BetaNYC, a partner project of the Fund for the City of New York

BetaNYC is a civic organization dedicated to improving lives in New York through civic design, technology, and data. We help all New Yorkers access information and use technology for the public interest. #CivicTech #OpenData #PiTech #ServiceDesign

The data center industry's new pitch: field trips for kids. Read Wired's story. www.wired.com/story/data-c...

Civic tech is better when we share what we're building! 💻 Join BetaNYC on November 12 for our Autumn Civic Tech Showcase. Discover new projects, exchange ideas, and connect with fellow New Yorkers. 🎟️ Free! www.beta.nyc/event/e261112

34 staff from 22 nonprofits trained to teach AI in their own neighborhoods. Read how AI education reaches NYC's neighborhoods. www.beta.nyc/2026/10/22/a...

City Council hearing, October 28. Bills would change the reports agencies owe the Council. Submit testimony at council.nyc.gov/testify. council.nyc.gov/testify/

Keep NYC's civic tech free and open. Become a BetaBuilder for $5 a month. Join at beta.nyc/betabuilders. www.beta.nyc/betabuilders/

NYC's Office of Technology and Innovation is hiring. See OTI's open roles. www.nyc.gov/content/oti/...

Know how to make a map? Find a dataset? Tell a story with data? Make tech more accessible? Explore AI using public data? Someone else could learn from you. 💡 Bring your skills to NYC School of Data 2027: schoolofdata.nyc

NYC is hiring for data. Data Engineer, Sanitation. GIS Analyst, Health. Data Scientist, NYPD. Find 26 jobs and opportunities in this week's issue. www.beta.nyc/news-2026w43

Have a civic tech project worth sharing? 💡 Apply to present at BetaNYC's Autumn Civic Tech Showcase on November 12! Projects developed at work, in school, or independently are welcome. Applications close October 25. Details: www.beta.nyc/event/e261112

Brooklyn's community board applications are open. Apply by February 8, 2027. www.brooklynbp.nyc.gov/community-bo...

Public interest tech showcases at the Oculus, November 5 to 12. Register for each day with CUNY's PIT Lab. nycpitpopup.org/the-state-of...

Early voting starts October 24. Five questions to amend NYC's charter are on your ballot. Read Noel's take on the ballot questions. www.beta.nyc/news-2026w43

Your questions about AI and NYC government deserve trustworthy answers. We're discussing AI risks, showing tools that check answers against public data, and sharing civic AI literacy resources at our next BetaBagels. 📅 Today, 2–3:30 PM ET RSVP: www.beta.nyc/event/e261023

NYC Open Data Week is expanding to TWO WEEKS in 2027! 🗽📊 NYC School of Data will be part of it, and we need your ideas to shape the program. Have something to teach, share, or explore? Submit a proposal: schoolofdata.nyc

This week in NYC's #CivicTech, week 43 of 2026. Early voting starts October 24. Know your five ballot questions. Brooklyn's community board applications are open. How AI education reaches New York's neighborhoods. Read it: www.beta.nyc/news-2026w43

BetaNYC programs do not run on ideas alone. They take planning, facilitation, curriculum, outreach, tools, and staff time. BetaBuilders helps fund that work through recurring contributions. Join: www.beta.nyc/betabuilders

AI can help make government information accessible. But what happens when it gets the facts wrong? Join us on October 23 to explore civic AI literacy, government transparency, and misinformation. 💻 Free on Zoom | 2–3:30 PM ET www.beta.nyc/event/e261023

Can you trust AI tools with questions about New York government? BetaBagels 017, October 23 at 2 pm on Zoom: a recap of the Council's AI hearing and a demo of CivicAITools.org, which checks AI answers against public data. www.beta.nyc/event/e261023/

👋 Who should lead a session at NYC School of Data 2027? Tag your favorite NYC mappers, data storytellers, technologists, public servants, designers, researchers + community builders. Then send them the Call for Proposals! schoolofdata.nyc

Tomorrow, October 21: Diversifying your Community Board, a workshop with Data Pride NYC. October 23: BetaBagels 017 on Zoom. And applications to present at our Autumn Civic Tech Showcase close October 25. www.beta.nyc/events/

🏙️ How well do you know your Community Board? Tomorrow (Wed., Oct. 21), we’re teaming up with Data Pride NYC to explore how Community Boards work, how to get involved, and what neighborhood data can show us. 6–7:30 PM, free + open to the public. www.beta.nyc/event/e261021

Local government starts closer to home than you might think. Learn how NYC Community Boards shape neighborhoods, and how you can participate, at our free Oct. 21 event with Data Pride NYC! 6–7:30 PM in Manhattan. RSVP: www.beta.nyc/event/e261021

Coming up with BetaNYC: a Community Board workshop with Data Pride NYC (October 21), BetaBagels 017 (October 23), the Urban Tech Summit with Noel Hidalgo on a panel (November 10), and our Autumn Civic Tech Showcase (November 12). www.beta.nyc/events/

What should NYC’s data + civic tech communities be talking about in 2027? Teach a skill. Share a project. Start a conversation. And if you work with publicly available data on digital equity, smart cities, or AI, we especially want your ideas. Submit: schoolofdata.nyc

What happens when AI meets open government data? At BetaBagels 017, we'll demo CivicAITools.org and open MCP servers connecting AI assistants to NYC legislation, contracts, 311, and more. Join us October 23! RSVP: www.beta.nyc/event/e261023

