City offers prize for tech solution to tenant harassment
and mental health
BY GRANT LANCASTER
The mayor’s Chief Technology
Officer is looking
for tech-based solutions
to housing discrimination and
Latinx mental health problems in
upper Manhattan, calling for applications
from startups and tech
companies worldwide to address
the two problems.
Officials from the New York
City Mayor’s Office of the Chief
Technology Officer will select up
to two winners for each NYCx
Co-Labs challenge, who will win
up to $20,000 and get to pilot
their technology in Inwood and
Washington Heights for a year
starting this fall, according to
a press release from the office
Wednesday.
The office will accept applications
from Feb. 26 until April 7
and select a winner sometime this
spring.
City officials identified tenant
harassment and mental health
care for Latinx teens as two of
the biggest problems facing New
York City today, according to the
release.
Tenant harassment is especially
pressing in communities
affected by the affordable housing
crisis, said Louise Carroll,
Commissioner of the Department
of Housing Preservation
and Development.
Having a technological solution
to connect tenants and keep them
informed of their rights is vital,
said Jackie Bray, director of the
Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.
“Making sure tenants have the
information they need to band
together to hold their landlords
accountable is part of our job,”
Bray said.
The other challenge has a
similar goal – using technology to
connect with an at-risk group – in
this case Latinx teens.
In New York City, Latinx youth
between 13 and 18 are especially
at risk of mental health related
deaths, with nearly 20% of this
group reporting that they seriously
considered suicide, according
to the press release.
The challenge would have to
provide a solution that engages
and educates teens through technology
and offers language
accommodations to the largely
Spanish-speaking audiences.
“Too often, mental health interventions,
especially for vulnerable
populations like youth, are topdown
or diminish the importance
of the specific cultural dimensions
of the community,” said Ralph
Vacca, assistant professor at
Fordham University.
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
NYCx Co-Labs is a civic program
managed by the Chief Technology
Officer and the Economic
Development Corporation that
uses community building, open
innovation and technical education
to address problems of urban
inequality in the city, according to
the press release.
14 March 5, 2020 Schneps Media