Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 19th, 2011

Cornell University is the winner of a competition to build a new science and engineering campus in the city: An official announcement from Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected later today.

The city has offered free land on Roosevelt Island and up to $100 million worth of infrastructure. In a major sign of strength, the Cornell bid received a $350 million anonymous donation to help build the campus. Stanford University — another top contender — announced Friday it was pulling its bid.

City officials hope a new school will spawn hundreds of new companies, along with tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity over the next three decades. Now THAT’S what I call a strong plan for long term AND short term job creation:  jobs for design and building now, and a school that will be a draw for the best from around the country and the world. Now if only Mr. Bloomberg (or a clone) went to Washington……wouldn’t it be nice if all these “presidential” political hacks actually provided this kind of thinking as opposed to their tired, pathetic, partisan drivel.

New York’s future looks bright indeed.