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close to their homes but being a source of job opportunity for the local communities they were based in.”

During his nine years at Industry City, they spent about $450 million on revitalizing the buildings’ basic infrastructure and investing alongside their tenants. It created close to 8,000 new jobs and a thriving community of entrepreneurs which has continued to grow.

“When I had the opportunity to come here [to the EDC], I jumped at it. The only answer was ‘yes.’ Just to have the opportunity to impact the broader economic development portfolio in the city and work for a Mayor like Eric Adams, who understands that if the city’s gonna recover in a robust way public-private partnerships need to be embraced,” Kimball said. “We need to be the ally of the private sector, not the enemy. We need to continue to drive growth sectors in the city. Really that’s the broad range of tech-enabled industries. Whether it’s film and television, video gaming, advanced manufacturing, biotech, FinTech, or green tech/Cleantech.”

He explained, “we need to make sure as the economy recovers that we build that new economy for the future in a way that is as inclusive and equitable as possible. We spend a significant amount of time here on every deal that we make, making sure there are social impact elements to it that might lead to M/WBE contracting or BIPOC entrepreneurship, or creating a talent pipeline from DOE to CUNY into those sectors of today in the future.”

Kimball said his goals are aligned with the bluprint laid out by Mayor Adams, which includes 70 initiatives aimed to drive economic recovery. One of these initiatives includes investing $200 million in offshore wind, both in port infrastructure and the creation of a supply chain for the industry, which will ensure that as much of it is local green energy, and hopefully create opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs to get into that industry along the way.

Another big chunk of his work with the blueprint focuses on workforce development. This includes making sure that today’s public school students are getting trained to be bale to step into some of the high-paying jobs that will be created in the future.

“A very conservative estimate is that over the next 10 years, there’ll be 13,000 new jobs there,” he said.

Another growth sector the NYCEDC is focused on, both in the blueprint and in practice everyday, is biotech, where they have an over a billion-dollar ongoing investment in a range of tools aimed to drive the growth of the industry.

“If you look at the broader New York City region, it now eclipses San Francisco and Boston,” Kimball said. “Again, I’m talking regionally, city-tocity. We’re still behind Boston and San Francisco but we’ve got a lot of wind in our sails as it relates to biotech. And, you know, you see that in every borough. You see it Long Island City. You see it in the Bronx. You see it in Brooklyn. Obvious in Manhattan. There’s a real hub of it because of the ‘Eds and Meds’ along First Avenue.

Kimball said that in the biotech sector alone, they will easily generate 40,000 jobs in the next 10 years. Film, television, and video gaming are another industry EDC has its focus on.

The EDC wants to make sure that in every place-based project, there are not only strong links to the local leadership and workforce development organizations and community groups, but also to local public schools and CUNY colleges throughout the city to make sure there is a clear pathway into these jobs.

One of the biggest projects the EDC are currently working towards is the creation of an offshore wind port facility, located at the 75-acre South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

“It will be the largest port servicing facility in the United States, where all of the component parts for the wind turbines will be put into the water 30 to 50 miles offshore,” Kimball said.

The offshore wind project, which is being executed by a partnership with Equinor and BP, aims to connect these big wind turbine propellers with Boeing 747 wingspan to a substation on land that will help fill the grid with green, clean energy.

Another major project focuses on food security and distribution. Hunts Point food market in the Bronx is a critical facility, where according to Kimball, 25 percent of everything we eat comes through. That amounts to roughly 4 billion tons of food a year.

“But the food distribution center is a really decrepit facility with significant environmental hazards. There are over 900 trucks that idle all day on fossil fuel generators,” Kimball said. “So the mayor announced a hundred million dollars for the Hunts Point market that we hope will leverage a significant multiple of that in other public and private dollars to redevelop distribution center.”

Hunts Point is a critical facility with more than 8,000 union employees. Kimball said that the plan is to make it green and resilient for the future.

“Everywhere where we control assets, we’re trying to drive jobs and economic activity in the sectors of today and tomorrow,” Kimball said. “A great example is the South Brooklyn Marine terminal. That’s gonna be the nation’s largest wind port. Right next door to that Steiner is doubling in size, creating a vast film and television studio complex. A little bit further south in the Brooklyn army terminal, you see a lot of manufacturing, particularly advanced manufacturing using new technologies… Hunt’s point similar story. Physical assets need to be upgraded in a critical sector for today’s economy and the future economy. We are also partnering smartly with agencies the city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services to drive commercial development. With the CARE (City Agencies Revitalizing the Economy) program, we think there’s an opportunity to work with other agencies and academic institutions like CUNY to really capitalize on real estate and connect industry to to educational pathways.”

For more information about the New York City Economic Development Corporation and strategies towards building a sustainable and inclusive economic future for the city, visit https://edc.nyc.

Kimball speaking about the booming tech industry at the Queens Chamber’s 2022 Business Expo. (PHOTO: DOMINICK TOTINO)

QUEENS CHAMBER MEMBER NEWS Celebrating our graduates

BY DANIEL OFFNER

doffner@queensledger.com

Three bright young interns with the Queens Chamber of Commerce graduated from college this past June. This Is Queensborough Magazine recently caught up with these recent grads to discuss their time with the Chamber, their goals and aspirations, and the many ways that their work has helped prepare them for the future.

JULIO VARGAS

Julio Vargas was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and moved to Queens when he was just 14.

After graduating high school, Vargas went on to attend Community College before completing his Bachelor of the Arts degree in Criminal Justice at John Jay College.

He began working for the Queens Chamber of Commerce in 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the leadership of the Chamber’s Strategic Program Manager Jacqueline Donado, he helped to provide struggling businesses with city resources that could help them get back on their feet.

Vargas said that on a typical day, he will help Donado by gathering data and information, reaching out to local business owners, contacting city agencies, and generally helping serve the community at large.

He also enjoys photography, which he considers a “side hustle.”

As for the future, he said that he hopes to someday work with prison inmates by helping them manage their lives after release.

“I really believe in second chances,” Vargas said. “I do what I do to be happy… I don’t aspire to have a $2.1 million house. I just enjoy taking photos and helping people where I can.” Queens Chamber intern Julio Vargas recently graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice