Spooky Civic AI Hackathon: Build Weekend
Spend a weekend building something that actually helps New Yorkers. Free and open to everyone.
Hackathon links
Discord (updates, teams, mentors): Join Discord Server
Hackathon hub (tracks, problem sets, rules): 3percentclub.org/hackathon
Share your photos + videos: Google Drive folder. Tag @3pctclub, @viam, @vonage and @tavily when you post.
Day 1 is done, and you can still jump in. Come Saturday 11am to 5pm at Jay Conference (109 W 39th St, 2nd floor), or build from home on Discord. Submissions close Saturday at 11:59pm.
Two ways to join
In person (NYC): Saturday at Jay Conference. Walk-ins welcome; check in at the door.
Virtual: open to anyone, no approval needed. Pick the Virtual ticket, join the Discord, and compete by submitting online.
No team? No problem. Most people come on their own. Come at 11am Saturday and we'll match you in the first 30 minutes, or type /team in Discord. In-person teams are 2 to 5 people. Building from home? Join a team on Discord with /team, or submit on your own. Solo virtual projects are welcome.
Who should come? Engineers, product managers, designers, people who used to code, and people who never have. The best teams pair someone who knows a problem with someone who can build.
Builders write the code and ship the tool.
Problem-solvers (PMs, designers, policy and community folks) pick the problem, shape how people use it, and lead the pitch.
Pick a track
The Existential Track: Climate & Sustainability. Heat, waste, food access, cleaner air.
Urban Nightmares: Housing, Healthcare, Education & Justice. Tenant rights, benefits, school help, legal info in plain English.
Ghost in the Machine: The tech under civic tools. Build the search, data, and behind-the-scenes pieces that keep city tools running.
Physical AI for Good. Build AI that moves, with Viam. No robotics experience needed.
Real problems from our nonprofit partners are on the hackathon hub.
Stuck? Type /mentor in Discord and a mentor will come find you.
You'll leave with a working prototype, a demo video, and a real portfolio project.
Schedule
Sat Oct 24: Jay Conference Bryant Park, 109 W 39th St, 2nd floor
10:30am: Doors open + check-in
11:00am: Team matching for newcomers, then build time (lunch on site)
1:00pm: Teams finalized. Captains lock the team in Discord with /team (team name, members, track). Late joiners can still be added after.
3:00 to 4:00pm: Pre-Demo Day office hours with Maria in the Discord Office Hours channel
5:00pm: Doors close. Keep building remotely on Discord
11:59pm: Submissions close (repo + demo video + short write-up)
Sun Oct 25: Demo Day, Luma Studios, 307 W 38th St, Studio 1701
2:30pm: Doors open. Science-fair demos, open to the public
~3:30pm: Top 5 teams demo on stage
~4:30pm: People's Choice + awards
Bring friends to Demo Day. It's free and drop-in, but please RSVP: luma.com/3perce-pi2u
Already happened: Fri Oct 23 kickoff at Civic Hall, and the Thu Oct 22 Viam crash course. Missed it? Grab the Viam worksheet and ask for the recording in Discord.
Prizes (prizes go to the whole team)
Best overall: picked from the top 5 teams on stage
Fellows-only prize: cash plus a 1:1 session with a tech recruiter
People's Choice: the Demo Day room votes
Physical AI for Good (Viam): for the best Physical AI project
Best use of Tavily: 3 prizes in search credits
Costume contest: come dressed up on Sunday
Miss Congeniality: the nicest, most helpful volunteer or builder
Partners: Viam (robotics kits + mentors), Vonage (food, API credits + Demo Day venue), Tavily (search API credits for every builder)
Bring: your laptop and charger. Costumes encouraged on Sunday.
Sponsorship inquiries: Partner with 3percentclub
About Viam: Viam is a New York-based software platform for building, deploying, and managing robotics and AI in the physical world. Viam is supplying robotics kits and mentors for this hackathon.
About Vonage: Vonage, part of Ericsson, builds communications APIs for voice, video, messaging, and verification that developers put into their apps. Vonage is providing food, builder API credits, and the Demo Day venue for this hackathon.
About Tavily: Tavily is the web access layer for AI agents: one API for real-time search, extraction, and crawling, trusted by 2M+ developers.
3percentclub is an NYC nonprofit that teaches free AI classes for underrepresented builders: engineers, career changers, product managers, designers, and people who have never coded. This event is open to everyone.
Want to keep building with us? Join the Discord and follow 3percentclub.org for the next cohort.