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Graphic with a dark blue background and large white headline text reading, “This week in NYC’s #CivicTech! Week 25 of 2026.” Below, a light gray rounded rectangle contains five bullet points summarizing newsletter highlights: Chief of Staff Jazzy Smith’s parting words; an invitation to BetaBuilders: Pride Tech Night on Tuesday; updates on key New York City primary races at the state and city level; a call to share feedback through The People’s Money participatory budgeting process; and a roundup of civic tech jobs and upcoming events. The design uses bold blue text inside the gray box and follows BetaNYC’s visual style.

This week in NYC’s #CivicTech – June 18, 2026

,

Gabrielle Langston

After years as Chief of Staff at BetaNYC, I’m stepping into the role of Executive Director at KEEN New York — an organization that provides free sports and recreational programs to young people with disabilities across New York City. I am deeply grateful for my years at Beta, for the people who shaped me, challenged me, trusted me, and taught me what it means to build civic infrastructure with care.

BetaNYC gave me lessons I didn’t know I was collecting. I learned that sometimes there is no one coming to give you the perfect instructions — the work is to jump in, try something, get feedback, and keep going. I had come from larger institutions where waiting for approval made sense. At Beta, I learned a different way.

I learned that functionality is a form of care. One of my first assignments was to create a one-pager for the Open Data Ambassadors program. I built an elaborate three-tiered pamphlet — and it was completely off the mark. What was needed was a simple Google Doc with clear links. That moment split me in two: there was me before it, and me after. Before making something beautiful, you have to ask: does this work for the people we’re serving?

I also learned that giving people the chance to lead — before they’ve proven it perfectly, as if anyone could — is one of the most powerful things you can offer. Beta trusted me before I had it all figured out. I want to carry that same trust to my team at KEEN.

Recently, I met George Gallego, founder of The Axis Project. He had a 3D printer installed so they could fabricate replacement parts for electric wheelchairs — because a broken joystick costs $300 minimum and takes three months on insurance. That is resilience. It is also a reminder that technology is not always about innovation in the abstract. Sometimes it is about survival and dignity.

Read the full essay.

I won’t be too far.

— Jazzy Smith

Support BetaNYC 💗

Join us Tuesday for BetaBuilders: Pride Tech Night — Lightning talks, a special community announcement, and networking at Wilka’s (241 Bowery) on June 23 at 6:00 pm. $30 includes entry and two drink tickets. Complimentary for BetaBuilder monthly donors. RSVP and become a BetaBuilder.

Upcoming Events with BetaNYC 🎊

Civic Tech News & Updates 🗽

  • New York’s June 23 primary: what to know before you vote — Tech:NYC’s guide covers key races, polling resources, and voter deadlines for Tuesday’s primary — early voting is underway now, and Election Day is June 23. – Tech:NYC
  • Big tech’s Albany session ends with more losses than wins — Politico breaks down how New York’s legislative session closed with multiple measures advancing over the tech industry’s objections, adding to a tightening regulatory posture in the state. – Politico
  • NYC’s Charter Revision Commission has public meetings open for comment — The commission is holding public meetings and hearings across the five boroughs — a direct entry point for New Yorkers who want to shape the city’s foundational governance document. – NYC Charter Revision Commission
  • Vote now: The People’s Money puts NYC’s participatory budgeting online — The Civic Engagement Commission’s online voting portal is live, letting New Yorkers weigh in on how a slice of the city budget gets spent in their communities. – NYC Civic Engagement Commission
  • City Council heads into budget negotiations with its own list — The NYC City Council is pushing for rental vouchers, transit subsidies, consumer protection, parks enforcement, and college savings accounts as the June 30 budget deadline approaches and negotiations with Mayor Mamdani continue. – City & State NY

AI Roundup 🤖

  • Why the U.S. government shut down Anthropic’s newest AI models — A June 12 export control directive barred non-U.S. nationals from accessing Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models days after launch, following escalating tensions with the Trump administration over AI regulation and national security concerns. – The Conversation
  • The AI disruption debate is missing its most affected generation — Allen Hillery argues that recent graduates who lived through a pandemic during their formative years now face an AI-disrupted job market they had no hand in creating — and that centering students is where the AI fight belongs. – Allen Hillery
  • If LLMs can read any code, does readable code still matter? — Adam Fields interrogates a question the industry largely skips: if AI can understand and modify code regardless of its quality, what does “good code” actually mean anymore? – Adam Fields

Community Wins, and Featured Tools 🛠️

  • Chris Whong maps every one of NYC’s 386 neighborhoods — Whong built a free mobile app and website that lets New Yorkers pinpoint their exact location within the city’s complex, unofficial neighborhood boundaries — all 386 of them. – Chris Whong
  • NYC Her Future wants to know what girls and young women need from this city — A five-minute survey is gathering input for a multi-year plan to make New York work better for girls, young women, and all who identify as such. – NYC Her Future
  • USAFacts is asking Congress to modernize federal data infrastructure — The nonpartisan data organization is circulating a petition urging lawmakers to make data-driven policymaking standard practice and to update the federal data systems public interest researchers depend on. – USAFacts

Jobs & Opportunities 💼

Events 📅

Media to Watch, Listen, or Read 🎥

  • [READ] Local governments face a staffing crisis — here’s what cities can learn from the private sector — Next City examines how public employers are rethinking recruitment, branding, and employee value propositions as critical roles in engineering, inspection, and data go unfilled. – Next City
  • [READ] New York’s Essential Plan coverage is ending — what to know — A guide to what’s changing, who’s affected, and what options remain for New Yorkers losing Essential Plan health coverage. – NYS Focus

BetaNYC is a civic organization improving lives through civic technology, design, and open data. Subscribe to the newsletter · Support our work · Follow us on Bluesky, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon, Reddit, and YouTube.