(Photo: CornellNYC Tech)

Cornell NYC Tech, the Ivy League school's Technion assisted expansion onto Roosevelt Island, just got a huge PR boost from three big names. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Qualcomm Founder Irwin Jacobs, and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt have all been tapped to be advisors to the new tech campus.

Now they're like the super-important ultra-rich white guy Avengers of Cornell. 

This is, of course, not the first time that the Mayor and Mr. Schmidt have been involved with Cornell NYC Tech. Mayor Bloomberg has participated in pretty much every major announcement about the campus, including personally revealing the appointment of Cornell NYC's first dean at Tumblr HQ.. Although Mr. Schmidt hasn't publicly been associated with the campus, Google has gifted the campus 22,000 square feet of office space for the next five years.

In addition to being the founder of Qualcomm, Mr. Jacobs was an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT from 1959 to 1966 and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at University of California, San Diego from 1966 to 1972. Besides the fact that he's an incredible entrepreneur, it's clear that the guy knows some stuff about tech education.

In a press release sent to Betabeat, the three titans shared their thoughts on officially becoming a part of this new venture. Some shared more thoughts than others. A little terse there, Mr. Schmidt:

“New York City’s growing tech industry is about to be infused with new talent, thanks to the historic investments made by the City and Cornell for the new campus on Roosevelt Island,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Ensuring that the new campus is connected in the right way to the thriving entrepreneurial sector is important to delivering on the promise of economic growth that is at the center of this project. I look forward to advising the university leadership on how we can achieve these goals.”

"Throughout my career as an educator and as founder of two companies based on innovation, I have experienced great satisfaction in developing unique products and growing large markets by exploiting rapid advances in applied science and engineering," said Irwin Jacobs.  "I am excited by this opportunity to work with Mayor Bloomberg and Eric Schmidt in guiding Cornell NYC Tech and the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute through a rapid transition from startup to major player in applied science education and the formation of impactful new companies. Both Cornell, where I received an excellent undergraduate engineering education, and Technion, which has trained many of the engineers working at Qualcomm Israel in Haifa, have the energy and experience to surpass our great expectations."

“I am pleased to join the steering committee for Cornell NYC Tech as they build their presence in New York City,” said Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. “This campus is an important step forward for the development of the city’s tech sector and its continued economic growth.”

The press release gives a hazy description of what the three will actually be doing for the new graduate program. It says that they "will provide advice to tech campus leadership on the educational, research, economic development and community engagement functions of the campus, helping to promote new national and international models connecting academia and industry."

We doubt that any of these three guys will be picking up some chalk to teach a class any time soon, but at least their presence gives promise that this campus will be pretty star-studded.

Artist's rendering. (Image: Cornell University)

The starchitect-designed Roosevelt Island campus won't be ready 'til sometime in 2017, but that doesn't mean the embryonic staff of Cornell NYC Tech plans to sit around for the next half decade, twiddling their thumbs. A rolling stone gathers no moss! Time and tide wait for no man! Haven't you heard there's a tech talent crisis on?

Today Cornell University (with Mayor Bloomberg, naturally) announced that applications are now being accepted for the "beta class" of the school's one-year Master of Engineering in computer science program. Classes commence in January 2013, in space borrowed from Google. So if you've been kicking the tires on a graduate degree, today could very well be your moment of glory. 

Mayor Bloomberg got a little cliche in his excitement:

“There’s simply no better place to further your education and launch your career than New York City. Getting in won’t be easy, but if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”

God willing, this was followed by a rousing display of jazz hands.

However, before you say "what the hell" and submit some half-assed, tossed-off paperwork, know that Cornell has no intention of priming the pump with lax admission standards. The announcement takes pains to point out that this first class will be "small and highly selective." And a gander at the information for potential applicants suggest that a bit of Code Academy and a couple of courses at General Assembly probably aren't going to cut it:

Successful applicants to Cornell NYC Tech should have excellent academic credentials and strong entrepreneurial interests, leadership skills and a passion for community engagement.  A bachelor’s degree (BA, BS, BE) in computer science or a related technical field is required except in exceptional cases.  All applicants, regardless of their undergraduate degree, should have taken courses on programming, discrete structures, architecture and operating systems.

