Mayor Michael Bloomberg today announced the official opening of Coney Island for the summer season, including the grand opening of the new Steeplechase Plaza, a two-acre public open space featuring the restored B&B Carousell in a state-of-the-art pavilion. The Mayor also today announced the partial re-opening of the New York Aquarium, which was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Steeplechase Plaza features the historic B&B Carousell, which includes 50 hand-carved horses that have been meticulously restored over the last six years. The carousel is housed in a new pavilion which opens up to the Boardwalk, and sits within open space that...

Cleanweb Developer Day at New Work City in Chinatown, NYC. Photo credit: David Gilford/NYCEDC

By Betsy Scherzer, Senior Project Manager and David Gilford, Assistant Director

Many of us have heard about cleantech, imagining that clever scientists will eventually solve all our environmental challenges with shiny hardware. But what if the power to start addressing these challenges is already in our pocket? Smartphones have brought us useful and amusing apps, but now a new category aims to transform how we relate to the environment. “Cleanweb” uses mobile and internet technologies, from social media to data visualization, to improve resource efficiency,...

Tumblr CEO David Karp judged last year's NYC Generation Tech Demo Night. Photo credit: Margaret Fox

NYCEDC and The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) today announced the launch of the second year of NYC Generation Tech (GenTech), a program designed to provide high school students across New York City with education and mentorship in entrepreneurship and technology, as well as inspire them to become a part of the City’s growing innovation ecosystem.

This year, approximately 45 high school students will attend an intensive summer bootcamp, which teaches coding languages (CSS, HTML, and...

New York Water Taxi, Red Hook. Photo credit: Retrofresh! via Flickr

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn today announced the launch of an expanded, free Red Hook Summer Ferry that will operate weekends throughout the summer. The expanded service will begin May 25th and run from Pier 11 in Manhattan to a new stop at Van Brunt Street and then to IKEA, both in Red Hook. The Van Brunt Street stop will activate an existing, currently unused ferry landing, providing convenient access to the neighborhood’s dynamic commercial corridor and...

By Alison Hodgson, Senior Project Manager, Industrial Initiatives

Don’t miss NYCxDesign, a citywide celebration of design from May 10-21, 2013 to kick off year-round design happenings and events in New York City. From studio tours and talks to exhibit openings, NYCxDesign opens the inner workings of the world’s design capital for public view and interaction. You can find a searchable listing of all NYCxDesign events at nycxdesign.com, but here are our picks:

Next Top Makers

Better connectivity in the City’s commercial districts is critical to the City’s businesses, residents and visitors, and to the City’s ability to drive growth, innovation and maintain its competiveness.

Through the Wireless Corridor Challenge, NYCEDC is seeking up to two consultants to design, launch, implement, manage, and maintain a free, public access Wi-Fi or other emerging technology wireless network corridor in a New York City commercial district. The program will provide local visitors, tourists, and businesses—particularly those emphasizing technology, innovation, and creativity—with free connectivity by leveraging community relationships with property...

Left to right: NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and NYCEDC Executive Director Kyle Kimball with the Norwegian Breakaway. Photo credit: Edward Reed

This week, NYCEDC and Mayor Bloomberg joined Norwegian Cruise Line and the Rockettes to christen the Norwegian Breakaway, the largest cruise ship ever to port in NYC! The enormous 4,000-passenger vessel with Peter Max’s signature artwork on its hull was a sight to behold at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal at Pier 88.

“The arrival of the Norwegian Breakaway—the largest cruise ship to homeport in Manhattan—is another...

NYCEDC and Empire State Development (ESD) announced that Paperless Post, an innovative online communication design company, will relocate and expand its operations to Lower Manhattan. The company has outgrown its old space, and will move to 115 Broadway in Lower Manhattan in September 2013.  The expansion will create 76 new jobs and retain 51 existing positions.
 


“Today’s most innovative startups are putting Lower Manhattan on the map as a vibrant place to headquarter a 21st Century company. I would like to congratulate Paperless Post on its expansion, which will contribute to the continued...

By Patricia Bayley, Senior Project Manager, Center for Economic Transformation

From May 6th to 8th, NYCEDC's International Desk will welcome its first Central Eastern European delegation! Representing such countries as Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany and Romania, the delegates will partake in panel discussions, service provider presentations, company tours, and multiple networking events. Panel discussion topics include an introduction to NYC Startup Scene, NYC Investor Environment, and a candid chat from “expats” who’ve made it in NYC. With three of our panelists now recent authors, we’ll...

NYCEDC Executive Director Kyle Kimball discusses the program kick-off at TechCrunch Disrupt NY. Photo credit: Kelly Ernst/NYCEDC

With the success of the first iteration of Take the H.E.L.M.: Hire + Expand in Lower Manhattan, we are excited to announce that we will be relaunching the program! To encourage the continued growth of Lower Manhattan, Take the H.E.L.M. will award four grand prizes of $250,000 each and four runners-up prizes of $50,000 each to companies looking to move or expand into Lower Manhattan. The competition seeks to bring startups,...