Within the past couple of years, New York City has seen a tremendous rise of start-ups that have taken over the tech industry landscape. Long known as the Big Apple, it has acquired a new nickname that recognizes its efforts in cultivating a start-up tech culture, Silicon Alley. The name alludes to the city’s growing similarities to Silicon Valley in the tech and digital industries. In pursuit of becoming the tech capital of the world, New York City’s elected officials have been going all out to make New York City the new Silicon Valley.
While Silicon Alley was originally restricted to Manhattan’s Flatiron district, it has now expanded well beyond the confines of the metropolitan area. In recent years the outer boroughs such as Brooklyn and Queens have undergone significant changes. For starters, neighborhoods such as Brooklyn’s Williamsburg, Bushwick, D.U.M.B.O and Greenpoint have all been immensely re-zoned. Where factories once stood in these communities, now luxury condominiums and lofts stand.
To top it off, D.U.M.B.O and Williamsburg are home to some notable start-ups such as Web Liquid, Amplify Education and Livestreampublic.nyc. “It’s phenomenal because years ago if you obtained a degree in tech you were probably going to have to relocate to the west coast,” Christopher Baez, HUGE Media IT Manager, said. “The only industry available for tech degree holders in New York used to be finance, media and telecommunications.”
The trend has picked up so well that even the established tech corporations on the West Coast have taken notice. In late December of 2010, Google closed out a deal for $1.9 billion cash for 111 Eighth Avenue, a property that spans the entire block in both length and width. Realtors and developers embrace the tech industry and start-up companies emerging in New York as well. “Truthfully, it’s the best thing to happen to the market in a long time,” Francis Fowler, a Gold Star Real Estate Agent said.
“It’s what’s going to guarantee that New York City won’t see another housing bubble crises with all the increased rent that’s been going on in the city. There will be income that supports a lot of the housing development you see happening in the city. And it’s not just residential but commercial is doing great also. Just look at the Googleplex East.” In 2014 Vice Media, an online content provider signed an 8-year lease for a Williamsburg warehouse, which included a $20 million renovation of the 60,000-square-foot property.
Needless to say, New York officials have seen the benefits and have began to implement measures that would harness an environment that encourages start-ups in the city. During his tenure as Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, in his effort to make New York City the tech capital, decided in 2011 to allow Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to build a $2 billion graduate school for applied sciences on Roosevelt Island. Three years later New York Governor Andrew Cuomo created a venture-capital fund in hopes of drawing entrepreneurs into the marketplace with their research in biotechnology. The seed money totaling out to $50 million would help encourage entrepreneurs to bring their start-ups the Empire state.
More recently, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, spoke at a Civic Hall at a New York Tech Meetup event, where he discussed improving relations between the government and the tech community. He laid out plans that would create opportunities for the tech industry and the people of New York.
One of those plans, he said, is to help put traction behind a legislation bill he drafted that looks to improve data privacy. He also wants to see laws which encourage start-ups and rather than monopolies. “Innovation does not succeed in an environment that mindlessly protects the status quo,” he said.
Verizon Communications has also stepped up efforts in helping secure a more tech-savvy New York. Last year they finalized a $3 billion fiberoptic telecommunications upgrade throughout New York City. This would in turn improve Internet connectivity and data transfer speeds, which are now available throughout most of New York City.
Now that a surge of start-ups has begun forming throughout the city, many suggest that perhaps New York is on its way to dethroning Silicon Valley. The first half of 2015 alone has already seen New York City start-ups generate $3.7 billion in venture-capital investments. Gone are the days when New York only housed the finance, media and telecommunications industries. The city seems poised to add the tech industry as one it also leads in throughout the country.