Three ways to join BetaNYC this fall: a Community Board workshop with Data Pride NYC (October 21), BetaBagels 017 on Zoom (October 23), and our Autumn Civic Tech Showcase (November 12; apply to present by October 25). www.beta.nyc/events/

Community Board curious? Thinking about applying? BetaNYC + Data Pride NYC are hosting a free event Oct. 21 with practical ways to get involved, a Community Board data demo, and time to connect! 📍 124 E 14th St., 4th Floor www.beta.nyc/event/e261021

At our Autumn Civic Tech Showcase on November 12, BetaBuilders and friends will show projects that use technology to serve New York City and its people. Have a project to share? Apply to present by October 25. www.beta.nyc/event/e261112/

📣 The NYC School of Data 2027 Call for Proposals is OPEN! Got an idea for using publicly available data for the public good? We want to hear it. We’re especially excited about ideas involving digital equity, smart cities + AI. Submit your proposal: schoolofdata.nyc

🤖 Can you trust an AI-generated answer about NYC government? Join us for BetaBagels 017! We're exploring AI hallucinations, misinformation, and tools that help verify answers using public data. 📅 Oct 23 | 2–3:30 PM ET Free virtual event! www.beta.nyc/event/e261023

Want a bigger voice in what happens in your neighborhood? Join us and Data Pride NYC on Oct. 21 for Diversifying your Community Board, a free event on how Community Boards work, how to get involved, and what the data can tell us. RSVP: www.beta.nyc/event/e261021

This week in NYC's #CivicTech: SpaceXAI faces the Council on AI safety tomorrow, a Community Board workshop with Data Pride NYC, BetaBagels 017, and a call for Autumn Civic Tech Showcase presenters. www.beta.nyc/news-2026w42

Ask your AI assistant: "Is the 6 train disrupted this Saturday at 68 St-Hunter College?" mta-mcp checks subway alerts and elevator outages. Early alpha, unofficial, and may not be real time, so confirm at mta.info. Install from GitHub. github.com/BetaNYC/mta-mcp

Have a question about NYC? Public data might help you investigate it. Learn how to navigate NYC Open Data and start exploring datasets for yourself. 📅 Oct 16 at 12 pm ET 🔗 www.beta.nyc/event/e261016

Ask your AI assistant: "What RFPs are currently open from the Department of City Planning?" nyc-record-mcp searches The City Record: solicitations, contract awards, public hearings. No API key. npx -y @betanyc/nyc-record-mcp github.com/BetaNYC/nyc-record-mcp

Ask your AI assistant: "Which registered expense contracts over $500,000 did the Department of Transportation hold in FY2025?" nyc-checkbook-mcp reads Checkbook NYC spending, contracts and payroll. No API key. npx -y @betanyc/nyc-checkbook-mcp github.com/BetaNYC/nyc-checkbook-mcp

Curious about your NYC Community Board? 🏙️ Join BetaNYC + Data Pride NYC on Oct. 21 for a free event on getting involved locally, understanding Community Boards through data, and meeting fellow New Yorkers. 6–7:30 PM | 124 E 14th St. www.beta.nyc/event/e261021

Ask your AI assistant: "Is alternate-side parking suspended today?" nyc-311-mcp checks parking, trash collection and school status, emergency alerts, and a 311 request by its number. Free NYC API key. npx -y @betanyc/nyc-311-mcp github.com/BetaNYC/nyc-311-mcp

Ask your AI assistant: "Find 2025-session NY bills on AI literacy and show me the votes on each." nys-openlegislation-mcp 2.4.0: bill votes now work, plus session-year search. Free API key. npx -y @betanyc/nys-openlegislation-mcp github.com/BetaNYC/nys-openlegislation-mcp

Ask your AI assistant: "Which NYC Council hearings are coming up, and which bills are on each agenda?" nyc-council-mcp reads @council.nyc.gov's Legistar records. Free Legistar key for live data. npx -y @betanyc/nyc-council-mcp serve github.com/BetaNYC/nyc-council-mcp

Thousands of NYC datasets are available to the public. Learn how to actually use them! 📊 Join Discovering NYC Open Data for a free, beginner-friendly online class. 📅 Oct 16 at 12 pm ET 🔗 www.beta.nyc/event/e261016

BetaBagels 017: Building Civic AI for NYC's Open Government. Can you trust current AI tools? How do you connect government data to AI? Demos and tools, Fri Oct 23, 2–3:30 pm ET, free on Zoom. Got a tool to share? Let us know. Register: beta.nyc/e261023-rsvp

Connect your AI agent to our tools, and it can look up NYC and NY State public records for you. We've published free, open-source MCP servers. The City and democracy in your pocket. Open tools for open government, powered by open data. beta.nyc/featured-tools/ai-tools-for-nyc-democracy/

Missed this week's issue of The Message? It's also on LinkedIn: the AI hearing, the 2030 Census, new jobs, and events ahead. www.beta.nyc/linkedin-202...

Monday's Council hearing on AI ran ten hours, with 218 questions and 161 proposals on the record. We published the full transcript, searchable, with speaker names and timestamps. Read every word and re-run the counts yourself. betanyc.github.io/hearings-tra...

AI won't change three jobs in a democracy. We still need elected officials, civil servants, and informed voters. Noel on the Council's AI hearing, with testimony from Jordan Shapiro, Cynthia Conti-Cook, and Julia Stoyanovich. www.beta.nyc/2026/10/08/c...