Mayor Adams To Tap Industry City CEO To Lead EDC
Mayor Eric Adams may be closing in on a new leader for New York City's Economic Development Corp. following Carlo Scissura’s withdrawal last month.
Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball is likely Adams’ next pick for the position, replacing current CEO and Bill de Blasio appointee Rachel Loeb, Politico reports. Scissura, the CEO and president of the New York Building Congress and Adams’ previous pick, announced his withdrawal from consideration for the role after The City reported on Scissura’s undisclosed lobbying for developers. Scissura said he would remain in the private sector.
The EDC would continue Kimball’s streak overseeing job-creation projects if his position is confirmed: Crain's New York Business reports that the EDC has a $3.7B five-year capital plan, including $1B in life sciences investments generating up to 40,000 jobs.
Kimball has served as Industry City CEO since 2013. He is credited with redeveloping the industrial space, turning it into a job creation hub in southwest Brooklyn that is now home to more than 550 companies.
Industry City also gave Kimball exposure to tug-of-war city politics. His tenure at the Sunset Park campus included a 2017 rezoning proposal that would have allowed additional office, retail and academic use of the Sunset Park campus. The three-year effort was ultimately quashed by public opposition from elected officials.
Prior to Industry City, Kimball was CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp., where he oversaw the then-underused shipping ground's metamorphosis into a facility that is now home to more than 500 businesses. His replacement, current BNYDC CEO David Ehrenberg, announced earlier this month that he would be stepping down from the nonprofit on March 14, leaving both the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Industry City without permanent leaders moving forward.