And judging from the remarks of Daniel Huttenlocher, Dean of the tech campus, the expectations don't stop there:

“Candidates for the beta class must be future tech leaders, with not only the highest academic credentials but also strong entrepreneurial interests, leadership skills and a passion for community engagement.”

Applications are due October 1, so anyone who wants in better start frantically emailing potential recommenders right this minute.

High praise.

Today is the online debut of Forbes' "Top Colleges" issue. Only they should have called it the "Top College" issue, because--though the rankings aren't online yet--that big splashy profile of Instagram founder Kevin Systrom makes it pretty clear that Stanford is coming out ahead. Apologies all around to Cornell, Technion, Columbia, NYU, MIT, Harvard...

Mr. Systrom's debt to his alma mater is no secret, and Ken Auletta's New Yorker profile is really patient zero in this epidemic of Stanford Fever, but Forbes takes it to the next level, devoting a fair bit of the piece to crowning the Palo Alto Trade School as king of the academic hill, tech-wise. The feature is full of lines like this:

"These windfalls, serendipitous as they seem from the outside, are almost never accidental. In Systrom’s case his good fortune can be traced directly to Stanford."

And this:

"It was on the Palo Alto campus that Systrom got his first look at the worlds of tech and venture capital, his first internship at a startup and his first job at Google."

And this:

"Systrom’s Stanford dividends continued long after graduation."

Oh, and here's a whole video on the subject, titled "How Stanford Made Instagram's Kevin Systrom a Silicon Valley Star":

We like to imagine that Michael Bloomberg is, this very minute, summoning university officials from all over the East Coast to a top-secret summit in the abandoned City Hall subway stop, like a team of academic Super Friends.

In fact, maybe it would look a little something like this:

Bloomberg: "I thought we agreed this could not be allowed to happen," his icy gaze sweeping across the room. (Unlikely enforcers David Karp and Dennis Crowley stand next to him, cracking their knuckles meaningfully.) NYU president John Sexton is the first to look away; Cornell-Technion Innovation Institute Director Craig Gotsman stares him down. Notably absent is Harvard University president Drew Faust.

Or at least, that's how we like to imagine it.

The future.

The latest challenge for the city's grand applied-sciences plans: Some ticked-off East Harlemites, says the Daily News.

As we've mentioned before, building that snazzy billion-dollar campus on Roosevelt Island requires demolishing the antiquated old Coler-Goldwater long-term care hospital. Hundreds of patients--many of them with complex needs and financial situations--have to be relocated before October 2013.

The good news is the city has a plan: The Daily News reports that, in order to squeak in under the deadline, "city officials are racing to erect several facilities in East Harlem that will house as many as 700 Coler-Goldwater patients." But that's going to cost some $300 million and the locals are, frankly, peeved.

The term "hidden subsidy" is bandied about.

Says the Daily News:

They never bothered to ask locals what they wanted done with that land, according Community Board 11, which voted unanimously in mid June to oppose them.

“We’re not against the Cornell school,” said Matthew Washington, chairman of Community Board 11.

“We just believe there has to be more support from the city for our own residents” and a “recognition of the burden” the neighborhood will bear for these projects.”

Community leaders want more construction jobs for locals and, according to the Daily News, believe that "the mayor should assure that Cornell provides special science programs for all East Harlem schools."

However, the city would like to point out that this closure was announced in 2010, before the tech campus competition even started, much less the winner announced. Coler-Goldwater was antiquated and needed to be replaced, regardless.

Another day, another tussle.

(Cornell University)

It's easy to get the impression that literally everyone in New York City is thrilled by the prospect of the Roosevelt Island tech campus. But one population is less than thrilled, and for good reason. That's the long-term residents of Goldwater Hospital, which is due for demolition to make way for construction. DNAInfo spoke to several and found them less than reassured about their futures.

