newyork
Latest
New York officials recognize three Uber drivers as employees
New York authorities have reached a decision that could change the way Uber drivers are classified -- at least when it comes to unemployment insurance. The New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board has ruled in favor of three former Uber drivers who filed a federal lawsuit against the ride-hailing service after the unemployment insurance (UI) claim they made in 2016 didn't go through. Two of them left Uber after being booted off the platform, while the last one quit because he was making below minimum wage. The board's decision doesn't apply only to them, though, but also to other "similarly situated" Uber drivers.
The Macallan distillery opens up for 4D virtual reality tours
Not everyone has the means to travel to Scotland and visit their favorite distillery a la Ron Swanson. To help connoisseurs live out their dreams of traipsing through its facilities, The Macallan has created the Macallan Distillery Experience. VRFocus describes it as a "4D multi-sensory" group tour that guides folks through the company's process for making its Single Malt spirit. Along the way you'll explore the Scottish distillery an the estate it resides on, learning about the outfit's history along the way. Visitors will step into a "15x15x15 cube-like projection structure" with 360-degree videos beamed to the installation's walls.
Alamo Drafthouse will test its own version of MoviePass
Boutique theater chain Alamo Drafthouse is getting in on the movie subscription craze, too. Dubbed the "Alamo Season Pass," its version sounds incredibly convenient compared to the competition. Simply use the Drafthouse mobile app to make your purchase, and once you arrive at the theater it'll unlock your tickets -- no need to wait in line to scan your barcode at the box office. Your server will check your ticket once you're seated, when they take your food or drink order. You can purchase extra tickets for your party when you make your seat reservation.
'Inventory' preserves street clutter with photogrammetry
Most of the time, we barely notice the lamp posts, bollards and road signs around us. They're street clutter that barely registers in our brain as we go about our busy lives. But Oddviz, an art and design collective from Istanbul, looks at them differently. The group sees this 'street furniture' as important culture capsules that evolve as they corrode or get covered in posters, stickers and graffiti. Society doesn't protect them, though, like an iconic landmark. So Oddviz has started documenting them -- a form of digital preservation -- using a 3D modeling technique called photogrammetry.
Google’s Sidewalk Labs made the ultimate public transport guide
Google's parent company, Alphabet, has an offshoot called Sidewalk Labs tasked with improving urban living. The division gave birth to Coord, a spin-off which is launching a smart route planner today for people in New York City and Washington DC. The web app supports multiple modes of transportation -- bus, subway and bike rentals -- and will recommend different combinations based on live, street-level data. It's a unique blend -- other navigation apps don't include dockless bike sharing services such as Spin and Jump. That means you can quickly locate the nearest two-wheeler and judge whether it would be quicker to take the bus or tube.
Sprint is bringing 5G to New York, Phoenix and Kansas City in 2019
As providers gear up for their 5G rollouts, they're announcing their first territories for their next-generation networks. Sprint had already named six cities it plans to bring 5G to early next year, and it's adding three more locales to the list: New York City, Phoenix and Kansas City.
EPA faces lawsuit from 17 states over reversing car emissions rules
The EPA under Scott Pruitt may have dreams of undoing Obama-era car efficiency targets, but it's not going to go unopposed. A group of 17 states, including California and New York, is suing the EPA in DC over its bid to drop clean car emissions standards for model years between 2022 and 2025. The lawsuit accuses the EPA of violating the Clean Air Act, failing to follow its own rules and acting "arbitrarily and capriciously" without evidence to support its decision.
Ford's electric GoBikes have arrived in San Francisco
Bike-sharing company Motivate is expanding its San Francisco offering to include electric versions of Ford's GoBikes. They'll be available at no extra cost in the same way as Ford's regular GoBikes, which can be unlocked with the accompanying app or via the Clipper card. The roll out will initially include 250 bikes, which are designed to give riders an added boost while pedalling -- up to 18mph in fact -- so you'll still be able to ride in bike lanes.
New York to investigate cryptocurrency exchanges
As the SEC and other US regulators look for ways to deal with cryptocurrency, New York is taking a step forward. The state's attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, sent letters to 13 virtual currency exchanges on Tuesday that request specific disclosures about how each company manages its business.
Watch the first-ever NBA 2K League draft right here at 1PM ET!
Interested in watching the first-ever NBA 2K League draft? Then tune into NBA TV or Twitch today at 1PM from the Hulu Theater at New York's Madison Square Garden. Each team in the league will pick six players. Pre-show coverage including a press conference with commissioner Adam Silver, Brendan Donohue from 2K League and Take-Two Interactive (2K's publisher) CEO Strauss Zelnick will live on NBA TV as well, with the NBA's website and 2K League's Twitter account doling out additional updates. However, only the first round will be broadcast on NBA TV -- you'll have to peep Twitch for the rest.
