New York
Latest
Amazon's New York Go store is the first to accept cash
Amazon's app-powered supermarket chain, Amazon Go, opens its twelfth branch today. Located on Vesey Street in New York, the store is the city's first branch of Amazon Go, which started out in Amazon's home territory of Seattle.
New York City's MTA will support Apple Pay in early summer
If you're a New Yorker, you won't have to wait long to use Apple Pay for mass transit. As part of a call discussing Apple's latest earnings, Tim Cook revealed that New York City's transit system would support Apple Pay in early summer, narrowing down the generic "later this year" mentioned in March. He didn't say just which services and routes would be covered, but the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's tap-to-pay OMNY system is supposed to launch May 31st with coverage on the 4, 5 and 6 subway lines as well as Staten Island buses.
Cryptocurrency exchange accused of covering up $850 million loss
In the evolving story of a so-called "stablecoin" the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James accused iFinex Inc. -- operator of the Bitfinex exchange and the Tether cryptocurrency -- of trying to cover up "the apparent loss of $850 million dollars of co-mingled client and corporate funds." While researchers have tied Tether transactions to the spike in Bitcoin value that occurred between March 2017 and March 2018, this issue of the missing money is allegedly tied to a transfer of $850 million in funds to Crypto Capital Corp., a payment processor based in Panama.
Charter will expand broadband network so it can stay in New York
Charter Communications has agreed to a settlement with the New York's Department of Public Service that will allow the internet service provider to continue operating within the state. As a part of the agreement, Charter will have to kick back $12 million to New York, which will be used to expand broadband services to underserved areas. Charter will also have to expand its high-speed broadband service to 145,000 residences and businesses in upstate New York by September 30, 2021.
New York fails in its first attempt at face recognition for drivers
New York's bid to identify road-going terrorists with facial recognition isn't going very smoothly so far. The Wall Street Journal has obtained a Metropolitan Transportation Authority email showing that a 2018 technology test on New York City's Robert F. Kennedy Bridge not only failed, but failed spectacularly -- it couldn't detect a single face "within acceptable parameters." An MTA spokesperson said the pilot program would continue at RFK as well as other bridges and tunnels, but it's not an auspicious start.
Philadelphia is the first US city to ban cashless stores
Philadephia has passed a law requiring almost all businesses to accept cash payments, effectively banning cashless stores. It comes into force July 1st, and businesses which violate it face a fine of up to $2,000.
Amazon’s HQ2 New York plans didn’t need to end this way
After the pageantry of searching for a new spot for its headquarters, some had expected Amazon's decision to move to New York be a done deal. Not so. It took Amazon months to decide to bring one of two new headquarters to Long Island City, and mere moments to end those plans completely.
Amazon won't build its HQ2 in NYC after all
Amazon is officially pulling out of its plan to build a second headquarters (aka HQ2) in New York. Reports suggested last week the company was having doubts about the project in Long Island City, Queens, following stern opposition from residents and lawmakers.
RuPaul's biographical series will stream on Hulu
2017 has been very good to RuPaul. The ninth season of Drag Race notched eight Emmy nods, including for Reality Competition Host which he won last year. RuPaul's streak continued on Wednesday as Hulu announced that it has optioned Queen, a fictionalized half-hour dramedy chronicling his rise to fame, to be produced by JJ Abrams' Bad Robot.
FCC waiver helps Jewish community centers ID bomb threats
Following a string of more nearly 70 anonymous bomb threats made to Jewish community centers in 27 states since the start of the year, the Federal Communications Commission issued an emergency order on Friday. The order, which takes effect immediately, waives the telecommunications restriction that prevents phone carriers from sharing the calling party number (CPN) with the call's recipient.
Trump team wants to meet with Silicon Valley execs next week
The Trump transition team has invited a number of tech industry leaders to New York next week for a roundtable discussion. USA Today reports that Reince Priebus, Trump's chief of staff, Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and advisor Peter Thiel are engineering the December 14th summit.