The city first announced that the hospital would close in 2010, long before Cornell-Technion won the tech campus competition. But the proposed location has provided a hard deadline for the relocation, and it's not yet entirely clear where some 400 patients are headed. And this isn't the kind of effort that necessarily goes better with a firm deadline. Advocacy group director Judy Wessler told DNAInfo that there are "a lot of moving pieces, if not worked out well, could be tragic for people." She added, "If the spaces are not available, if they’re not done right — if they’re overcrowded, not adequate or not appropriate— there could be havoc."

All this is exacerbated by the fact some patients have legal situations that could fairly be described as complicated. For example, Armand Xama was paralyzed almost immediately after immigrating to the United States. Because he only has Medicaid, not Social Security, he qualifies for a nursing home, not a less-intense solution like supportive housing. But that's not appealing to the 30-year-old, who doesn't suffer from any mental impairments.

Nor are Goldwater residents the only ones harboring doubts about these ambitious building projcts. Just last week, the Transport Workers Union raised hew and cry over the plan to sell 370 Jay Street for a second proposed applied sciences campus.

Mr. Huttenlocher

A source tells Betabeat that Mayor Bloomberg has a "big announcement" about the city's tech campus slated for his 11.30am appearance at Tumblr's 21st Street offices today.

Does that mean the New York City Economic Development Corporation is finally revealing a second-place winner for the campus competition? Nope! Although a decision was expected in January, city officials say they may have underestimated the time frame based on the ease of its negotiations with Cornell-Technion. (Stanford dropping out of the race probably streamlined the process as well, we imagine.) While the Roosevelt Island campus nabbed the city's entire $100 million grant, the EDC is optimistic that some kind of financing negotiations can be worked out to support one (or all!) of the remaining proposals: NYU in Downtown Brooklyn, Carnegie Mellon at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, or Columbia in Manhattanville.

In the meantime, we did get the early word on one big personnel decision as far as Cornell and Technion's $2 billion Roosevelt Island applied sciences extravaganza. Professor Daniel P. Huttenlocher, Cornell University’s Dean of Computing and Information Sciences, has been named Cornell Vice Provost and founding Dean of the new campus.

We first met Mr. Huttenlocher—at the Cornell Club, natch—when Betabeat was working on the first big feature about the campus back in September. Indeed, he has been spear-heading Cornell's ambassadorship to NYC, if you will. Back then, Mr. Huttenlocher, a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur who has worked at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, made a compelling case, even in the face of Standford's bold brand, for Cornell's more nimble structure, focusing on "interdisciplinary hubs focused on concepts like the mobile space, or built environment, or health informatics that involve along with the outside world. We came away with .edu stars in our eyes.

Along with Mr. Huttenlocher's appointment, Cathy Dove, who currently serves as associate dean in Cornell’s College of Engineering, will co-lead the campus as Vice President. And Technion Professor Craig Gotsman will serve as the founding director of the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute (TCII).

Here's the Mayor's full press release:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that Professor Daniel P. Huttenlocher, Cornell University’s Dean of Computing and Information Sciences, has been named Cornell Vice Provost and founding Dean of the university’s historic tech campus, home of the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute. Cathy Dove, currently associate dean in Cornell’s College of Engineering, will co-lead the campus as Vice President, and Technion Professor Craig Gotsman will serve as the founding director of the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute. Mayor Bloomberg made the announcement at the headquarters of Tumblr, one of the City’s fastest-growing technology companies, was joined by Tumblr CEO David Karp, Dean Huttenlocher, Cathy Dove, New York City Economic President Seth Pinsky, Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne, Office of Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver and representatives from Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, Bitly and YouTube.

“New York City is quickly becoming the center of the digital universe, and today’s announcements will help us get there,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “With this fantastic leadership team in place, the tech campus will help us attract and develop more talent to energize our growing tech sector. And our social media platforms will give New Yorkers the information they need on the channels they want to use.”

