It was sticky and rainy outside, but scores of people showed up to see Mayor Bloomberg shake his tech pom-poms today at Internet Week HQ. The Mayor trudged to 82 Mercer to announce a new initiative alongside chief digital officer Rachel Sterne, NYCEDC president Seth Pinsky and–surprisingly–Josh Miller, the cofounder of Branch.
So what exactly did Mr. Mayor have up his sleeve? Turns out it was a new interactive map that displays the locations of tech companies around New York City. A sidebar also displays which of these companies are currently hiring.
The map “also locates the offices of investors, making it an excellent tool for entrepreneurs in search of capital, and includes over 30 tech incubators,” he said. “We expect this map to be another tool that helps propel our tech industry forward.”
Ms. Sterne elaborated, “Right now, there are over 600 startups, investors and incubators listed on the map, and we invite others to submit their company because this is an interactive resource.”
Ms. Sterne also said that over 320 companies on the map are hiring, equating to “more than 1,000 open jobs in New York. The message is loud and clear: New York City is open for business.”
So much rah-rahing was starting to make us nauseous. After Mr. Pinsky spoke, Mr. Miller then took the podium and briefly listed three reasons why he decided to move Branch back to NYC, the last of which was, “I much prefer a slice of New York pizza to a San Francisco burrito.”
Finally it was the press’s turn to ask questions. We were dying to ask the Mayor if he’s keeping to his New Year’s resolution to learn how to code.
Unfortunately, we never got called on. Maybe next time, Mr. Mayor.
