NY Climate Tech: Nov 4 - Nov 12
Vote!
Hi friends,
You know what week it is—go vote! Find your poll site here and know your ballot measures: while our neighbors in PA may have final say on president, those local propositions matter! Prop 1 enshrines reproductive rights and more in the state constitution, and has wide support. Props 2 - 6 are closely associated with Mayor Adams and are much more controversial.
Meanwhile, October was officially the driest on record in the last 150 years and we’re officially in a drought. Meanwhile there’s still plenty to do on the state level as NY is on track to miss our 2030 climate goals. All of which is to say: this election matters, and even if federal work meets roadblocks, there’s plenty of political work to do at all levels past November. It’s a long, hard game, and we’re all in it together.
Here are our picks for the week:
Today and tomorrow: 🗳️ phone bank!
While we may not fully know the election results by Wednesday, we’re getting ready. Join Alec, Sonam, and the Climate Tech Cities community for a (virtual) lunch chat at 🔮 What's Next? An Election Debrief.
También el miércoles, ven y únete a un taller de 🎴 Climate Fresk para aprender sobre el cambio climático de una manera divertida y educativa, ¡por primera vez en español en NYC!
If you’re a climate tech founder figuring out your finances, check out 💰 AnchorZero’s Founder Finance Chat workshop on Thursday!
On Friday, head to CUNY for a full day workshop at 👩🔬 C2T: Our Energy Challenge Workshop
Next Tuesday, meet startups transforming transit at the 🚲 Make It in Brooklyn Future of Transportation Pitch Contest and then go test your knowledge in Manhattan at 🍏 Green Apple Trivia.
Finally, we have a few new opportunities below (Up to $1m in seed investment! $20k for climate screenplays! Piloting opportunities at our own Governor’s Island!).
As always, scroll down for the full list of upcoming events.
Cheers,
Alec, Sonam, and the Climate Tech Cities Team
This Week’s Events
🗳️ The Climate Vote 2024: Election Hub: Tue, Nov 5
🔮 What's Next? An Election Debrief with Alec, Sonam, and CTC: Wed, Nov 6
🧬 Applied: Vol 7: Wed, Nov 6
🎴 Climate Fresk Workshop (Spanish session): Wed, Nov 6
🎨 Ecological City - Art & Climate Solutions Panel Discussion - Planning: Wed, Nov 6
💰 AnchorZero’s Founder Finance Chat: Thu, Nov 7
🎴 Climate Fresk at Eat Offbeat (Chelsea Market): Thu, Nov 7
🥕 plant-based supper club: land justice edition: Thu, Nov 7
👩🔬 C2T: Our Energy Challenge Workshop: Fri, Nov 8
🪡 Fashion Tech Impact Mixer: Mon, Nov 11
🍏 Green Apple Trivia: Tue, Nov 12
🚲 Make It in Brooklyn Future of Transportation Pitch Contest: Tue, Nov 12
🌊 From Oceans to Markets: Marine Exploitation and Climate-Economy Dynamics: Tue, Nov 12
💧 HEP Conference 2024: Tue, Nov 12
🌎 Climate Tech Cities and Streetlife Ventures Startup and Talent Platforms
Climate Tech Cities and Streetlife Ventures are launching new platforms to support climate founders, funders, and career transitioners! There is no shortage of great companies raising money for their groundbreaking ideas, great investors looking to support with capital, and great talent living the mantra that every job is a climate job. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Community Shoutouts
🌇 Urban Tech Summit 2024: Nov 19
The 2024 Urban Tech Summit, focusing on the theme of “Intelligence for Climate Adaptation” is only a few weeks away! Join Cornell Tech on November 19-20 at its Roosevelt Island campus for two days of keynotes, panel discussions, and interactive workshops addressing critical challenges like extreme heat, flooding, renewable energy, building systems, and urban logistics. Don’t hesitate - get your tickets today!
Opportunities
🎨 Start-ups Application for Parsons Collab: Climate Startups & UX Design - CRN 15717 - Prof.Sally Chung: Nov 10
Calling early-stage NYC climate tech start-ups to collaborate with top-tier designers from Parsons School of Design. Early-stage climate start-ups in NYC will be paired with the selected top design students(based on portfolio & interview) for a semester-long collaboration to validate product-market fit & tackle UX.
🚀 Scale For ClimateTech, Cohort 6 Application Survey: Nov 30
Scale For ClimateTech provides immersive training on manufacturing for climatetech hardware innovators, along with a team dedicated to making manufacturing easier — from mentors, experts in the field and product and packaging designers, to manufacturers, suppliers, and investors. Participating companies receive access to dedicated mentors, entry into the New York State hardware ecosystem, Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) assessments from industry experts, a deeper understanding of GHG metrics and impact in their target market, customized roadmap development, and introductions to strategic partnerships, investors, and founder-friendly contract manufacturers to commercialize technology in New York State and beyond.
