On Friday, January 9th 2026, the City University of New York Public Interest Technology Lab (CUNY PIT Lab), in partnership with BetaNYC and the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN), hosted an open house announcing the re-launch of the NYC PIT Pop-Up. This event celebrated the continuation of NYC PIT Pop-Up‘s ongoing presence in the iconic Oculus/World Trade Center beyond the 11-day activation in the fall of 2025.
The open house was an opportunity for the public to explore the space alongside tech workers, artists, and community partners who showcased some of the work that has been featured at the pop-up thus far. This event also served as a preview for upcoming events to be held in the space in the year to come.
“This space came about as a crazy idea,” said Rev. Dr. Katie Cumiskey, Professor at CUNY and Director of the CUNY PIT Lab. “What if we created a publicly accessible space where New York City could be welcomed in to interact with projects that represent public interest tech in action?” Cumiskey added, “We see this as a co-learning space…helping us advance important projects centered on tech advancing the public good.”
Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC, reflected on the importance of accessible civic tech gathering spaces. “When Katie said, ‘Let’s put together a storefront’ – I said ‘Let’s put it into one of the busiest transit centers in America!’ We are beyond thrilled with the reception we’ve had here in the Oculus World Trade Center. Public Interest Tech is truly at the crossroads of our lives” Hidalgo said. “We’re really excited to have the popup throughout Open Data Week… and to do this with support of our elected officials and private foundations.”
CUNY leadership highlighted the cross-sector collaboration and funding partnerships powering the NYC PIT Pop Up and related programs. Aankit Patel, University Dean for Technology, Computer and Information Sciences at CUNY Central, praised the team’s ability to build a multidisciplinary network across institutions and communities, saying “they’ve figured out a way to tell the story of how public interest tech matters…connecting with nonprofits, civic organizations, and city agencies to figure out how they can use this space.”
NYC PIT Pop-Up has transformed a public storefront into an immersive, community-facing space where New Yorkers can explore how technology can be designed and deployed to advance equity, justice, and public benefit. Featuring hands-on demonstrations, community co-creation, public programming, and civic tech engagement, the Pop-Up continues to be a living lab where technology meets public imagination.
