop Up as part of our partnership with CUNY PIT Lab!” “The secret we weren’t supposed to talk about (look beneath the pavement)” and “Recap of new NYC Council committee chairs.”

This week in NYC’s #CivicTech – January 23, 2026

Gabby Langston

Last week, Noel reminded us that in a world of breathtaking technological abundance, what truly matters is how we choose to live together. Quoting Dr. King, he called on us to root ourselves in our communities, to practice love, and to build the “Beloved Community” not just through innovation, but through care, participation, and shared responsibility.

This week, we’re putting that call into action.

Community Board applications are now open for Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, with Manhattan opening this week and The Bronx coming soon. These hyper-local bodies are where neighborhood issues turn into real decisions (such as housing, transit, public space, and more!), and they need people who care about equity, data, design, and the public good. Community Boards need YOU! If last week was about why community matters, this week is about where and how you can show up.

On that note, we’re excited to bring back BetaBagels for 2026! Join us on Zoom on Friday, January 30, at 9:30 am for a lively, breakfast-time conversation with current Community Board members and public interest technologists. We’ll explore how neighborhood power works in practice, how data shapes funding and service decisions, and how Community Board service can open doors to deeper civic leadership. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn care for your community into action, this is your moment.

And there’s more brewing: next week, we’ll be making a big announcement about NYC School of Data, along with launching our call for volunteers. If you’re excited about civic tech, data, and building community power, stay tuned—you won’t want to miss what’s coming.

From reflection to action, from love to local impact, let’s keep building the “Beloved Community” together.

— Gabrielle Langston

Support BetaNYC Today! 💗

In 2025, Mapping for Equity brought neighbors together to document the everyday details that shape access. Help us keep saying yes in 2026—more community mapping events, more digital literacy, and more open data that improves real lives.

Join us in reaching our goal of 200 sustaining donors: https://beta.nyc/donate 

What’s New at BetaNYC? 🚀

Step inside NYC’s Public Interest Tech “living lab” at the Oculus! Our press release recaps the NYC PIT Pop-Up Open House & Relaunch, as part of our collaboration with CUNY PIT Lab. The space is an immersive storefront where New Yorkers can explore hands-on civic tech demos, meet creators, and see how technology can advance equity and the public good. And the best part: the Pop-Up is staying open through the spring (January–April), on Tuesdays to Thursdays from12–6 pm, with more exhibits and community programming on the way.

Upcoming Events with BetaNYC 🎊

Promotional flyer with a warm, blurred background photo of sesame bagels. At the top, the “BetaBagels” logo appears, with “BAGELS” styled like toasted bagel letters. Large headline reads: “Your Community Boards, PIT, and Power in Local Politics,” followed by “with” and a speaker list in a rounded white box: Austin Pferd (Brooklyn CB1 Member), Celeste León (Brooklyn CB4 District Manager), Teon L. Brooks, Ph.D. (Brooklyn CB1 Member), and Zhi Keng He (Queens CB7 Member). At the bottom, calendar and link icons accompany: “9:30am Friday, January 30” and “Register at beta.nyc/betabagels013.”

This Week’s Media Watchlist 🎥

  • A sewer socialist agenda in NYC: Dissent argues that “sewer socialism” isn’t just a vision, it’s a staffing plan, and progressive wins depend on a deep bench of skilled civil servants who can make government machinery work.
  • Peek beneath the pavement: Gothamist reports the city is using a $10M federal grant to build a 3D map of subsurface utilities to cut costly project delays and improve emergency response, without creating a static map that could be misused.
  • NYC Parks has a new leader: Mayor Mamdani announced Tricia Shimamura as the next NYC Parks Commissioner, amid calls from advocates to allocate more funding to the Parks Department.
  • Update on the budget picture: Comptroller Mark Levine’s analysis projects a cumulative $12 billion budget gap for this year and next year’s budget, marking the largest budget deficit in recent years.
  • New term, new chairs. Here’s who’s running NYC Council committees. City & State breaks down Speaker Julie Menin’s committee assignments and notes that all of her opponents in the speaker’s race were given chair positions.
  • Follow the money behind “cheaper car insurance.” Streetsblog digs into the pro-rate-cut push, arguing an Uber-linked coalition is shaping the Albany narrative and that proposed reforms could reduce compensation for crash victims.

Jobs Alert and Announcements 💼 

Upcoming Events 📅

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