The state of tech in New York City

There is no arguing that New York City’s tech sector is a robust one, as evidenced by a week packed with industry events, from Smart Cities New York to Blockchain Week. But after an at-times rocky year highlighted by the loss of Amazon’s second headquarters, there is nonetheless some strategizing to do about how to continue the sector’s growth at a time when some in the nonprofit and public sector are wary of that growth.

James Patchett, chief executive officer of New York City Economic Development Corporation, and Julie Samuels, executive director of the industry group Tech:NYC, took a stab at answering that question on Tuesday at a discussion hosted by Smart Cities New York. Ten years ago, Patchett said, New York was focused on becoming the next Silicon Valley. “Today, we’ve had so much success in technology, we’re very much trying to not be Silicon Valley,” he said, mentioning diversity, education, and transportation as the city’s strengths.

Despite the loss of HQ2, Samuels said New York City is better positioned than Silicon Valley to tackle the challenge of public sector engagement. “When you think about what does the future of the technology sector look like nationally and internationally, you’re going to see companies that need to engage with government earlier. You’re going to see companies that need to engage with competitors earlier, with customers, with clients,” she said. “And that is something that makes me feel so bullish on New York. That is, by default, the nature of New York. You can’t live here and not be impacted and integrated into the whole city around you.”

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