“Dan Huttenlocher and Cathy Dove have employed their extensive knowledge and expertise, as well as their acknowledged leadership skills, during every step of the development and promotion of our proposal, and they continue to drive our effort to bring the new campus to fruition for the people of New York,” said Cornell University President David Skorton. “And the addition of Professor Craig Gotsman as director of the campus’s Techion-Cornell Innovation Institute brings added luster to this impressive team. Cornell, Technion and the city are very lucky to have such talented people leading our exciting new campus.”

Huttenlocher, Dove and Gotsman were instrumental in formulating and promoting the winning proposal and working with the city during the selection process for the new state-of-the-art graduate campus, to be operated in partnership with the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Inaugural instruction will begin in off-site locations in the city in September of this year, with groundbreaking scheduled for 2015 and on-campus operations slated to begin in 2017. Huttenlocher and Dove will oversee the formation of the environmentally sustainable campus, whose operational costs are expected to exceed $2 billion over 30 years; the building of the campus’s expert faculty, planned to be about 280 strong in 30 years; its highly selective graduate student population, targeted at about 2,500 by 2043; as well as capital construction of the 2 million square-foot campus. The campus’s innovative academic “hub” concept, which Huttenlocher helped develop, will feature curriculum and research organized across multiple disciplines and directed toward particular sectors of New York City’s economy.

As dean, Huttenlocher will have overall responsibility for all programmatic aspects of the new campus, including responsibility for the academic quality and direction of the campus’s hubs and their evolution over time. He will develop strategic plans for the most effective ways of working with companies and early stage investors in New York City, and he will lead the campus’ faculty recruitment and entrepreneurial initiatives. He also will serve as a member of the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute Joint Governance Board and oversee the Tech Campus Advisory Committee. Huttenlocher will report to Cornell’s provost, work closely with Cornell’s deans, including Cornell Engineering Dean Lance Collins, and he will serve as a member of Cornell’s senior leadership team. He also will retain his post as Cornell’s CIS dean, until a new dean is appointed.

As the Vice President for the new tech campus, Dove will be responsible for all development, outreach and operational aspects of the campus, including areas such as human resources, external and student relations, development and facilities, IT, marketing and communications, finances and outreach. She will serve as the campus’s lead on its facility construction team, oversee corporate relations, student services and lead community outreach and programming, including K-12 programs. She will report to Cornell’s provost, will lead the Operating Committee, and she will serve as a member of Cornell’s senior leadership team. Gotsman will lead the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute (TCII), a centerpiece of the Roosevelt Island campus, as its founding director. The TCII will confer dual Cornell/Technion Masters of Applied Sciences degrees, based on a curriculum with a unique emphasis on the application of sciences, entrepreneurship and management.

“Cornell and the Technion have outlined ambitious plans for a world-class applied sciences campus in the heart of New York City, and executing on those plans will require outstanding academic leaders like Daniel Huttenlocher, Cathy Dove and Craig Gotsman,” Deputy Mayor Steel said. “Congratulations to Presidents Skorton and Lavie and the entire Cornell and Technion communities on the selection of the NYC Tech leadership team.”

“With the selection of Cornell and the Technion, we were fortunate to find the perfect partners - two world-class institutions which together shared our vision of how to change the City’s economy forever,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Pinsky. “To fulfill this bold vision will require strong leadership, and there are no leaders better equipped for this challenge than Dan Huttenlocher, Cathy Dove and Craig Gotsman. With this team at the helm, the NYCTech campus will soon begin creating the new technologies and businesses that will ensure our place as the undisputed world capital of innovation.”

“We welcome the appointments of Professor Dan Huttenlocher and Cathy Dove, to which we add that of Technion Professor Craig Gotsman as Founding Director of the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute,” said Peretz Lavie, President of the Technion. “We have complete faith that this team can and will efficiently and professionally promote the ambitious program we have planned for New York City.”

“This is an unprecedented opportunity to build a new kind of university campus, focused on technology commercialization rooted in the very best academic research, with educational programs that tie fundamentals to practice, and strong ties to the tech sector of the city's economy,” said Huttenlocher. “We are already actively working towards identifying leased space for the start-up phase before we move to Roosevelt Island, gaining approvals for degree programs, involving local tech leaders in our planning, and preparing to hire world class faculty.”

