New York, NY – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today commended the launch of the new partnership among New York City, New York University and The Polytechnic Institute of New York University to create a new applied sciences campus in Downtown Brooklyn, with a preferred location of the underutilized building at 370 Jay Street. In a December letter to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the Senator applauded his administration for the successful Applied Science New York competition that resulted in Cornell University/Technion-Israel Institute of Technology’s world-class project on Roosevelt Island, and urged the administration to approve a second applied sciences center from among the other qualified and cost-effective applications. Senator Gillibrand also voiced her strong support for the plan in a January speech to the Association for a Better New York (ABNY).
“This is another great step for New York City’s future. I commend Mayor Bloomberg, MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Senator Daniel Squadron, and the leadership of NYU and NYU-Polytechnic for their vision and leadership in turning this great idea into a reality,” said Senator Gillibrand. “A new applied science center in Downtown Brooklyn will create a new hub for science and technology connected to Brooklyn’s flourishing Digital District, spurring job growth and attracting the next generation of talent – using facilities we already have.”
The NYU-Poly proposal creates a hub for science and technology connecting DUMBO’s growing tech community and the surrounding neighborhoods with NYU-Poly’s proposed Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), as well as City Tech and Poly’s existing campuses. The CUSP program will transform this long underutilized MTA building at 370 Jay Street into an innovative education and research center poised to revitalize the Downtown Brooklyn business district by spurring new high-tech jobs in Brooklyn’s growing tech industry, and attracting the next generation of talent, all without the need to construct new facilities.
Senator Gillibrand wrote in a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, “Downtown Brooklyn is an ideal location for an additional applied science center in New York City. As you are ware, in DUMBO, young companies such as Etsy, Carrot Creative, and countless startups have flocked to the neighborhood to create what has become a Digital District… Utilizing the neglected building would be an enormous win for the thriving Downtown Brooklyn business district and at the same time alleviate the cost of building an entire new campus from scratch. With a widely diverse and growing population of over 2.5 million residents, there is no better lab for this program than Brooklyn, NY.”
The NYU-Poly proposal has the strong and enthusiastic support of many local elected officials, including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and State Senator Daniel Squadron, plus local community and business leaders who have all long championed the continued resurgence of Downtown Brooklyn.
The full December letter from Senator Gillibrand to Mayor Bloomberg is attached.