⚡️ NextEra Investments | Seed Competition: Dec 1
Startups, NextEra Energy Investments is ready to fuel your growth with up to $1 million in seed funding! The 2025 NextEra Energy Investments Seed Competition offers up to $1M in seed capital for cutting-edge solutions in cybersecurity, data & AI, decarbonization, and energy transition. What’s in it for you? Up to $1M to fuel your next phase of growth. An opportunity to collaborate with the largest renewable energy generator. Access to NextEra’s vast network, expertise, and infrastructure to turn your tech into a market leader.
✍️ 2025 NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship | The Black List: Dec 5
The Black List is thrilled to announce that it has partnered with NRDC’s (Natural Resources Defense Council) Rewrite the Future program, The Redford Center, The CAA Foundation, and NBCUniversal to launch the fourth annual NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship. The Fellowship will grant $20,000 each to three writers (or writing teams) to support revision of a feature screenplay or pilot that engages with climate change in a compelling way through events, actions, character, emotions, plot, and/or setting.
🏝️ Climate Pilots at Governor's Island: Dec 5
The Trust for Governors Island offers unique opportunities for innovators to test early-stage climate products and services in a real-world environment. Selected piloting projects utilize Governors Island’s built, social, and natural environments – including a 2.2-mile waterfront, 43-acre climate resilient park, 7 miles of car-free streets, and 50+ historic buildings – to accelerate climate innovation, economic opportunity, and social impact in diverse urban communities.
Upcoming Events
🏙️ NYC Accelerator Open House: Wed, Nov 13
🥟 Data + Dumplings NYC #2: Wed, Nov 13
🏳️🌈 Out in Climate - Fireside Chat with NYC Climate Government Leaders: Wed, Nov 13
🏙️ Increase portfolio value and solve tenant issues with climate tech: Wed, Nov 13
🧬 Founder-Led Biotech NYC Tour: Thu, Nov 14
☕️ The 3rd Annual Churros and Chocolate: Fri, Nov 15
✍️ How They Did It: Writing Climate Activism Across Genres (Aftershocks): Sun, Nov 17
🤑 GREENWASHED Happy Hour and Reception: Mon, Nov 18
🌇 Urban Tech Summit 2024 – Intelligence for Climate Adaptation: Tue, Nov 19
🌐 Ecosystem Builders & Leaders in Impact: Happy Hour: Tue, Nov 19
🍄 From Field to Form: Mycelium: Wed, Nov 20
👷♀️ WISE: Networking Lunch: Wed, Nov 20
🏗️ Cornell Infratech Day 2024: Thu, Nov 21
⚡️ Clean Energy in New York Summit: Thu, Nov 21
🏗️ Think Tech: Tools for Meeting Building Decarb Targets: Thu, Nov 21
😂 Apoca-HA-HA-calypse: Sat, Nov 23
🔌 Deploy24: Wed, Dec 4
✍️ Climate Writing Club: Sat, Dec 7
This Week in Depth
🗳️ The Climate Vote 2024: Election Hub
When: November 6 - 7
Where: Online
Your one-stop-shop for electing climate champions up and down the ballot. Submit an event below, and click the 🌐 for additional action resources, strategy briefings, & community connections.
🔮 What’s Next? Election Debrief with Alec, Sonam, and CTC
When: Wednesday, November 6, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Where: Online
Join Alec and Sonam for an open conversation on what's next post-election. With so much at stake, we want to create a space to debrief and talk about the implications of the US election, even as the final results may take a few days to come in. This is a Zoom webinar - we'll open with a brief conversation followed by a more open discussion with those on the call. Feel free to join whenever you're available!.
🧬 Applied: Vol 7
When: Wednesday, November 6, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Where: Prime Produce, 424 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019, USA
Applied is a platform for provoking new ways to discuss and empower New York sciences. We’re discipline agnostic and application focused. For Volume 7 we’ve partnered with our friends at Columbia University Postdoc Society (CUPS) and The Chemist’s Club. CUPS is an organization run by postdocs for postdocs to build community at Columbia University. Chemist’s Club encourages members to connect around shared interests and career paths in chemical, paper, pharmaceuticals, metals, biotech, and similar industries.
🎴 Climate Fresk Workshop (Spanish session)
When: Wednesday, November 6 · 5 - 8pm EST
Where: Pier 57, 25 11th Avenue (Oyster classroom), New York, NY 10011
¡Ven y únete a nuestro taller Climate Fresk para aprender sobre el cambio climático de una manera divertida y educativa! ¿Listo para convertir tu preocupación por el cambio climático en una acción concreta y divertida? Únete a una tarde de juegos y aprendizajes con Climate Fresk , y forma parte de la red de más de 1.5 millones de personas en el mundo que ya han participado en esta iniciativa. Sera la primera sesión en español en NYC
🎨 Ecological City - Art & Climate Solutions Panel Discussion - Planning
When: Wednesday, November 6 · 6:30 - 8pm EST
Where: Online
Join us for an inspiring panel discussion on urban climate challenges and solutions and how the arts can be applied to engage community on climate action. Panel speakers include artists presenting their designs for sculptural puppets, costumes and collaborative visual arts projects for the Ecological City - Procession for Climate Solutions as well as local environmental experts presenting updates on climate solution initiatives. Attendees bring your inspired imagination to share and discuss what we can create together.