“I am incredibly honored to be able to contribute to this game-changing enterprise that will have such a great impact on Cornell, the Technion and New York City,” said Dove. “It is especially meaningful to me as a Cornell alumna, who has always believed that Cornell should have a significant presence in New York City. I’m looking forward to working closely, not only with our faculty, staff and students, but with companies, alumni, our Technion partners and our New York City and Roosevelt Island neighbors. There is a lot of work to do, but I’m excited to be moving forward toward our shared goal.”

“The Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute will be dedicated to fulfilling Mayor Bloomberg’s far-reaching vision for the future of New York City as the high-tech capital of the world. The TCII will become a fertile breeding ground for engineers, innovators and entrepreneurs who will contribute to the city’s tech ecosystem, even before they graduate. The Technion is confident that its experience in building the Israeli high-tech sector will serve it well in New York City. Having a local partner as distinguished as Cornell University, can only guarantee a runaway success,” said Prof. Gotsman.

“Dan Huttenlocher’s leadership has taken Cornell’s Computing and Information Science department to new heights as one of the top programs in the world,” said Eric Grimson, chancellor of MIT. “Dan has a keen sense of how research and education can drive entrepreneurship and innovation, and I can think of no one better to lead the new tech campus going forward.”

“Dan Huttenlocher is an inspired choice to lead the new tech campus as he has excelled in both the academic world and the entrepreneurial world,” said Jeff Hawkins, Founder of Numenta, Palm, and Handspring. “The Tech Campus’ mission is to train the engineers and innovators who will continue to fuel New York City’s rise as a global technology leader. Knowing Dan and his talents I can think of no one better suited to achieve that goal.”

“Dan is the rare academic leader who knows not only how to cultivate great engineers and innovators, but also understands both the social and technical sides of tech entrepreneurship from his own years of experience working in the tech sector,” said John Seely Brown, Former Chief Scientist of Xerox Corp and past Director of its Palo Alto Research Center said. “Dan is a brilliant choice to lead the new tech campus forward as its founding Dean, and I am confident that his students and New York City itself will benefit from his unique approach.”

“Dan Huttenlocher is the perfect choice to lead the new technology campus,” said Rob Cook, VP of Advanced Technology, Pixar (Emeritus). “Today’s engineers need both an excellent education in technology and the practical business skills to make a difference in the real world. Dan excels in both areas: he is a brilliant and innovative academic researcher and also a seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneur. I’m confident that with Dan as its founding dean, the campus will become renowned for producing technology leaders.”

In addition to his post as Cornell’s dean of CIS, Huttenlocher holds the John P. and Rilla Neafsey Chair in Computing, Information Science and Business. He has been on the faculty at Cornell since 1988, leaving at various times to work in industry, including at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center , where he founded the Image Understanding Group and served on the senior management team, and at Intelligent Markets, a small financial technologies firm where he served as Chief Technology Officer. While his academic interests are rooted in computer science, particularly computer vision, he has worked in a number of other domains including autonomous vehicles, competing in the DARPA Urban Challenge, and analysis of online social networks. He has taught in both the Department of Computer Science and the MBA program at Cornell, and he has been recognized on several occasions for his excellence in teaching, including as the New York State Professor of the year in 1993 by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and as a Stephen H. Weiss Fellow at Cornell in 1996. He has published a number of award winning scientific papers, was named a Presidential Young Investigator by the National Science Foundation in 1990, and was honored as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery in 2007. In 1998-99, Huttenlocher chaired the Cornell Task Force on Computing and Information Science, which led to the creation of CIS, for which he was Cornell’s second dean. In 2005-06, he also chaired Cornell’s Task Force on Wisdom in the Age of Digital Information. Huttenlocher currently serves on the board of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan and his master’s and doctorate at MIT.

