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Silicon Brooklyn: NYU-Polytech merger could bring more techies Downtown

By Ariella Cohen
The Brooklyn Paper

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The proposed merger between New York University and Polytechnic University could turn Downtown Brooklyn into the next Silicon Valley, a report suggests.

“The merger could provide a critical spark to the city’s long-standing, and largely frustrated, efforts to establish itself as a vibrant center for technological innovation,” David Hochman wrote in the report, which was released on Tuesday by the non-profit Center for an Urban Future.

The merger, Hochman said, would bring the cachet and capital necessary to spark the desired investment in research and business facilities.

“Vigorous engineering programs drive an enormous amount of economic development,” the pundit explained. “Right now, Polytechnic University is an incubator for this growth, but with [NYU’s scale], there could be much more.”

Polytechnic President Jerry Hultin told The Brooklyn Paper this week that the school is already planning new research facilities with offices or apartments on top.

“I imagine scientists and engineers taking ideas and turning them into products and services, new ways to download music or see video,” he said.

Hultin said the new building would be similar to the Renzo Piano-designed tower that New York City College of Technology is building at the corner of Jay and Tillary streets. The building will include 625 apartments.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

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