Yesterday, BetaNYC testified before the Commission on Government Efficiency.
Our argument: the city should own its digital infrastructure — its laws, its data, its services — the same way it owns its water infrastructure.
That comparison is not rhetorical. It’s in the Administrative Code. Section 24-313 prohibits the Department of Environmental Protection from using a patented hydrant unless the patent holder allows its use without royalty. New York City decided, 129 years ago, that it would not pay rent to a private monopolist for the apparatus on which its water system depends. We’re asking COGE to apply that principle to the 2026 infrastructure.
When a New Yorker, or an AI tool, reads city law today, they’re going through a vendor’s interface, not the city’s own source of truth. The canonical digital text of the NYC Charter and Administrative Code is hosted by a private company, American Legal Publishing, not by the city. This is a democratic accountability problem.
Over the past year, BetaNYC built five open-source MCP servers — tools any AI assistant, developer, or resident can use to query New York’s foundational civic data:
- nyc-charter-laws-rules — 22,050 sections of the NYC Charter, Administrative Code, and City Rules
- nyc-council-mcp — the City Council’s full legislative record: bills, hearings, votes, committees, members
- nyc-checkbook-mcp — the Comptroller’s data on spending, contracts, budget, and payroll
- nyc-record-mcp — City Record procurement notices, solicitations, awards, and public hearings
- nys-openlegislation-mcp — 150,000+ New York State records
Our testimony asks COGE to recommend three charter changes: establish digital sovereignty as a unified principle; extend the machine-readable API requirement to all city laws; and expand OTI’s mandate to embed service design capacity in every agency.
Read our testimony: https://www.beta.nyc/2026/06/11/coge-testimony
Use the tools: http://github.com/BetaNYC
— Jordan Shapiro (with support from Gabrielle Langston)
Early voting starts tomorrow 🗳️
NYC’s primary early voting period runs June 13–21, with Primary Day on June 23. Major races include contested Congressional primaries in Districts 7, 10, 12, and 13. Find your polling place and see what’s on your ballot: NYC Primary Early Voting Guide — The City Reporter.
Support BetaNYC 💗
Come celebrate with us — Pride Tech Night is June 23 — Join BetaNYC at Wilka’s (241 Bowery) for Pride-focused lightning talks, a special community announcement, and an evening with NYC’s civic tech community. $30 includes entry and two drink tickets. Complimentary for BetaBuilder monthly donors.
Reserve your spot: https://www.beta.nyc/event/e260623/
Support us year-round: https://www.beta.nyc/donate/
Upcoming Events with BetaNYC 🎊
- June 12 at 3:30 pm — Introduction to AI (AI 101) with the Manhattan Borough President’s Office & BetaNYC — Free hands-on AI literacy workshop at Community Classrooms at Pier 57. (Currently at capacity)
- June 18 at 12:00 pm — Introduction to AI (AI 101) with Council District 17 & BetaNYC — Free virtual workshop with Council Member Justin Sanchez’s office. RSVP via Zoom.
- June 23 at 6:00 pm — BetaBuilders: Pride Tech Night — Wilka’s, 241 Bowery. $30 includes entry and two drink tickets.
- July 10 at 12:00 pm — Discovering NYC Open Data: Online Session — Free virtual workshop. Open to all experience levels.
- July 10 at 2:00 pm — Mapping for Equity: Council Member Eric Dinowitz’s Office & BetaNYC — Field-map public amenities in the Bronx. Mosholu Playground. Free.
- July 21 at 12:00 pm — Introduction to AI (AI 101) with Council Member Harvey Epstein’s Office & BetaNYC — Free virtual AI literacy workshop.
Civic Tech News & Updates 🗽
- BetaNYC Testifies to NYC Council: Fund OpenRecords to Implement LL 11 of 2025 — BetaNYC joined partner organizations in calling for a $255,000 investment in the OpenRecords portal to implement the new transparency law requiring all agencies to use the portal for FOIL requests.
- Build-a-Budget Helps New Yorkers Navigate City Spending — NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams launched Build-a-Budget, an interactive tool that lets residents explore and engage with the city’s $124 billion budget.
- NYC School Budgets Hold Steady Despite Enrollment Drops — Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels extended the hold-harmless policy, protecting school budgets from per-pupil cuts tied to declining enrollment — at least for now.
- Mayor Mamdani’s Consumer Watchdog Takes On ‘Epidemic of Corporate Lawbreaking’ — Mayor Mamdani’s revamped consumer protection office is targeting systematic corporate violations — from deceptive pricing to wage theft.
- Comptroller Levine: NYPD Overtime Is Too High, Here’s What to Do About It — A new Comptroller report details persistently high NYPD overtime costs and proposes oversight reforms.
- Tell the City About Your Internet Access — NYC is collecting data on internet access to make broadband easier to get, use, and afford. Anonymous, 5–10 minutes, available in 11 languages.
AI Roundup 🤖
- New York Becomes First State to Require AI Disclosure in Ads — Governor Hochul signed a first-in-the-nation law requiring disclosure when advertisements use AI-generated synthetic performers.
- NYC Council Asks Schools to Pause AI Adoption — The City Council is urging the Education Department to slow its rollout of AI tools pending clearer guidance on privacy, equity, and oversight.
