A Recap of 2015 & Look ahead by New York’s CTO, Minerva Tantoco

Before we kick off 2016 in earnest, I wanted to share a brief recap of 2015, a banner year for New York City not just in tech but across a whole host of topics. Take a look. The record is clear. Mayor Bill de Blasio is making NYC a stronger and more just place for all New Yorkers – and that ultimately means a smarter, more sustainable, and more equitable tech ecosystem for us all.

When Mayor de Blasio created the role of Chief Technology Officer, he set out to make New York City the most tech-friendly and innovative city in the world. Here are just a few of the administration’s 2015 technology highlights:

• Launched the Computer Science for All initiative, an $81 million public-private partnership which will deliver computer science education to every student in New York City public schools over the next 10 years – making New York City the largest school district in the country to provide universal access to these critical 21st century skills.
• New York City named the number one city in the world for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship by CITIE, a project of Nesta, Accenture, and the Future Cities Catapult.
• New York City named one of the ten smart cities to watch.
• The first LinkNYC structures were installed which will provide free high-speed wi-fi at 7,500 locations throughout all five boroughs.
• The NYC Tech Talent Pipeline earned recognition from the White House for working together with 150 employers, local academic institutions, training providers, and community organizations to develop and deliver policies, partnerships, and 10 new and expanded industry-informed programs designed to deliver quality jobs for New Yorkers and quality talent for New York’s businesses.
• Held the first-ever Call for Innovations on Broadband, an open solicitation of ideas and proposals to deliver low-cost, high-speed internet to underserved New Yorkers.
• Launched the beta version of neighborhoods.nyc, a private-public partnership that puts hyper-local data in the hands of community residents and enables local nonprofits to build neighborhood hubs for civic engagement, organizing and economic development.
• NYC featured as part of the White House’s announcements on smart cities in October 2015, and in December 2015 it was announced that the City of New York was selected as one of ten cities to participate in the Envision America coalition of smart city leadership.
• The first-ever NYC Pavilion – representing the City of New York and 14 NYC-based companies – assembled for the Smart City Expo and World Congress in Barcelona in November 2015, reaching an audience of 15,000 attendees from more than 100 countries and 500 cities.
• An overview of the citywide technology strategy was completed in October 2015, weaving together key drivers, principles and initiatives tied to the Mayor’s tech agenda.
• .NYC became the world’s largest city top-level domain.
• Release of City Records Online and the Government Records Portal in 2015 marked progress in using tech for a more transparent and open government.

Last, but certainly not least, thank you for all you are doing for our City. I look forward to partnering with you this year and accomplishing great things, together.

Minerva Tantoco
Chief Technology Officer
New York City