following the election of bill de blasio as mayor of new york city, merritt helped establish the mayor's office of technology and innovation. as part of the mayor's office, merritt led a range of technology efforts including the launch of the .nyc top-level domain, development of outreach systems for the expansion of pre-k in new york city, and the announcement of linknyc, new york city's plan to build the largest and fastest municipal wi-fi network in the world. as the city's director of innovation, merritt oversaw smart city efforts for new york city which included a focus on "expanding internet connectivity across the five boroughs to unleash new opportunities, growing the local innovation economy and accelerating public-private partnerships, working with communities to develop solutions that meet neighbourhood needs, and always putting new yorkers first when we test and deploy new technologies."