[1] NYCEDC was formed in 1991 as the result of a merger of two major non-profit and a handful of minor corporations which performed economic development services for the City.

[3] Formation of the NYCEDC followed recommendations from the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, who had been engaged in mid-1990 to "advise on the reorganisation of the NYC development system.

[5] In December 2011, Mayor Bloomberg announced the selection of a historic partnership with Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to create a groundbreaking, two-million-square foot applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island, to be called Cornell Tech.

[6] Applied Sciences NYC is expected to more than double the number of both full-time graduate engineering students and faculty in New York City.

Over the next three decades the Applied Sciences NYC initiative is expected to generate more than $33 billion in overall nominal economic impact, add over 48,000 jobs, and launch nearly 1,000 spin-off companies.

Ten additional members are appointed by the Mayor from nominees of the Borough Presidents and the Speaker of the New York City Council.