EDC President Leaving City Post in June
By Terence Cullen March 25, 2015 12:15 pm
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Kyle Kimball is stepping down as president of the Economic Development Corporation after nearly two years on the job.
Mr. Kimball is the last Bloomberg aide to leave City Hall, and plans to stay until June so Mayor Bill de Blasio can find a replacement, according The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the departure. He’s wrapping up a seven-year tenure with the EDC, which negotiates the sale and lease of city-owned land, which included expanding new industries to New York and setting up a ferry system on the city’s waterways.
“The seven years I have served in the senior leadership of NYCEDC have been the most fulfilling of my professional life,” Mr. Kimball said in prepared remarks. “In addition to the transformative projects we’ve helped catalyze, strong growth of good jobs we’ve supported, open space we’ve created, and the innovation economy we helped build, I’m proud to leave behind a strong, talented and sustainable organization.”
As president, his role was to ensure older industries had a smooth transition into the 21st century, while luring new businesses and sectors into the city. This includes fostering business-friendly environments for startups, training low-income and immigrant workers to find better work and coordinating billions of dollars in investments, according to the EDC.
It’s unclear what’s next for the executive, but he told the paper he wanted to focus on searching for a new job. By announcing, Mr. Kimball said he’s avoiding searching for work in secrecy, according to The Journal.
Joining EDC in 2008 from the private sector, Mr. Kimball worked with his predecessor, Seth Pinsky, on megadeals such as the 2-million-square-foot technology campus on Roosevelt Island and a $1.1 billion plan to develop the Seward Park sites on the Lower East Side. During that time, EDC officials also coordinated a deal to redevelop more than 20 acres of land at Willets Point into a large commercial and residential property.
Mr. Bloomberg promoted him to president of the EDC in July 2013, after Mr. Pinsky left for RXR Realty. Before joining the EDC, Mr. Kimball worked for Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, as a vice president at both firms.
Mr. de Blasio kept Mr. Kimball on the job when he took office last January. The mayor credited the EDC leader with boosting economic development while watching out for the middle class. Kimball helped develop a ferry service throughout the city, which Mr. de Blasio in his State of the City this year announced would be running by 2017.
“Kyle has gotten us off to an energetic start, and we’re deeply appreciative,” Mr. de Blasio said in a statement.
An EDC spokesman said Mr. Kimball will remain a board member for Brooklyn Public Library, New York City Housing Authority and NYC & Co., the city’s tourism booster.
