• BetaNYC’s testimony to NYC Charter Revision Commission Manhattan Meeting

      To: NYC Charter Revision Commission From: Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC Wednesday, 9 May 2018 Dear Chair Cesar Perales, Vice Chair Rachel Godsil, and Commissioners, It is an honor to have this opportunity to represent New York City’s civic technology, design, and data community. I am the Executive Director of BetaNYC, a member…

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  • Testimony to the New York City Council on Int. No. 14 of 2018 and Publication of Online Reports — BetaNYC & Reinvent Albany

    Testimony to the New York City Council Governmental Operations Committee on the Publication of Online Reports and the Broadcasting of Mandatory Debates April 26, 2018 Good morning Chair Cabrera and members of the New York City Council Governmental Operations committee.  My name is Alex Camarda, and I am the Senior Policy Advisor for Reinvent Albany.…

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  • BetaNYC’s Testimony to NYC Council’s Technology Committee — Oversight Hearing on LinkNYC

    To: NYC Council – Committee on Technology From: Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC Re: Link NYC Oversight Hearing Wednesday, 18 April 2018 Chairman Koo & the Committee on Technology, BetaNYC has fully supported Mayor Bloomberg’s and Mayor de Blasio’s reinvention of the municipal payphone. We are excited to see how Link NYC has transformed…

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  • ? ❤ ? — NYC SoData 2018 Recap

    How we build is as important as what we build.  – Chris Whong, NYC Planning Labs Thank you for making NYC’s School of Data an amazing day and making NYC’s second annual open data week an epic adventure across the Boroughs! 2018 is our second year where we simultaneously celebrated International Open Data Day and…

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  • Register for 2018’s NYC School of Data & #HackHall

    Join us on Saturday, 3 March 2018, for NYC School of Data — a community technology conference that demystifies complex ideas and fosters local civic engagement. This community-driven conference is organized by BetaNYC – NYC’s Civic technology, data, and design community. Our conversations and workshops will empower you to improve our neighborhoods and our lives.…

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  • Dear de Blasio, Re: NYC Automated Decision Systems Task Force — #NYCAlgorithms

    For the past year, BetaNYC has called on NYC government to be a global leader on algorithmic government. In the fall of 2017, CM Vacca introduced a bill that was turned into Local Law 49 of 2018. This #NYCAlgorithms LAW gives the city up to 24 months to create a task force and articulate how…

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  • WE’RE HIRING – Civic Innovation Lab Manager

    BetaNYC is New York City’s civic technology, open data, and civic design community. Starting as a meetup in 2009, it has since grown to be a non-profit organization that hosts events, facilitates policy change, demystifies big ideas, and empowers a new generation of civic hackers. In a strategic partnership with the Manhattan Borough President Gale…

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  • Testimony on Open Data Examination and Verification Report 2017

    Good Afternoon, Chairman Vacca and Members of the Technology Committee, I am Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC and a member of the NYC Transparency Working Group. I want to start by thanking Chairman Vacca, the members of this Committee, and the Council for your continued commitment to oversight hearings for the Open Data Law.…

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  • a HUGE win for NYC’s legislative data.

    For the last four years, we have been working with various City Council members to get the City’s “source code” online — we’re talking about the City’s charter, laws, rules, and daily record. The City’s charter is equivalent of the city’s constitution. According to the City’s law department, “the charter is the document that defines…

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  • Support BetaNYC this #GivingTuesday

    Friends of BetaNYC, We are very thankful for this past year and the opportunity we’ve had to improve New York City. On this #GivingTuesday, we ask for your help move our mission forward. BetaNYC is a fiscally sponsored non-profit organized by two-full time staff members, nine ops-team volunteers, and you! Every year, we rely on…

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  • CIF 2017 Field Report – First lab experience

    (This week’s blog post is written by Federico Toscano and edited by Ramesh Beharry.) Introduction the first week’s lab: Last week, the 4th cohort of NYC Civic Innovation Fellows experienced their first bootcamp training at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. The training consisted in a well-explained lecture by Noel Hidalgo, in which he disclosed a broad amount of…

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  • Testimony for Intro 1696-2017 (Open Algorithms Bill)

    “We […] want to ensure that New York City leads the way in ethical algorithmic government. We want transparency around data tools, algorithms, artificial intelligence, and tracking. We want New York City to be the thought leader in smart, ethical, algorithmic government.” – 4 Jan 2016 – http://bit.ly/BetaNYC-2016-YearInReview To: NYC Council – Committee on Technology…

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