By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams on Monday signed legislation that he said will bolster New York City’s life sciences and biotech sectors by offering a tax incentive for growing biotech companies to create jobs in New York City. The new law builds on significant progress the Adams administration has made to create and attract accessible jobs in life sciences and delivers on a key recommendation to invest in the sector from Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s “New’ New York: Making New York Work for Everyone” plan.
“Employing more than 20,000 New Yorkers and counting, biotech and life sciences are critical to the success of working people in New York City,” said Adams. “Our city continues to drive innovation, and with this legislation, we are expanding research, discovery, startups, and more to tap into our city’s talented workforce. I am proud to sign this important legislation that will make the smart investments that pave the way for new scientific breakthroughs and deliver real economic mobility for diverse New Yorkers and their families.”
Intro. 1070 – A — sponsored by New York City Councilmembers Jennifer Gutiérrez and Jim Gennaro — creates a tax credit for biotech companies with a capped annual benefit of $3 million to target-growing startups. This bill would renew lapsed tax credits against the General Corporation Tax, the Unincorporated Business Tax, and the Corporate Tax of 2015 and be allowed between January 1, 2023 and January 1, 2026.
The New York City metro area is the country’s leading regional life sciences hub, with nearly 150,000 jobs and 5,100 businesses, generating over $23 billion in wages last year. Last month, Adams and Hochul unveiled the Science Park and Research Campus (SPARC) Kips Bay Master Plan for this first-of-its-kind life sciences career and education hub that will anchor the city’s industry. New York City was also recently selected by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to be the home of a new biomedical research hub in New York City that will leverage a nearly $300 million public-private investment to drive collaboration between leading research institutions and solve significant scientific challenges.
Through the EDC’s LifeSci NYC — a $1 billion initiative — the City of New York is on track to create 1,000 companies and 40,000 jobs, unlock 10 million square feet of wet- and dry-lab real estate, and generate billions of dollars in economic impact over the next 15 years. Since taking office, Mayor Adams has invested $27 million for new life sciences facilities for the City College of New York and Mount Sinai Health System, a new center for sustainability-focused biotech at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and supported the opening of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine on Manhattan’s West Side.
“As described in the ‘New’ New York plan, New York City must continue to invest in future-focused sectors where we have a competitive advantage and that is exactly what we are doing with the reinstatement of the Biotech Tax Credit,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Housing, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. “Today’s legislation sends one message loud and clear: if you are starting or growing a life sciences company, you should do it in New York City because we are invested in your success.”
