New York City Economic Development Corporation

Nonprofit long term business attractor

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a public benefit corporation that serves as the official economic development organization for New York City. NYCEDC gives its mission as strengthening business confidence in New York City, diversifying the city's economic sectors, and delivering sustainable infrastructure.

NYCEDC was formed in 1991 as the result of a merger of two major not for profit and a handful of minor corporations which performed economic development services for the City. One of the major merger partners was the Public Development Corporation (PDC), formed in 1966 to rescue the City from its then deteriorating economy by selling City property and leasing industrial space. PDC was responsible for construction of the Nassau Street Mall, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Jamaica Center, and the South Street Seaport, among other activities. The second major merger partner was the Financial Services Corporation (FSC) originally formed in 1979 as the NYC Economic Capital Corporation to administer government financing programs that promote business expansion in New York City. Formation of the NYCEDC followed recommendations from the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, who had been engaged in mid 1990 to "advise on the reorganisation of the NYC development system. In December 2011, Mayor Bloomberg announced the selection of a historic partnership with Cornell University and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology to create a groundbreaking, two million square foot applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island, to be called Cornell Tech. Applied Sciences NYC is expected to more than double the number of both full time graduate engineering students and faculty in New York City. Over the next three decades the Applied Sciences NYC initiative is expected to generate more than $33 billion in overall nominal economic impact, add over 48,000 jobs, and launch nearly 1,000 spin off companies. The Applied Sciences NYC initiative also includes the establishment of a campus in Downtown Brooklyn developed by a consortium led by NYU that focuses on the challenges facing cities, and a new institute for data sciences at Columbia University.

The Mayor of New York appoints seven members, including the chairperson. Ten additional members are appointed by the Mayor from nominees of the Borough Presidents and the Speaker of the New York City Council. Each Borough President nominates one member and the Speaker nominates five. Ten are appointed by the Chairperson from a list of persons approved by the Mayor. NYCEDC is not a New York City agency. In 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed 10 new members to the board of directors and as of April 2018, its board of directors has 27 members. In April 2021, restaurateur Danny Meyer was named as chairman.

New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) is a public benefit corporation under New York State law that provides companies with access to tax exempt bond financing or tax benefits to strengthen and diversify the City’s tax and employment base, helps businesses locate and expand their operations within New York City, and encourages economic development by retaining jobs and creating new ones. NYCIDA is administered by NYCEDC. New York City Capital Resource Corporation (NYCCRC), also administered by NYCEDC, is a local development corporation that provides lower cost financing programs for eligible capital projects to qualified not for profit institutions and manufacturing, industrial, and other businesses.

In November 2018, the news media reported that Amazon. com was in final talks with the government of New York State to construct one of two campuses for its proposed Amazon HQ2 at Queens West in Long Island City. The other campus would be located at National Landing in Crystal City, Virginia. The selection was confirmed by Amazon on November 13, 2018, but on February 14, 2019, Amazon announced it was pulling out, citing unexpected opposition from local lawmakers and unions.

NYCEDC has been involved in plans to redevelop miles of the City’s working waterfront. It states that it helps improve public access to waterfronts through projects such as the construction of the East River Waterfront Esplanade along a two mile shorefront of Lower Manhattan.