As Silicon Alley turns 30, New York is building its own tech mecca

On a frozen Friday night in Manhattan, a line of eager party-goers snaked around the lobby of an unassuming office building and out the block, waiting to get into the hottest tech gathering of the new year (This reporter, transparently, was waylaid by new parenthood, but I received dispatches from some intrepid Fortune attendees.) Entrance was so coveted that many found themselves stymied in the frigid atrium, clutching their coats amid a one-in-one-out policy, with the organizers ultimately issuing refunds.