- Cities Lack Consistent Sidewalk Data. Crowdsourcing Might Help. — Project Sidewalk and similar initiatives use AI-assisted crowdsourcing to build the pedestrian infrastructure maps cities don’t have.
Community Wins, and Featured Tools 🛠️
- AI Training for Your Whole Team — The AI for Nonprofits Sprint is launching a College Access Cohort. Applications due July 10. Info sessions June 24 and July 9. Apply now.
- IBX Commute Relief Simulator — Tai Chou-Kudu — A community-built Shiny app modeling commute relief scenarios for the proposed Inner Borough Crossings. View on GitHub.
- The Bronx Is Codifying Community Power in Economic Development — Our Bronx and community-rooted organizations are embedding equity frameworks directly into economic development planning.
Jobs & Opportunities 💼
- AI Project Lead — Kings County District Attorney’s Office — $120,000–$140,000. Develops AI-enabled solutions for prosecutor workflows. Deadline: June 23.
- Deputy Director of Data Analytics and Research — Manhattan DA — $125,000–$135,000. Leads a team conducting quantitative analyses, developing dashboards, and informing policy decisions. Deadline: June 27.
- QTBIPOC Design Fellowship — Nine-month program for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC designers. October 2026–June 2027. Applications due June 30. $350 refundable deposit upon acceptance.
- Data Steward / Summer Grad Intern — OATH — $17.90/hr. Establishes and maintains enterprise data dictionaries and metadata documentation to support data governance and reporting. Deadline: July 3.
- Director of AI Solutions — NYC Comptroller — $145,000–$160,000. Leads AI application development across the Comptroller’s office. Deadline: July 19.
- Efficiency Business Integrator — Office of the Mayor — $150,000–$175,000. Implements mayoral priorities through data and technology; reports to the First Deputy Mayor. Deadline: August 8.
- Efficiency Program Manager — Office of the Mayor — $120,000–$140,000. Manages data and technology strategy for NYC’s efficiency initiatives, collaborating across agencies to implement cost-effective solutions. Deadline: August 8.
- Data Analyst — Office of the Mayor — $90,000–$110,000. Drives data analysis and problem-solving to support efficiency initiatives across NYC government agencies. Deadline: August 8.
- Manager, Innovation Administration and Analytics — MTA — $93,986–$140,979. Drives project coordination and data analytics for the Long Island Rail Road’s Office of Innovation, managing dashboards, KPI tracking, and strategic initiatives. Deadline: Rolling.
- Data Analyst — Queens Public Library — $65,000–$75,000. Collects, formats, and visualizes data on QPL’s services, programs, and population demographics to support data-driven planning across 66 library locations. Deadline: Rolling.
- Senior Technical Product Manager — American Journalism Project — $136,341–$149,975. Senior product management role rebuilding infrastructure for local news. Deadline: Rolling.
- TechCongress Fellowship — Placements for technologists working in Congress on technology policy. Applications for the January 2027 cohort close June 25, 2026.
- Civic Tech Jobs — Digital Services Coalition — Weekly aggregator for civic-tech and public-interest tech roles. Rolling.
Events 📅
- June 16–July 30 — NYC PIT Pop Up at The Oculus — 185 Greenwich St, Level LL4.
- June 18 at 12:00 pm — RAG for Data Engineers — Cloud Data Driven. Online. Free.
- June 22–26 — UN Open Source Week 2026 — UN Headquarters, New York.
- June 23 at 6:00 pm — Pride: Grassroots Documentary Making with Q-Wave — Queens Library, Flushing. Free.
- June 24 at 5:30 pm — State Capacity AI Hackathon — RSVP required.
- June 24–25 — Pride: Championing LGBTQIA+ Leaders and Allies — PowerToFly (virtual).
- July 6–7 — Global Dialogue on AI Governance — Geneva. Registration deadline June 25.
- July 9 at 2:30 pm — DCAS Civil Service 101 Info Session — Hybrid, 1 Centre Street. Free.
- July 14–23 — Bridges to Renewable Energy & Sustainable Technology Training — Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. Free. Registration deadline June 29.
- July 24 — Black Python Devs Leadership Summit 2026 — Cleveland, OH. Free.
- Now through summer — Trees Count — NYC Street Tree Census — NYC Parks.
Media to Watch, Listen, or Read 🎥
- [READ] Choosing to Stay Human — Ethan Mollick on intentional AI use vs. cognitive offloading.
- [READ] What NYCHA’s Heat Pump Strategy Says About the Future of Green Affordable Housing — NYCHA’s large-scale green appliance procurement model and what it means for affordable housing decarbonization.
- [READ] MTA Advances Long-Awaited 2nd Avenue Subway Extension — The Q train extension to East 125th Street moves forward.
- [READ] ‘Transit-Oriented Development’ Also Means Housing That Actually Invests in Transit — TOD should require real transit investment, not just proximity to existing service.
BetaNYC is a civic organization improving lives through civic technology, design, and open data. Join our Slack · Subscribe to the newsletter · Support our work · Follow us on Bluesky, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon, Reddit, and YouTube.