The unexpected ascent of Zohran Mamdani can largely be attributed to the profound worries of New Yorkers regarding the growing unaffordability of their city. While the effectiveness of the prospective mayor’s policies in addressing this issue remains uncertain, there is no denying that the lack of affordability poses a severe threat to the future of both the city and the nation.
In my role as an investor in startups that align with particular values and as an advisor to entrepreneurs tackling significant civic challenges, I witness daily how innovation can enhance the quality of life for New Yorkers. Mamdani should consider partnering with the tech industry to confront the fundamental issues pushing residents to the edge, including affordability, safety, security, and access to essential city services.
Jessica Tisch, the Police Commissioner, exemplifies how technology can revolutionize city governance through her leadership at both the NYPD and the Department of Sanitation. Under her guidance, New York has launched the nation’s largest curbside composting program and initiated the process of containerizing waste. These advancements were achieved by integrating technology at every level, transitioning from outdated methods to GPS-enabled and real-time tracking systems.
Similarly, the NYPD introduced a mobile application providing officers with real-time emergency updates, replacing an antiquated system that depended on radios and paper documentation. Retaining Tisch as police commissioner is an encouraging early indication that Mamdani may embrace tech-driven innovations to enhance government services.
The housing sector also stands to benefit significantly from technological advancements. Though discussions have rightly centered on zoning reforms and investments in public housing, there is a vast potential to harness technology to enhance housing accessibility and efficiency immediately. Startups and nonprofits are developing tools to digitize and streamline processes like housing voucher applications and eviction defenses.
Take Esusu, for instance, which aids renters in building credit through timely rent payments. For millions of Americans, rent is often their most significant monthly expenditure, yet it typically goes unreported to credit agencies.
Across every borough, we see the signs of government systems cracking under the weight of analog processes in a digital age. At H/L Ventures, we’ve backed companies solving real urban pain points — like Summer, helping New Yorkers with student loan assistance and college cost planning; Automotus, reducing traffic and double parking; inCitu, helping communities visualize new development; and Vivvi, helping companies offer early childhood education and care to working families.
These aren’t moonshots. They’re practical, proven, and scalable solutions that could serve New Yorkers better.
To be clear, embracing tech does not mean handing the keys to City Hall over to the private sector. It means building a smart, values-aligned collaboration between government, the tech sector, and civic institutions to deliver better outcomes for real people.
It means creating modern procurement pathways so that startups can work with the city without getting mired in red tape and waiting years for a pilot contract. And it means treating technology not as an industry silo, but as a cross-cutting enabler of more effective policy, job creation, and efficiency for our citizens.
One of the most promising opportunities lies in unlocking the immense value of city data to fuel real-time innovation. Tech:NYC, where I am a board member, has proposed RealTimeNYC, a citywide data access platform that would empower startups, researchers, and communities to build tech-driven solutions to urban problems using real-time, secure, and accessible data feeds.
Imagine if local developers could access data that show, in real time, where traffic bottlenecks are forming, which public trash bins are overflowing, or how air quality is fluctuating block by block. With this data, startups could pilot low-cost sensor networks to optimize trash collection, create apps that steer drivers away from congestion, or alert vulnerable residents during public health events.
The problems New Yorkers are most concerned about are real, immediate, and deeply personal. But they are not intractable. The path forward is not only about ideology — it’s about implementation. It’s about working with technologists, builders, and entrepreneurs who are already solving these problems in ways that are smarter, faster, and more equitable.
The livability of our city was the defining issue of this election. The Mamdani administration must make all efforts to solve it during his time in office. As I like to say, they must help provide a strong floor below which New Yorkers should not fall, but also offer no ceiling to what our businesses and innovations can aspire to achieve.
Libby is managing partner at H/L Ventures.
