On March 17, 2026, the New York City Council’s Committee on Economic Development held a budget oversight hearing for the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) with Committee Chair Virginia Maloney leading a sweeping review of EDC’s borough-wide portfolio at a moment of fiscal pressure, federal uncertainty, and growing demand for accountability on job quality and equity. Watch the hearing video.
1. Big capital agenda. Workforce still secondary: EDC outlined a borough-wide pipeline—Kingsbridge, Hunts Point, Brooklyn Marine Terminal, Willets Point, Staten Island North Shore—focused on housing, green infrastructure, and food access. Workforce was meaningfully included, but still not positioned as a core metric.
2. Fiscal pressure is real—and unresolved: Council pressed on the Moody’s downgrade, weak job growth outside healthcare, outdated federal data, and federal funding risks. EDC projected resilience but acknowledged data gaps and uncertainty.
3. City-run grocery plan raises cost questions: The city-owned grocery store initiative dominated the back half of the hearing and revealed significant unanswered questions about long-term costs. EDC confirmed $70 million in capital funding for five stores (one per borough), with a third-party operator model under development.
What Comes Next: Our Take on What It Will Take
First, EDC has put a clear stake in the ground on workforce—but the system around it needs to catch up. Interim President Jeanny Pak described workforce development as one of EDC’s four strategic pillars and named several active programs. EVP ShehilaRae Stephens elaborated: “EDC has been very intentional about creating pipelines to innovative industries that are going to be able to provide long-term stability and financial growth for New Yorkers — and that is really aligned with our efforts around improving job quality and trying to get New Yorkers to a space where they’re able to sustain jobs at a livable wage.”
That framing now needs to translate into project-level accountability—starting with the site-specific job commitments tied to major capital projects.
- Kingsbridge Armory (Bronx): 3,600 jobs projected, with a stated focus on local Bronx hiring. EDC cited a $216M city/state/federal investment and approval by the City Council last October.
- Brooklyn Marine Terminal (Red Hook): 2,000 permanent jobs cited, anchored by a project labor agreement. Council Member Alexa Avilés challenged EDC directly: “What we have yet to see is a materialization of jobs, actual jobs from the property… I would like to see what jobs are resulting from any of this investment in the communities that directly abut all of these properties.”
- South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (Sunset Park): Described as over 90% complete, with “over 1,000 good-paying green collar and union jobs already created on site.”
- Hunts Point Produce Market ($405M redevelopment): EDC confirmed all existing jobs — “thousands of jobs up there, mostly union” — will be retained during construction, with the new all-electric facility projected online by the end of 2029.
- BATWorks / Brooklyn Army Terminal: Named as the future home of “the largest green workforce training facility in New York City,” connecting Sunset Park residents to green economy employment.
- Spark Kips Bay (Manhattan): Described as a life sciences and health tech education hub where “students can attend high school, college, and advanced degree programs on the same campus” as medical and life sciences employers.
Alongside these projects, EDC has made meaningful programmatic investments, though stronger connections to measurable outcomes will be important as this work evolves. EDC highlighted several programs by name:
- East Brooklyn Workforce Fund: $1.4M investment launched October 2025; five CBOs selected to connect local job seekers to construction, green economy, and real estate sectors.
- Hunts Point Economic Mobility Network: $1.4M investment, Greater Hunts Point EDC named as lead organization; focused on green economy and tech job pathways.
- Sunset Park Economic Mobility Network: Launched June 2024; connecting workers to green economy, life sciences, manufacturing, and maritime jobs.
- North Staten Island Northshore Fund RFP: Released February 2025; targeting workforce programs for young Staten Islanders on the Northshore.
- Founder Fellowship: Fifth cohort recently announced; 400 entrepreneurs across 243 startups have raised over $170M in capital since 2022.
- CUNY Startup Internship Program: 110 NYC-based students placed at 80+ startups in FY2025, with many receiving full-time offers.
- Construct NYC / Waterfront Pathways: MWBE-focused construction pipeline programs offering technical and financial support to diverse firms accessing EDC contracts.
Job Quality and Metrics — A Gap in the Record
Chair Maloney asked directly: “How does EDC conceive of its role in generating stronger job growth in the future, and how do we ensure that those jobs are high quality?” EDC’s response referenced its programs but did not cite measurable targets. Council Member Avilés pushed further on industrial sector metrics: “Having one in three tenants doesn’t say we are meeting growth targets… What is the growth target, and are we actually meeting that?”
Child Care as Workforce Infrastructure — An Overlooked Prerequisite
Council Member Jennifer Gutierrez pressed EDC on a gap conspicuously absent from its workforce framing: child care. “How is the city thinking about child care as part of its economic development strategy, particularly as a prerequisite for workforce participation?” EDC’s response was notable: “Child care is needed for all workers to be able to go to their jobs and work every day… it’s part of economic development. It can’t be separated.”
From Promises to Proof: Our Point of View
If workforce is going to sit at the center of economic development, it has to move from rhetoric to structure. Right now, we are still funding activity, not outcomes—layering programs across agencies without clear ownership, consistent metrics, or accountability. The result is predictable: jobs are promised, pipelines are named, but outcomes remain diffuse. What it will take is simple—and hard: set real targets for job quality and hiring, tie every capital dollar to enforceable workforce outcomes, and track it publicly so we know what’s working. Align the system so employers shape demand, CUNY and providers deliver against it, and projects actually produce hires—not just headlines. And fund accordingly: not for participation, but for placement, retention, and wage growth.
We’ll know it’s real when a groundbreaking includes developers, employers, nonprofits, city and state officials, and job seekers—because workforce isn’t an add-on, it’s built in from day one.