A previous Queens Tech Night event. Photo: Ben Guttmann
Oct. 30, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
Queens Tech Night, a free networking and community-building event for tech enthusiasts, creators and innovators will return to Long Island City with an event at Culture Lab LIC next month.
The event will take place from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at Culture Lab, located at 5-26 46th Ave., and features Sesame Street Executive Producer Sal Perez as the keynote speaker.
Ben Guttmann, a co-organizer of the event, said Queens Tech Night will provide attendees with an excellent networking opportunity and a “great celebration” of the local community.
“We aim to provide an excellent networking opportunity and a great celebration of the community here, and then also a program that is enriching and educational and just downright entertaining,” Guttman said.
Guttmann said Queens Tech Night, now in its seventh year, will feature interactive demonstrations and samples during a mingling and networking hour in the opening hour of the event. The networking hour will be followed by the main program of the evening, which will see Perez deliver his keynote address and take questions from the audience.
The event will conclude with another networking hour, allowing like-minded individuals to connect and share ideas.
Guttman said he was “super excited” to welcome Perez to Tech Night, describing Sesame Street as an iconic institution with deep roots in Queens.
“It’s really exciting to be able to have somebody from that iconic institution join us, especially because Sesame Street has been physically located in Queens for many years right here at Kauffman Astoria,” Guttmann said. “They have been an innovative leader in digital and other emerging technologies since they were founded.”
Guttmann said the event will also feature a start-up competition from the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC), adding that Long Island City Partnership, the Queens College Tech Incubator and other organizations will be running tables at the event.
He also encouraged any organizations interested in participating in the event to contact him about getting involved.
Guttmann believes Queens Tech Night helps to connect hundreds of like-minded individuals under one roof, forging partnerships, friendships and connections.
“This is the type of thing that ultimately feeds a tech ecosystem, that feeds the local economy, and it just makes it a better place to live and work when there is this type of community,” Guttmann said.
He said the event will also help to showcase Long Island City and Queens to people living in other parts of New York.
“This is in Queens, this is often celebrating some of the stuff that is happening within our borough and the people here, but it’s not exclusively for Queens. It is for anybody in the five boroughs, anybody in the surrounding areas, and it’s a way to celebrate all of this creative and innovative energy in a place of special Queens.”
Guttmann said Queens Tech Night regularly draws crowds of around 200 people and encouraged anyone interested in attending the event to secure their tickets online before spaces fill up.
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