Google set to upload $250M into NYC economy
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Google announced that it plans to
invest over $250 million into New
York throughout 2021.
During the year, Google plans to continue
to build out Google’s campus presence
in New York City. Additionally, Google
announced plans to invest more than $7
billion and create at least 10,000 new fulltime
Google jobs across the United States
this year.
“This is a massive investment in New
York City by Google,” said Mayor Bill de
Blasio. “Today’s announcement shows how
we are driving a recovery for all of us. Our
economy is going to come back stronger
and fairer than ever by creating thousands
upon thousands of new tech jobs,
supporting small businesses and showing
the world the strength of New York City’s
diverse, unparalleled workforce.”
“I believe a lasting economic recovery
will come from local communities, and
the people and small businesses that give
them life. Google wants to be a part of
that recovery. That’s why we plan to invest
over $7 billion in offi ces and data centers
across the U.S. and create at least 10,000
new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this
year,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
and Alphabet.
For over 20 years Google has had a
presence in New York and has over 11,000
full-time employees throughout the state.
The company plans to invest in a long-term
campus presence in Manhattan with plans
Ongoing construction at Google’s new 550 Washington St. facility.
to create a 1.7 million-square-foot offi ce
space in Hudson Square.
Google’s latest NYC addition at St.
John’s Terminal at 550 Washington St.
topped off in November 2020 and is expected
to be fi nished in 2022 and occupied
in 2023. Construction on a facility at Pier
57 is underway and when completed will
contain an events center, public retail
amenities and about 320,000 square feet
of offi ce space occupied by Google. The
site at Pier 57 will also have 24,000 square
feet of community space for education
programs and environmental programs
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run by the Hudson River Park Trust, and
an additional 5,000 square feet of open
public space.
Google is also working to develop a
representative workforce and the company
believes that as one of the most diverse
cities in the country, New York is key to
Google’s racial equity and inclusivity commitments.
In 2020, Pichai signed on to the
NYC CEO Jobs Council, which is a coalition
of employers aiming to hire 100,000
low-income Black, Latinx and Asian New
Yorkers over the next ten years.
“I’m grateful for Google’s commitment
to the future of New York City and to
our diverse workforce,” said Manhattan
Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “As we
begin our road to recovery, this $250 million
investment is welcome news for New
Yorkers and is a sign of the vitality and
strength of New York’s technology sector.”
“Google’s commitment to our City reaffi
rms what has always been true: the talent
and diversity of New Yorkers is unrivaled,
and, despite the challenges of this past
year, our future is bright,” said Steven
Rubenstein, Chairman of the Association
for a Better New York.
A ‘Spectacular’ park idea atop Radio City Music Hall
BY CARSEN HOLADAY
On March 16, the City’s Landmarks
Preservation Commission
approved plans from Tishman
Speyer to construct a 24,000-square-foot
rooftop park above Radio City Music
Hall and a pedestrian skybridge connecting
the property to 1270 Avenue of
the Americas.
Located on the 9th fl oor of Radio City
Music Hall, Radio Park’s landscape will
be the realization of a proposal from the
original blueprint of Rockefeller Center –
though one has never been built.
“While I wish I could say that this was
an idea of our creation, this project really
has its roots in the original vision for this
center and the notion that Rockefeller
Center was conceived as a campus of interconnected,
green rooftops and terraces,”
said EB Kelly, Tishman Speyer’s Managing
Director of Rockefeller Center, during the
proposal to LPC. “We are committed to
A rendering of Radio Park. PHOTO BY TISHMAN SPEYER
making sure that Rockefeller Center is a
dynamic part of the New York recovery,
and this project feels like it is a terrifi cally
important part of that.”
Radio Park is designed by landscape
architecture fi rm HMWhite and includes
a pedestrian bridge designed by G3
Architecture Interiors Planning. The fi nished
Radio Park will consist of paved and
landscaped areas, pathways and pavilions.
A number of seating and lounging options
will be spread across the park. Visitors will
be able to access the park from both 50
Rockefeller Plaza and 1270 Avenue of the
Americas. Radio City Music Hall employees
will be able to gain entrance to the park
from inside of the building.
“As we continue to reimagine our physical
spaces and the experiences we can offer
at Rockefeller Center, we are thrilled that
the Landmarks Preservation Commission
approved our proposal, which dates back
to the earliest days of Rockefeller Center’s
conception,” said a Tishman Speyer spokesperson.
“During this time when outdoor
access is important, it is especially meaningful
to be able to provide an additional
24,000 square feet of green space at the
Center.”
Radio Park is the latest project in Tishman
Speyer’s efforts to restore and revive
Rockefeller Plaza. The Park is scheduled
to open this fall to all those working at
Rockefeller Center and their guests.
Tishman Speyer will announce additional
details about Radio Park in the coming
months. For updates about Rockefeller
Center, visit rockefellercenter.com
14 March 25, 2021 Schneps Media
/rockefellercenter.com
