I actually think this is a terrific concept, one I'd watch.
Interestingly, there are significant pockets of NYC's everyday economy that are still very old school in terms of their technological connectivity and methods of payment. Like, you don't Google a good bodega; you just walk approx 1.5 blocks in any direction and find one (or ask somebody). You don't swipe a card for a hot dog or gyro at a cart; you pony up paper bills.
I'd submit that you can get by better in NYC without a smartphone and with only cash than in the vast majority of American cities, maybe more easily than in any other American city.