LEG A L DIVISIONS
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
CHIEF James McSpiritt
D E P U T Y B e t t y Wo o
The Economic Development Division serves as transactional
counsel for the City on real estate development, land use,
commercial, and other projects. The Division’s work reinforces
the City’s economic base and creates jobs, office space, housing,
cultural amenities, and public open space while reimagining the
City for the 21st Century. Division attorneys work closely with
City Hall, New York City Economic Development Corporation
(NYCEDC), and many other City agencies on all aspects of the
transactions, from inception to closing, as well as post-closing
administration.
17
Cable TV Franchise Renewal Agreements
The Division worked closely with the
Department of Information Technology and
Telecommunications on a nine-year renewal
of the City’s cable TV franchise contracts
with Time Warner Cable and Cablevision. The
new contracts authorize the two companies
to continue using the City’s streets to run
their cables in competition with Verizon’s new
FiOS system. All three companies now have
City contracts that run to July 2020. These
franchises are expected to generate over
$100 million a year in revenue to the City.
As a result of the latest agreement, the City
will also receive more than $60 million worth
of additional services, investments, and
upgrades bene?tting the public.
Ongoing Major Development Projects:
The Division continues work on numerous
ongoing development projects throughout the
?ve boroughs. Representative examples include:
1. World Trade Center Redevelopment
2. Far West Side Development
3. High Line Expansion
4. Columbia University Expansion
5. Flushing Commons Development
6. Hunters Point South
Affordable Housing Project
7. Atlantic Yards and
Brooklyn Nets Arena
8. Brooklyn Academy of Music
Cultural District
9. Commercial Development
in Downtown Brooklyn
10. Sunset Park Industrial
Waterfront Modernization
11. Hunts Point
BRONX
Produce Market
12. Charleston Retail
11
Development
4
3
HA
TT
AN
PHOTO: THE HIGH LINE
Agreement to Close Last Major Gap
in Manhattan “Greenway”
Division attorneys helped negotiate an
agreement that provides a framework for the
United Nations to expand its New York City
campus, making it possible to ?nance the
completion of Manhattan’s 32-mile waterfront
“greenway” by ?lling in the last remaining
major public space gap between 38th and
60th Streets on the East Side.
Sale of Federal Building Number 2
Division attorneys assisted in the
simultaneous transfer of Federal Building
Number 2 from the U.S. General Services
Administration to NYCEDC and from NYCEDC
to Salmar Properties, LLC. Salmar Properties
will reactivate the 1.1 million-square-foot,
eight-story industrial building, adjacent to the
Gowanus Expressway along the Sunset Park
waterfront, which has been vacant for over a
decade. It is expected that as many as 1,500
construction and permanent jobs will be
created at the facility. The project represents
a key component of the Sunset Park Vision
Plan and the City’s overall industrial policy.
2
MA
N
Roosevelt Island Science
and Engineering Campus
The Division worked on an historic agreement
starting the process toward the eventual
construction of a two-million-square-foot
applied science and engineering campus
on Roosevelt Island. Cornell University won
the competitive bidding process to operate
the campus, which will ultimately support up
to 2,500 students and nearly 280 faculty
members by 2043.
5
6
1
New East River Ferry Service
Division attorneys helped facilitate this key
component of the City’s comprehensive
waterfront plan. The new service provides
year-round ferry transportation between the
East Side of Manhattan and parts of Queens
and Brooklyn. BillyBey Ferry Company, the
largest private ferry operator in the country,
is providing service.
QUEENS
9
87
10
BROOKLYN
STATEN
ISLAND
12
18