NY Governor Cuomo signs bill outlawing online scalpers
Getting tickets to Beyoncé and Hamilton is already hard enough but it can be nearly impossible if you're competing against the automated purchasers used by 21st century scalpers. These so-called "ticket bots" are specifically designed to get around the strict per-customer purchase limits on sites like TicketMaster and LiveNation, allowing a small handful of individuals to buy a lion's share of a show and then offer them on the resale market for a massive profit. But that's no longer the case in New York where, governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation banning these robots.
Google Express delivery expands along the East Coast
East coast residents now have a new way to shop online. Google announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its Google Express online delivery service to a dozen states throughout the Northeast. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are all now within Google Express' delivery range.
NYPD's smartphone program is shortening crime response times
The NYPD Mobility Initiative is paying off in spades for Gotham's police. The force's Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology Jessica Tisch recently revealed that thanks to the initiative that puts smartphones and tablets in police hands, response times to crimes in progress are down 12.6 percent. Gotham's 36,000 officers are able to arrive at crimes in progress within 4 minutes and 26 seconds. According to a report by the New York Daily News, that's the lowest the responses have been in more than half a decade. That expediency extends to 911 call responses as well. With a dedicated app, the police are able to start moving toward a crime scene before a dispatcher even contacts them.
Feds indict seven Iranians for hacking banks, NY state dam
Just days after accusing Syrian hackers of a wide range of crimes, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch unsealed an indictment against seven Iranian nationals on Wednesday, charging that the men launched dozens of denial of service attacks against targets beginning in 2011. These included the cybersystems of numerous US banks including JP Morgan, PNC and Capital One, as well as the NYSE and AT&T. They are even accused of trying to take control of a small dam in Rye, NY at one point.
President Obama wants US to 'reignite its spirit of innovation'
President Obama gave his final State of the Union address on Tuesday. In it, he discussed how far the country has come over the last year and where he sees it going in the future. But beyond the expected talk of a rebuilt, stronger economy, soaring high school graduation rates and new civil liberties, he laid out a bold plan to, as he puts it, make "technology work for us, and not against us."
Engadget Live is making one more stop this year: New York City!
We've had a lot of fun this year with all our Engadget Live events. In July, we kicked off the tour in Boston, then headed to Los Angeles a few weeks later, and now are gearing up for Austin next week. But, while three's a crowd, four is a party! So, we're super excited to announce that on October 29th, we'll finish up our Engadget Live tour in our other home city: New York, NY! We're taking over the Liberty Warehouse in Brooklyn on Thursday, October 29th at 7PM and will bring together gadget lovers (that's you!) and tech companies for a night you don't want to miss.
Amazon's riding the New York subway to speed up deliveries
Despite its incredible reach, Amazon has always had to play catch-up with brick and mortar retailers when it comes to getting products in customers' hands. If you're in a pinch, you can normally visit a local store and walk out with exactly what you need. Amazon has taken steps to cut waiting times with same-day deliveries in some cities and then one-hour shipments via Prime Now. The only problem with promising such a short delivery period in some of the world's busiest cities is that traffic can be a nightmare. So to get orders to customers in Manhattan, the Financial Times reports that the company has begun loading small pushcarts with packages and taking them on a more efficient means of transport: the New York subway.
NYC commits $70 million toward universal broadband
In an ambitious effort to close New York City's digital divide, the De Blasio administration has announced that it's going to spend $70 million bringing high-speed internet access to the city's residents. An estimated 22 percent of New Yorkers overall lack a home internet connection (with that number jumping to 36 percent for the poorest residents), which significantly impacts their social mobility, according to the mayor's office.
eBay and Sotheby's high-end auctions will launch next month
You wouldn't expect to be let in to a fine art auction wearing nothing but tighty whities, but starting April 1st, no one's going to be able to stop you. Sotheby's has teamed up with its digital counterpart, eBay, to launch its long-promised digital sales channel. Now, online collectors flush with Beanie Baby sales cash can fight as equals against entitled Manhattan socialites for Ansel Adams' photography and Andy Warhol watches.