Dove most recently was associate dean in the Cornell College of Engineering. Previously she served as Associate Dean for MBA Programs and Administration at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and also served as director of Financial Management Services for the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Throughout her tenure at Cornell, Dove has served on or led a number of institutional initiatives – most recently as co-chair of the university’s Budget Model Task Force. Prior to her arrival at Cornell, she served as Assistant Town Manager for Arlington, Mass.; as a financial analyst and marketing planner for Eli Lilly & Co.; and as a manager of Engineering Systems and Development for Anaren Inc.  She holds a B.S. from Georgetown University, an MBA from Cornell, and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

Prof. Gotsman joined the Technion in 1992. As Associate Dean for External Relations, he founded and led the Computer Science faculty’s Industrial Affiliates Program, a successful platform for promoting academic-industrial cooperation. In this capacity he conceived and developed an “Industrial Project” course, which allows students to perform software projects offered and supervised by industrial experts; and the “Lapidim” study program, which identifies and nurtures the next generation of high-tech leaders. He has founded and ran two start-up companies, one based on technology he developed at the Technion, and has consulted for numerous Fortune 100 companies. Prof. Gotsman holds a PhD in Computer Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was a visiting professor at Harvard University and ETH Zurich, and a research scientist at MIT. He has published more than 150 papers in the professional literature and has been awarded five U.S. patents.

NYU's proposed campus at 370 Jay St.

For months, Mayor Bloomberg has dangled the possibility of picking two winners for the city's tech campus competition. He even left the possibility open while announcing that the New York City Economic Development Corporation would give the full $100 million grant to Cornell-Technion to build an applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island. Now Crain's is reporting that between the remaining contestants, NYU's Downtown Brooklyn proposal may have "taken center stage" over Carnegie Mellon's Navy Yard campus and Columbia's Manhattanville proposal.

Hey, if the Fulton St. Mall can have its own Shake Shack, why shouldn't the M.T.A's derelict former headquarters on nearby 370 Jay St. be transformed into a Center for Urban Science and Progress?

Although Crain's says NYU, the M.T.A., and E.D.C. all want to make a deal to help revitalize Downtown Brooklyn, "but money is the sticking point."

Back in October, NYU was asking for $20 to $25 million from the city and pledged spending $450 million on the 200,000 sq. ft. space. Now that someone actually wants the blighted building that has frustrated officials for year, the M.T.A. is asking for more:

"NYU has asked the city for $20 million to help buy out the MTA, based largely on numbers thrown around during previous attempts to revive the beleaguered building, sources familiar with the proposal said. But the MTA's asking price has now ballooned to $50 million to $60 million."

As Crain's reports:

"The MTA controls the site via a master lease and has the right to stay in the building as long as it is using it. The 459,000-square-foot property contains vital communications equipment, and the negotiations hinge on just how much it would cost to move or replace it."

At the press conference announcing Cornell-Technion's big win, city officials seemed somewhat optimistic about the ability to find the financing for a second project, even without any of the $100 million in play. "Obviously the city budget funds other projects," said the source, "If there’s a way to make it work with other funding, that could be a possibility. If there’s philanthropy we can do, then we might be able to get somewhere."

UPDATE: Another City Hall source offered some clarification on the MTA's position. As we originally mentioned back in October, the $20 to $25 million that NYU pledged to build the center was allocated in part to cover, "infrastructure improvements and moving out old MTA equipment." The latter appears to be the real issue because the 459,000-square-foot property still contains vital communications equipment for the MTA.

“It’s pretty integral signalling equipment, it has to do with running the train lines,” said the source who believed the infrastructure was currently in use by the agency. "The tough piece of 370 Jay has been that that equipment is there." The source also noted that it wasn't so much that the cost "ballooned" as that estimates to relocate that equipment has varied through the years, including when the MTA was contemplating putting out an RFP to redevelop the building. "Clearly neither of those estimates was the city’s estimates," said the source, who also seemed optimistic about the ability to reach a deal with NYU and the MTA.

