The merger was part of a City plan to consolidate the various providers of economic development services, which also involved the consolidation of certain City agencies. Each of the corporations that merged to form NYCEDC had been responsible for a wide range of projects and initiatives, all of which had the overarching goal of fostering economic development in the City.

These corporations have helped to shape the mission of today’s NYCEDC, which added additional services as a result of the consolidation and continues to do so as the need arises. The history begins in 1966 with New York City Public Development Corporation (PDC).

1966: New York City Public Development Corporation
PDC was born out of a need to revitalize New York City’s struggling economy. PDC’s primary objective was to retain and create jobs and generate revenue for the City by facilitating the sale and lease of City-owned property.

Among its many activities, PDC also managed some of the City’s industrial parks and provided the City with urban planning services. Between 1966 and 1991, PDC initiated hundreds of development projects, many of which are overseen by NYCEDC today.

1979: Financial Services Corporation of New York City
In 1979, the City formed Economic Capital Corporation of New York City (ECC), subsequently renamed Financial Services Corporation of New York City (FSC), to compliment PDC’s economic development efforts. Since PDC was predominantly focused on land transactions, the City sought to create another corporation to oversee the financial side of its urban development transactions and initiatives.

ECC/FSC was specifically created to promote citywide business expansion by administering finance programs, such as direct loan programs. ECC/FSC also assumed responsibility for overseeing programs of the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA), a public benefit corporation that was established to promote business expansion and stimulate employment growth in the City.

At the time, NYCIDA’s primary responsibility was assisting industrial, commercial and not-for-profit firms in obtaining low-cost financing through the issuance of tax exempt bonds. It has subsequently undertaken additional programs to achieve its objectives.

1991: New York City Economic Development Corporation
In 1991, NYCEDC was officially formed by merging PDC and the FSC. As a result of the merger, NYCEDC assumed the services previously undertaken by the merged corporations, including overseeing programs of NYCIDA.

NYCEDC also assumed economic development services previously performed by the City’s Department of Ports and Trade. Subsequently, NYCEDC has undertaken a wide variety of additional economic development services as the need arose.

Since its inception in 1991, NYCEDC has brought billions of dollars in private investments to the City and has helped to create thousands of jobs through its various projects and initiatives.

By encouraging commerce within the City, managing City-owned properties, administering loans and financing, and facilitating commercial and industrial development, NYCEDC has successfully completed hundreds of development projects and implemented many public policy initiatives.

To learn more about the kinds of projects we work on, view our current projects and completed projects.