Proposed law would insist on work-life balance for New Yorkers
With all of us connected to our phones day and night, it's pretty easy to respond to work requests after official office hours are over. European countries like France have passed laws allowing employees to ignore employers after hours, giving citizens the right to disconnect. Now New Yorkers may have a similar freedom if a new bill proposed by the city council passes.
New York joins Massachusetts investigation of Facebook's data use
All eyes are on Facebook as more and more information rolls out regarding Cambridge Analytica, its involvement in recent elections and forums and how it came to obtain 50 million Facebook users' profile information. Now, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is joining those demanding more information from the social network giant. "Consumers have a right to know how their information is used -- and companies like Facebook have a fundamental responsibility to protect their users' personal information," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Today, along with Massachusetts Attorney General Healey, we sent a demand letter to Facebook -- the first step in our joint investigation to get to the bottom of what happened."
New York AG will investigate firm selling fake followers to stars
Twitter bots are bad enough by themselves, but it's worse when they're built using real info -- and New York wants to clamp down. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has opened an investigation into Devumi, a company that sold over 3.5 million fake social network followers (primarily on Twitter) to celebrities and politicians. While bots by themselves aren't automatically illegal, the company also offered "at least" 55,000 accounts using the personal details of real people, some of whom live in New York. That's "impersonation and deception," Schneiderman said, and it's made all the worse when some of those people aren't legal adults.
New York governor signs executive order to protect net neutrality
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order today requiring any internet service provider with a state contract to honor the principles of net neutrality. In a statement the governor said, "With this executive order, we reaffirm our commitment to freedom and democracy and help ensure that the internet remains free and open to all."
Uber will pay New York drivers $3 million in class-action settlement
It's hard to keep track of all of the lawsuits Uber's juggling these days, but there's about to be one less. The company has settled a suit brought against it by 2,421 New York drivers who claimed Uber paid them less than was contractually obligated and falsely advertised how much drivers could make by working for the company. Uber will pay $3 million as per the settlement agreement while the drivers will agree to being classified as independent contractors -- a stipulation of two other settlements Uber has made with drivers in the past.
Amsterdam will limit Airbnb rentals to 30 days per year
Last year, Amsterdam limited Airbnb rentals to no more than 60 days in a calendar year but that is about to be halved according to a report from DutchNews.nl. The city's executive board agreed to the proposed shortened limit today and housing alderman Laurens Ivens said, "I recognize that reducing the length of time is not the solution to city congestion but it will reduce the problems caused by tourists in some areas and will make it less inviting to use your home as a way to earn money."
New York will tackle unfair biases in automated city services
Whether we're aware of them or not, algorithms affect a huge part of our lives. Now, in a US-first, New York is taking steps to address potential algorithmic biases in services provided by municipal agencies. City council has passed a bill that would -- if signed by Mayor de Blasio -- create a task force to examine if and how service algorithms are biased, how citizens can appeal decisions made by algorithms if they feel they're unfair, and if agency source code could be made publicly available.
Armed robbers steal $1.8 million worth of cryptocurrency
The Manhattan District Attorney has charged a man with robbery and kidnapping after he swiped a digital wallet containing a fortune in ethereum cryptocurrency. Louis Meza and an associate allegedly held up the victim at gunpoint after luring him into a vehicle, then stole his keys, wallet and cellphone. Meza used the keys to enter the victim's apartment and make off with his digital wallet. Shortly afterwards, he transferred $1.8 million in "ether" cryptocurrency to his own wallet.
FCC will help New York investigate fake net neutrality comments
To say the FCC has been reluctant to look into the millions of fake comments supporting its decision to kill net neutrality would be an understatement. The Commission did nothing to tackle the issue for months, and repeatedly stonewalled New York state's investigation. At last, though, there might be some progress. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has revealed that the FCC Inspector General's office has "reversed course" and intends to cooperate with the state's inquiry. Just what that cooperation entails isn't clear, but it beats the virtual silence until now.
New Yorkers can report identities used in fake net neutrality comments
Last week, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman posted an open letter that blasted the FCC for refusing to investigate the allegedly fake anti-net neutrality responses to the agency's public comment portal. Now Schneideman is taking matters into his own hands with a new web portal for New Yorkers to check and see if their identities were used without consent, then report to the Attorney General's office if they were.