💰 AnchorZero’s Founder Finance Chat: Thu, Nov 7
When: Thursday, November 7th, 7:00 - 9:00pm EST
Where: Manhattan (address shared after registration)
Join AnchorZero and Rho on Thursday, November 7th at 7:00 PM in NYC for a climate tech founder mixer and a fireside chat on everything finance and taxes a founder should know when starting a company. Learn about selecting a banking partner, 83(b) elections, QSBS, and founder Roth IRAs. With early planning, founders can set up their financial infrastructure to scale with their businesses and save hundreds of millions of dollars at exit. AnchorZero helps founders leverage their Roth IRAs for significant founder tax savings.
🎴 Climate Fresk at Eat Offbeat (Chelsea Market)
When: Thursday, November 7 · 6:15 - 9:30pm EST
Where: Chelsea Market, 75 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10011
Want to help tackle climate change but don’t have the time to become a climate scientist? Join us for this fun Game + Appetizers night that has already been played by >1.5 M people worldwide! In just 3 hours, the collaborative Climate Fresk workshop will teach you the fundamental science behind climate change, empower you to take action and allow you to meet cool people ! The workshop will take place at Eat Offbeat and includes appetizers home-cooked with love by refugee chefs living in NYC.
🥕 plant-based supper club: land justice edition
When: Thursday, November 7 from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Where: 116 W. Houston St, New York, NY
Soapbox Project, Amrūt, and Rethink Food are so excited to welcome you to our November plant-based supper club. We'll welcome you to an evening of vibrant, nourishing, and seasonal food. You'll get a four-course meal, where each course is paired with a climate action prompt.
👩🔬 C2T: Our Energy Challenge Workshop
When: Friday, November 8 from 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Where: CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, 85 St Nicholas Terrace, New York, NY 10031, USA
Join us for a one-day workshop, Our Energy Challenge, where we will explore global energy challenges through the lens of convergence science. Hosted by TREAD (Translational Research Excellence Across Disciplines) and NanoBioNYC, this event is open to all CUNY PhD students from STEM, Social Sciences, and Humanities disciplines.
🪡 Fashion Tech Impact Mixer
When: Register to See Address New York, New York
Where: Monday, November 11 from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Join us for November's Fashion x Innovation event: Fashion Tech Impact Mixer. This is a monthly gathering designed to connect the brightest minds in fashion, technology, and innovation. Whether you're looking to collaborate, share insights, or simply meet like-minded professionals, this is the place to be.
🍏 Green Apple Trivia
When: Tuesday, November 12 · 7 - 9pm EST
Where: Mercury Bar West, 9th Avenue, New York, NY, USA 659 9th Avenue New York, NY 10036
Welcome to Green Apple Trivia! Get ready to put your knowledge to the test and compete against other trivia and sustainability enthusiasts. Join us in Manhattan at Mercury Bar West for an opportunity to win bragging rights, prizes, and enjoy a night of entertainment... including a full vegan menu and happy hour until 10pm!
🚲 Make It in Brooklyn Future of Transportation Pitch Contest
When: Tuesday, November 12 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Hana House, 345 Adams St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Get your tickets to the Make It in Brooklyn Future of Transportation Pitch Contest! We’re bringing together a top selection of Brooklyn-based startups who are creating innovative transportation technology. Five founders will pitch to a panel of expert judges, who will evaluate each presentation based on criteria such as innovation, feasibility, market potential, and impact. The $5,000 prize will help the winning startup thrive and take their businesses to the next level.
🌊 From Oceans to Markets: Marine Exploitation and Climate-Economy Dynamics
When: Tuesday, November 12 · 4:30 - 6pm EST
Where: Fayerweather Hall, Room 513, 1180 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10027
This presentation offers insights from the 4-OCEANS project, a comprehensive initiative exploring human-marine interactions throughout history, and presents specific findings on climate-economy dynamics in early modern Europe.
💧 HEP Conference 2024
When: Tuesday, November 12 · 9am - 4pm EST
Where: Kimmel Center for University Life - Eisner & Lubin Auditorium, 60 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012
This year’s conference will highlight the activities, partnerships, and research shaping the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program’s (HEP) draft 2025-2035 Action Agenda. This agenda outlines the shared priorities and commitments of HEP and its partners to tackle the estuary’s challenges, including environmental justice and climate resilience. Attendees will have the opportunity to review and comment on the draft 2025-2035 Action Agenda during the 2024 conference.