NYCEDC CEO Maria Torres-Springer announces the Urbantech NYC program at Grand Central Tech’s ribbon cutting yesterday. Credit: Julienne Schaer

Yesterday, we attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Urban Tech Hub at Grand Central Tech on Madison Ave. The Hub is a partnership with NYCEDC and the Mayor’s Office to provide flexible workspace and biz dev programming that helps launch and and grow cleantech and smart city companies. GCT’s hub is one in a trio of spaces – Urban Future Lab in Downtown Brooklyn and New Lab at Brooklyn Navy Yard are the others – that act as pillars for New York’s Urbantech NYC program.

Speakers at the launch included Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, NYCEDC CEO Maria Torres-Springer, Milstein Properties Chairman Howard Milstein, General Electric Chief Digital Officer John Gordon, London Deputy Mayor for Business Rajesh Agrawal, Microsoft’s Steve Ramsey and Grand Central Tech Founders Matt Harrigan and Charles Bonello.

From left: New York City Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, Torres-Springer, London Deputy Mayor for Business Rajesh Agrawal, GE Chief Digital Officer John Gordon.  Credit: Julienne Schaer

The Urbantech NYC investment focuses on strengthening the cleantech, civictech and smart city sectors. That includes big industries like mobility and transport, energy, sanitation, mass transit, real estate development and construction. Urban Tech Hubs offer mentorship, event programming, demo days, networking and introductions, workshops and PR. New Lab’s Smart City Innovation Center gives startups production resources like CNC mills, a metal and wood shop, electronics, laser beds and 3D printers. Urban Future Lab, considered a pilot for the program, is already an established centerpiece of the cleantech ecosystem.

Grand Central Tech’s Hub is one of three spaces, along with New Lab and Urban Future Lab, at the heart of Urbantech NYC. Credit: Sander Dolder

In partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation and NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress, NYCEDC will help companies deploy and pilot their technologies in designated neighborhoods across all five boroughs. For more on the Urbantech program, visit the site and go deep into the strategic thinking by NYCEDC Center for Urban Innovation’s Sander Dolder.

A model for the growth of cleantech, civictech and smart city entrepreneurial development. Credit: Sander Dolder