Overview

On December 19, 2011, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Cornell University President David Skorton, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology President Peretz Lavie announced an historic partnership to build a two-million-square-foot applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City.

The selection of the Cornell/Technion consortium—which pairs two of the world’s top institutions in the fields of science, engineering, technology and research—marks a major milestone in the City’s groundbreaking Applied Sciences NYC initiative, which seeks to increase New York City’s capacity for applied sciences and dramatically transform the City’s economy. Cornell/Technion’s proposal was among the many strong proposals that were submitted to the City from a number of world-class institutions around the globe as part of the City’s groundbreaking competitive process.

The Cornell/Technion consortium was ultimately selected due to the large scale and vision of their proposal, the long and impressive track-record of both institutions in generating applied science breakthroughs and spinning out new businesses, the financing capacity of the consortium, the focus of the consortium on the collaboration between academia and the private sector, and the overall capacity of the partnership to execute the project. In addition to the Roosevelt Island site, the City will also provide $100 million in City capital to assist with site infrastructure, construction, and related costs.

This is the first selection announcement for the Applied Sciences NYC initiative. Productive discussions are ongoing with other respondents—Carnegie Mellon, Columbia and a New York University-led consortium—and the possibility of additional science and engineering partnerships in the City is still open.

Read the press release for the latest from Mayor Bloomberg on Applied Sciences NYC.

The Road to Applied Sciences NYC

Applied Sciences NYC is the City's unparalleled opportunity to build or expand a world-class applied sciences and engineering campus in NYC. In New York City, we’re seeking to dramatically expand our capacity in the applied sciences to maintain our global competitiveness and create jobs.

Over the course of many months, we asked hundreds of New York City’s business leaders, academics, community groups, and entrepreneurs to identify ambitious, achievable initiatives that the City could undertake to achieve local economic growth. We heard a consistent theme: there is an unmet demand here for top-flight scientists and engineers.

Last winter, we launched Applied Sciences NYC, issuing a challenge to top institutions from around the world to propose a new or expanded applied sciences and engineering campus in New York City. We offered to provide City-owned land, a seed investment of City capital, and the full support of our administration in making this project a reality. The results of our Request for Expressions of Interest were very encouraging: we received 18 proposals from 27 outstanding institutions from six US states and 8 countries. The number and breadth of responses is a powerful endorsement of this idea and a recognition of its historic importance.

In October 2011, the City received seven qualifying responses from 17 world-class institutions to the Request for Proposals, which seeks a university, institution or consortium to develop and operate a new or expanded campus in the City in exchange for access to City-owned land and up to $100 million in City capital.

The final selection of our partner university will be made by the end of 2011. Now is the time to change the game and the place for change is New York City.

Be Part of Applied Sciences NYC

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Why NYC?

New York City has all the ingredients to take advantage of this opportunity and increase our capability in applied sciences – our highly educated global population, an unparalleled financial and business community to provide capital and support for new ventures, and existing top-notch institutions performing cutting-edge research.

The historical connection between applied sciences institutions and economic growth is remarkable: if companies founded by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology formed an independent nation, their revenues would make it the 17th largest economy in the world, according to the Kauffman Foundation.

The establishment of a top-tier applied sciences and engineering campus in New York City is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to diversify our economy and dramatically increase our competitiveness and potential for economic growth. The campus would not only enrich the City's existing research capabilities, but it would also lead to innovative ideas that can be commercialized, catalyzing hundreds of spinoff companies that will locate here in New York City.

Unparalleled Opportunities

While much hard work is required before a new campus opens, we believe that in just a few years there could be more than 2 million square feet of new development, creating thousands of construction jobs. The new or expanded campus could host thousands more faculty and students conducting advanced applied sciences and engineering research in the heart of America’s largest city. We estimate that over time as many as 400 new companies will spin off as a result of New York City’s expanded innovation capacity.

Those companies will generate billions of dollars in new economic activity, hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue, and locate in under-developed neighborhoods across the five boroughs, employing tens of thousands of New Yorkers with a variety of skill levels in well-paying jobs. The City’s expanded expertise in applied sciences and emergence as a tech capital will also increase the probability that the next high growth company – a Google, Amazon, or Facebook – will emerge in New York City and not in Shanghai, Mumbai, or Sao Paulo. On a neighborhood level, the campus will interact with the local community, supporting local restaurants, shops, and service industries as well as creating a wide range of full- and part-time jobs.

Benefits for New York City and New Yorkers

The benefits of Applied Sciences NYC will be substantial and dramatic, generating $6 billion in economic activity over the coming decades.

The Campus

• More than $1 billion in private capital investment on the site
• Nearly 8,000 construction jobs
• Thousands well-paying permanent jobs in diverse fields, such as:
• Building Workers
• Accountants and Auditors
• Faculty and Researchers
• Administrative Assistants
• Education Administrators

Spin-off Companies

• An estimated 400 new companies
• Many will locate within 5 miles of the site location
• Tens of thousands of new jobs in various fields
• Building Workers
• Marketing and Sales
• Administrative Assistants
• Accountants and Auditors
• Human Resources
• Administrative Managers

Applied Sciences NYC is unlike any undertaking the City has ever embarked upon. It is more than housing, more than business and real estate development, more than parks and public spaces. It is the City’s opportunity to lead the way into the new economy and its new frontier.

The advancements coming out of Applied Sciences NYC will be put to use in all fields, by all sectors, and all businesses, having a positive impact not only on the City and New Yorkers but on cities and people around the world. This initiative will attract the best talent to innovate, create, and bring discoveries and ideas out of the lab and into our lives, energizing the economy, creating new jobs, and birthing new businesses.

Check out our Applied Sciences Infographic that illustrates how Applied Sciences NYC is investing in innovation for a stronger economy in New York City.