Facebook picture of Rachel Sterne, New York City’s first ever chief digital officer.

An aerial rendering of the Cornell-Technion campus on Roosevelt Island. (Courtesy of Cornell University)

In January, Rachel Sterne was named New York City’s first chief digital officer, signifying the city’s commitment to the technology industry. The city released a plan for New York to invest $22 million in tech-oriented start-ups with the goal of becoming the next Silicon Valley.

This tech-oriented mindset helped NYC win the City of the Year award in the 2011 GovFresh Awards, which honor tech innovations that empower the relationships among citizens, local governments, and cities. The city has engaged the public through social media, a newly created open data website, and tech events, including requesting help from the tech community to redesign the New York website.

Companies such as Gilt Groupe, Etsy, Foursquare, Meetup, and Tumblr represent the local, burgeoning tech industry worth billions. Twitter opened its headquarters near Grand Central this year, while Yelp opened a satellite office. Google purchased the largest office space in New York on Ninth Avenue and Facebook will open an engineering office in the city in 2012. High-tech employment rose 30 percent this year.

Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology won a bid this month to develop an 11-acre applied science research campus on Roosevelt Island. The universities will receive $100 million in city funds and tax-free land. 

Warner Cable and Cablevision Systems got $10 million from the city to provide Wi-Fi in 32 parks and public spaces. Subscribers of the cable companies will receive free Wi-Fi, while others will have to pay 99 cents every 24 hours, after they have used up their free 30 minutes per month.

AT&T will also provide free Wi-Fi in 20 parks, including a portion of Central Park.