New York mayor Bloomberg has announced the city’s fourth annual BigApps 2013, a contest which calls upon developers to build Web and mobile apps using open city data. The competition will launch tonight at the massive 31,164-member New York Tech Meetup.
The city has shared that the competition will feature $150,000 in prizes, up from $50,000 last year, as well as 350 new data sets from 60 City agencies and commissions. Interestingly, the city is now allowing participants to “incorporate approved Federal, State and private sector datasets and APIs” into their apps, in addition to city data.
NYC’s ambitious open data policy, which was signed into law last year, has surely fueled this growth in available data — contestants will now be able to utilize more than 1,000 raw data sets. Mayor Bloomberg touts that “New York City has become a global hub for the tech industry, and the Big Apps competition is another way for our Administration to support its growth.”
Interested developers must submit their apps on Friday, June 7 by 5:00 PM ET.
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This news follows the launch of “We Are Made in NY,” an initiative which aims to support the local tech scene by providing “resources and programs” that help startups grow. NY’s support of its local tech scene is far from new, but continued efforts like the BigApps competition are a positive sign for nearby startups interesting in working collaboratively with the city.
Image credit: GoodShot / Thinkstock
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