Mayor Outlines Initiatives in Long Island City‚ Breaks Ground for New Citigroup Building

First Cruise Ship Arrives at Brooklyn Waterfront

Coney Island Renaissance

Major Not-for-Profit Group Relocates Downtown

IDA Helps Finance JFK Terminal Expansions

NYCEDC Issues Requests for Proposals

The Bioscience Cluster for the 21st Century

Financing Assistance Programs for Brooklyn Not-for-Profits (pdf)

New York City’s economy continues to grow stronger. Our office vacancy rate is now among the lowest in the nation‚ hotel occupancy rates are on the rise‚ and last month we experienced the largest monthly gain in the number of New Yorkers with jobs in nearly three decades. That means more New Yorkers are now employed than at any time in the City’s history.

New York City Economic Development Corporation continues to build on that momentum. Whether it’s reinvigorating one of the City’s oldest treasures with a strategic plan for Coney Island‚ or building one of the City’s newest attractions with a new home for the Queen Mary 2 in Red Hook‚ we’re constantly looking for innovative ways to expand the economy and create jobs.

Andrew M. Alper

Mayor Outlines Initiatives in Long Island City‚ Breaks Ground for New Citigroup Building

Long Island City is undergoing an incredible transformation as the Administration’s efforts to spur development in this fast-growing business district begin to pay off. Mayor Bloomberg joined Citigroup on October 26 to break ground on the 15-story office building next to its existing tower. The $290 million project will bring close to 1‚800 jobs to the area and joins other projects moving forward in coming months: The United Nations Federal Credit Union expects to complete its new 17-story Court Square building in Summer 2006‚ and Tishman Speyer has been designated by the City to re-develop the current Queens Plaza Garage site.

The Mayor announced the City’s commitment of $30 million for key infrastructure improvements in the 37-block area to ensure Long Island City’s future commercial and residential development. To help LIC residents share in their neighborhood’s job growth‚ the Mayor announced the new Workforce1 Career Center at LaGuardia Community College‚ a $3.9 million City-led initiative.

First Cruise Ship Arrives at Brooklyn Waterfront

A startling sight greeted Brooklynites on a recent Saturday morning as the Oriana‚ an 1‚800-passenger cruise ship‚ docked on Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront. Mayor Bloomberg welcomed the ship’s captain and passengers at the site of the City’s new cruise terminal in Red Hook. The $47 million terminal‚ scheduled for completion next April‚ gives the City capacity to accommodate the growing demand for berths in the region. It’s the latest in a series of initiatives designed to revitalize Brooklyn’s waterfront.

Beyond the cruise terminal‚ NYCEDC reached agreements with three industrial companies to build and operate major recycling‚ auto-processing and cement storage facilities. Combined with the new cruise terminal‚ these projects will create 760 permanent jobs and more than 560 construction jobs.

Coney Island Renaissance

The City is restoring Coney Island’s identity as one of the world’s most vibrant destinations. Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a strategic plan for the entire area that will celebrate Coney Island’s unique characteristics and transform the neighborhood into a year-round entertainment destination with seaside attractions and a stronger residential community. The $83 million plan calls for enhanced entertainment attractions‚ a new community center for job training and recreational uses and the increase of affordable housing on vacant City-owned land.

The plan builds on the substantial investment the City has already made in Coney Island‚ including $39 million for the construction of the highly successful KeySpan Park baseball stadium‚ $18 million toward the restoration of the Riegleman Boardwalk and $1.8 million to acquire the historic Bishoff & Brienstein (B&B) Carousell‚ keeping it in Coney Island. In addition‚ the Metropolitan Transit Authority recently completed a $240 million renovation of the Stillwell Avenue subway station‚ and the New York Aquarium is currently undergoing a $45 million renovation.

Major Not-for-Profit Relocates Downtown

AHRC‚ one of New York City’s largest not-for-profits‚ provides services for the developmentally disabled and is the sixth not-for-profit organization that the City has helped relocate Downtown this year.

IDA Helps Finance JFK Terminal Expansions

New York City – the best place in the world to live‚ work and visit – needs a world-class airport. The City’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA) is helping to finance two major terminal expansions at John F. Kennedy International Airport. American Airlines is building a state-of-the-art‚ $1.1 billion terminal that will be one of the principle bases of operations for American’s 8‚500 metropolitan area employees. Terminal One Group Association‚ a consortium of four airlines‚ is modifying and expanding its current terminal to accommodate new‚ larger aircraft. The $450 million facility will house at least 660 employees.

NYCEDC Issues Requests for Proposals

• Staten Island’s North Shore waterfront is undergoing an incredible transformation. Possessing some of the City’s most spectacular views of New York Harbor and the Manhattan skyline‚ the waterfront has seen the arrival of the Richmond County Bank Ballpark‚ a completely renovated St. George Ferry Terminal and a recently announced plan to redevelop the former Homeport naval base. NYCEDC has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of Staten Island’s National Lighthouse Harbor Site as a high-quality mixed-use development.
• The Arverne section of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens offers unparalleled opportunities for development on oceanfront property. In partnership with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)‚ NYCEDC is seeking proposals from real estate developers for mixed-use development of a 47-acre transit-served parcel on the ocean.