Zohran Mamdani’s NYC Tech Team Is What DOGE Should Have Been
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has launched Public Interest Technology Crews, small teams of engineers and designers intended to improve city services through rapidly built, user-focused digital tools. The initiative matters because it seeks to apply the public-service technology model associated with the former US Digital Service at city level, while positioning government technology as distinct from commercial Big Tech priorities.
The programme will comprise five teams working with city agencies, backed by a $5.24 million budget and a further $2 million Rockefeller Foundation grant for one crew. City chief technology officer Lisa Gelobter, who previously worked at the US Digital Service, is leading the effort and says it aims to recreate that organisation’s practical, engineering-led approach; the article contrasts this with the disruption of the US Digital Service during the Trump administration’s DOGE programme.
In short
- New York launches five teams to modernise digital public services.
- The scheme draws on the former US Digital Service model.
- Funding totals $7.24 million, including philanthropic support.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Modern government services require professional engineering and user-centred design to serve citizens effectively. The PITC initiative applies proven practices from the US Digital Service to reduce friction, improve outcomes, and often save money by preventing expensive failures. Residents deserve digital services that work as well as those in the commercial sector, and such investment delivers tangible public value.
The case against
Rather than investing in modernising government services, genuine efficiency demands reducing the government's scope and eliminating unnecessary programmes. Resources devoted to technology teams would be better spent cutting redundant agencies and bureaucracy entirely. The core problem is government overreach and waste; improving digital interfaces cannot address what is fundamentally a question of excessive government attempting to do too much.
Explained simply
New York City relies on many agencies to provide services, and residents often use digital systems to access them. The Public Interest Technology Crews are small teams of engineers and designers intended to work with those agencies to build and improve online tools.
The programme is led by city chief technology officer Lisa Gelobter, who previously worked at the US Digital Service, a federal team that helped improve government technology. It is planned to have five crews, with $5.24 million in city funding and a separate $2 million Rockefeller Foundation grant for one crew.
The initiative reflects a debate about how government should use technology: whether tools should be designed around public services and residents’ needs, or follow priorities more common in commercial technology companies. Its comparison with DOGE refers to the Trump administration programme associated with disruption of the US Digital Service.
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