Its not the lack of 'tech for tech's sake', its the lack of willing backers, the lack of meaningful VCs, the lack of 'pay it forward' mentality, the lack of historical counterculture having any meaningful impact amongst the old world elitists.
If that's changing then NYC will offer an unparalleled opportunity that Silicon Valley could have difficulty keeping up with. I still suspect that there are like 3 VC portfolios all named Union Square Ventures that any project has to conform to, and if it doesn't, FUHGET ABOUT IT
Hm? In want sense? New York City has spawned numerous countercultural movements. The beats, punk rock, hip hop, all originated in NYC.
this observation still prevents creating what works about Silicon Valley
Every place that wants to be the next silicon valley, or Silicon "lesser geographical/architectural structure", simply can't do it without the generational culture to support it.