DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Officials cut a ribbon Thursday to open New York University's new Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) in Downtown Brooklyn.
The center, which will focus on addressing the challenges cities face as their populations grow, is part of a larger plan by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to boost technology education in the city.
"NYU CUSP will spin off hundreds of new companies, create thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic activity for the city," Bloomberg said at the ceremony. "It will drive innovation and lend even more momentum to our booming tech sector, which is creating good-paying jobs for New Yorkers every day."
The center will welcome its first 20 students this fall to its temporary location in MetroTech Center.
By 2017, CUSP will move into its permanent home in the former MTA headquarters at 370 Jay St., incorporating 50 researchers and faculty members, 400 masters students and 100 doctoral candidates, officials said.
“The innovative faculty and students at CUSP will set out to tackle urban challenges and bring innovative solutions to a world market, and it’s only appropriate that we begin shaping these ideas in Brooklyn — one of the most dynamic neighborhoods in the world,” Steven Koonin, CUSP's director, said in a statement.
CUSP also announced new partnerships Thursday with Microsoft and Lutron Electronics.
The school was one of the entries in the city competition for new applied science programs. The grand prize went to Cornell University, which is building a new campus on Roosevelt Island.
