From left: Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Seth Pinsky, president of the city's EDC

Despite having Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who is widely considered to be pro-development — leading New York City for the past 10 years, a top official in his administration says the city is “decades behind” the rest of the world in some construction practices.

“If you talk to people who do construction in places outside of New York, they will tell you that we are in some cases decades behind the rest of the world in the methodologies that we use,” said Seth Pinsky, president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation. [more]

From left: Related Chairman Stephen Ross, Patricia Harris, first deputy mayor, and EDC President Seth Pinsky

Power is becoming more diluted in New York City, according to the New York Times, but at least three real estate players possess some of what’s left. Related Companies Chairman Stephen Ross, Patricia Harris, first deputy mayor, and Economic Development Corp. President Seth Pinsky, were all named among the city’s 21 power brokers. Though traditional centers of influence have given way to the unfiltered voice of the internet, money is the last remaining vestige of the old order of power, as demonstrated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s near unmatched influence from City Hall. [more]

The Bronx

Developer Equity One has been tapped to build an 80,000-square-foot commercial project along the Broadway retail corridor in the Bronx, according to a statement from the New York Economic Development Corporation today. The firm will spend $54 million to construct a new, 133,000-square-foot, two-story multi-tenant retail development and a parking facility on the site in the Kingsbridge area. EDC claims the development will create 250 new jobs, some full- and some part-time. [more]

From left: the Brooklyn waterfront and Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development

The entire waterfront of Brooklyn is ripe for new residential development, Crain’s reported. Massive developments are rising, from more predictable spots, such as Williamsburg, down to less likely spots such as Sunset Park, along the east river and ocean, the magazine said.

“Rents and the economy in general have come roaring back since the depths of the Great Recession,” Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, told Crain’s. Douglaston is building a $300 million, 509-unit rental tower in Williamsburg, at North 4th Street and Kent, near the Edge. [more]

From left: EDC President Seth Pinsky and Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Now in its 20th year of existence, the city’s Economic Development Corp. has transcended simple real estate development and used its increased power to boost the New York City economy, according to Crain’s.

Initially formed to build structures for job creators and lure manufacturers to the city with tax incentives, the EDC has also begun to create new business incubators, training programs and venture funds for entrepreneurs. [more]

Seamless, which runs take-out and food delivery site Seamless.com, combines two industries that power New York City — take-out and technology. And the company has just opened a new headquarters in the Big Apple, overlooking Bryant Park at 1065 Sixth Avenue, according to a statement from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office, whose “digital roadmap” for the city, unveiled this May, urges an expansion of New York City’s technology sector.

The food ordering service, which facilitated over $400 million worth of food orders last year, will locate more than half of its total employees in its new 28,000-square-foot home at 40th Street, the statement said. [more]

The New York City Economic Development Corporation has issued a Request for Proposals seeking to award up to $8 million from the City Council Small Manufacturing Investment Fund to subsidize capital improvement costs for the subdivision and modernization of existing underutilized industrial spaces, EDC announced today.

“The city’s industrial sector, which, like the industrial sector nationally, has faced serious challenges in recent decades, now offers real opportunities for growth and development,” said EDC President Seth Pinsky.

The RFP, announced as part of three broader initiatives designed to support and strengthen the city’s industrial sector, is anticipated to help create modernized space for small industrial businesses, including manufacturers. – Katherine Clarke [more]

From top: David Lebenstein, senior managing director of Cassidy Turley, Sharone Levy, executive managing director of Greiner-Maltz and the Brooklyn Army Terminal

The New York City Economic Development Corporation enlisted the services of commercial real estate brokerages Greiner-Maltz and Cassidy Turley Tuesday to lease the remaining 350,000 square feet of available space at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, EDC told The Real Deal today.

With a total of 3.1 million leasable square feet, the property is already 90 percent leased, with 70 businesses employing 2,400 people. Over the past two months, five new businesses have set up shop at the terminal, EDC said, signing on for a total of 85,000 square feet.

“In recent years, we have seen the Brooklyn Army Terminal become a premiere destination for companies in the city’s critical industrial sector looking for affordable workspace,” said EDC President Seth Pinsky in a statement. [more]

NYC Economic Development Corp. President Seth Pinsky and the Brooklyn Army TerminalThanks to large industrial sites on the Brooklyn waterfront, in particular the Brooklyn Army Terminal and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the city’s Economic Development Corp. is making good on its effort to retain and expand New York’s industrial workforce. The Wall Street Journal reported that three new firms have signed leases at the Army Terminal, bringing the total count to 68 companies and 2,400 in the 90 percent-occupied, four million square-foot area.

“It’s an industrial landscape, which a lot of places in America have just given up on, but thanks to strategic investments by the city, unlike many of those other places, we’re actually bringing industrial uses back,” said Seth Pinsky, president of EDC. [more]

New York City has issued an official request for proposals relating to Applied Sciences NYC, its initiative to build or expand a state-of-the-art engineering and applied sciences campus at one of three city sites, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Robert Steel and New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky announced today.

“Our offer is straightforward,” Bloomberg said of the proposal, initially unveiled in December. “We will provide prime New York real estate — at virtually no cost, plus up to $100 million in infrastructure upgrades, in exchange for a university’s commitment to build or expand a world-class science and engineering campus here in our city.”

The city is offering real estate at three possible locations, he said — Governors Island, Brooklyn Navy Yard, and Roosevelt Island. – Katherine Clarke [more]