New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has convened a rare Committee of the Whole hearing, meaning all 51 council members are expected to attend, to question executives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta under oath about AI safety risks. Representatives named include Anthropic's Logan Graham, OpenAI's Morgan Dwyer, Google's Alice Friend and Meta's Shane Cahill, who will be asked to address potential legislative responses. Former industry researchers, including ex-Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon and former OpenAI and DeepMind staffers, are also expected to attend.
cnbc.com
· 2026-10-05
A hobbyist analysis using 2021 airborne LiDAR data from The Nature Conservancy, the University of Vermont, and New York State GIS has identified several tree candidates in New York City that may rival or exceed the height of the Queens Giant, last officially measured in 2004 at 133.8 feet. The analysis, which also draws on 2013-14 survey data and recent aerial imagery, suggests the city's parks department should revisit tree measurements using modern tools.
blog.willmeye.rs
· 2026-10-03
Approximately 1,000 New York City households participated in a program by startup Every Electric, receiving free batteries to run window air conditioners during extreme heat. The batteries allowed residents to maintain cooling while earning money through demand response payments from Con Edison, even during a record-breaking heat dome event. The initiative aims to demonstrate how residential energy storage can support grid stability during peak demand periods.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-02
New York City's Click-to-Cancel Rule has taken effect, requiring companies to let customers cancel subscriptions using the same method they used to sign up. The rule, enforced by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, covers streaming services, gym memberships, subscription boxes and free trials that convert to paid plans. Businesses must disclose price, billing terms and cancellation details before taking payment information, and violations carry fines starting at $525.
techspot.com
· 2026-10-02
New York City's click-to-cancel rule took effect Thursday, requiring businesses to make canceling a subscription as easy as signing up for one. The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection says the policy could save residents between $21.5 million and $162.5 million a year, and residents can now file complaints with the city over violations.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-01
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has enlisted a group of designers, branding agencies and grocery-industry specialists to create the visual identity for the city's planned municipal grocery stores. The team includes agencies that previously worked on brands like Graza and Stillers, and their remit reportedly includes merchandise as well as store design.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-30
A new report from the Center for an Urban Future finds that entry-level tech jobs in New York City have fallen roughly by half, even as the city's overall tech sector keeps expanding. The report notes major firms including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google have expanded their New York presence, with tech employment up 160% between 2008 and 2023, second only to San Francisco's growth.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-24
DoorDash spent roughly $1.4 million during the 2025 New York mayoral race opposing Zohran Mamdani and backing Andrew Cuomo, including a $1 million donation to the anti-Mamdani super PAC Fix the City. Mamdani won and his administration this week announced a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash over underpayment of 264,000 delivery workers, the largest worker settlement in city history.
theintercept.com
· 2026-09-23
New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection reached a settlement requiring DoorDash to pay $131.5 million after an investigation into late, missing, or miscalculated payments to delivery workers. More than 260,000 workers will share over $115 million, with the remainder covering civil penalties and disputed pay for time Dashers spent online awaiting deliveries.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-22
New York City is rolling out 17 high-tech, self-cleaning public restrooms across the city under an initiative championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The units are designed to automatically limit each visit to 10 minutes, after which the door reportedly opens or users are prompted to leave regardless of whether they're finished.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-17
Women interviewed by WIRED describe being secretly filmed on dates by men wearing Meta's AI-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses, which can capture photo and video from the wearer's point of view. One woman, Courtney McAnuff, discovered footage of her date posted to Instagram without her consent, prompting her to describe the experience as a violation. Meta sold over 7 million pairs of the glasses in 2025, and the devices have earned the nickname "creep glasses" amid growing complaints about covert filming in social settings.
wired.com
· 2026-09-15
Jacob Komarow started selling baklava on New York City streets in 2021 while six months into recovery from drug addiction, building a mobile business called Good Baklava that operates from vans, pop-up stands and online orders rather than a fixed storefront. A viral moment handing out free pastries near Madison Square Garden and a subsequent New York Times profile drove explosive growth, with monthly revenue averaging over $20,000 and peaking near $70,000.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-09-14
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