Even if NYU's Downtown Brooklyn project was selected as a second winner, that might not necessarily leave Columbia and Carnegie Mellon out. "I think we’re still working on creative ways to do all of them," said the source. " Even without the $100 million, we wondered? "There are other ways to create incentives for people to pursue these projects," the source offered obliquely.

City press conference to announce the new tech campus.

Everyone thought the decision as to who would build the new applied sciences campus in the city would be made known in January. But after Stanford pulled out of the race for a grant to build a tech campus in New York City Friday afternoon, things happened fast. Shortly after Stanford's surprise announcement, Cornell University, another top contender, announced it had received a $350 million anonymous donation earmarked for the campus. Then over the weekend, news leaked that Cornell's proposal, submitted in conjunction with Technion, Israel's Institute of Technology, had been chosen (in line with the affinity between the tech scenes in Israel and New York).

Cornell and Technion proposed a campus of 2.1 million square feet with classrooms, laboratories, housing, and a conference center at the city-owned Goldwater Hospital site, on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, according to the city.

“I’m thrilled that Cornell-Technion University will engineer our city’s economic future on Roosevelt Island. This is a game changer for our city. I look forward to working with Cornell-Technion University and local residents in the months ahead to build the most vibrant, successful campus possible,” City Council member Jessica Lappin said.

4:09 p.m. The press conference is over. "This really is a wonderful day for New York," the mayor reminded everyone.

In a word, @Cornell_Univ @TechnionLive campus will be #transformative – for Roosevelt Isle, Queens, & NYC’s economy. on.nyc.gov/tXMtTC

— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) December 19, 2011

4:07 p.m. "Is this the greatest achievement of your ten years as mayor?" Who asked that? Bloomie plant? The mayor says his two daughters are his greatest achievement, and this is a great thing for New York City but there have been other great things for New York City. Great question bro.

4:06 p.m. A reporter asks why the decision came early. Because the proposal was so strong, Mr. Pinsky said. Mr. Bloomberg noted that the mayor's office has been looking at the proposals for months and is still in discussions with three other schools.

The Ithaca campus is not closing. Ithaca still a big focus. Skorton pay as you go different funds ##cornellalumni live livestream.com/cornellalumni — Allen Ward (@Aw269Cornell) December 19, 2011

4:04 p.m. The check hasn't been signed yet, but the proposal is getting the full $100 million that was offered, even though Mr. Bloomberg had said preference would be given to cheaper proposals."We've committed the $100 million to this site," Mr. Bloomberg said. 4:01 p.m. Dennis M. Walcott, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, scoots up to the podium for a moment. "The visions of sugarplums is dancing in my head right now!" Cornell drops its press release. "MAYOR BLOOMBERG, CORNELL PRESIDENT SKORTON AND TECHNION PRESIDENT LAVIE ANNOUNCE HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP TO BUILD A NEW APPLIED SCIENCES CAMPUS ON ROOSEVELT ISLAND."

3:59 p.m. Question about the incubator facilities. "We intend to have incubation facilities right as part of the campus complex." Teacher training on Roosevelt Island and throughout the city for techie K-12 education.

3:56 p.m. We're on questions. The campus would nearly double the number of engineers graduating every year, Mr. Pinsky said.

3:53 p.m. Nitasha reports from the ground that Cornell put up $1.5 billion and is planning a "pay as you go" operation, with reveue streams from tuition. LocalResponse's Nihal Mehta is standing in the back of the room, she notes.

3:52 p.m. Seth Pinsky of EDC thanks everyone; this is an "Erie Canal moment for our city," as in could create economic advantages for New York for "many generations to come." Carnegie Mellon announces it will continue to work on its proposal for a tech campus in Brooklyn.

3:46 p.m. David Karp is talking.

(twitter.com/nycmayorsoffice)

3:44 p.m. Bloomie says the campus could have water taxis. Then Ms. Lappin takes the podium. "We're very happy to hear you talk about water taxi service. That's something we've been lobbying for a very long time," she said.

3:42 p.m. Mr. Stringer: "We are a city on the move and I would not want to be the mayor of Silicon Valley today because here we come."

First task: teach New Yorkers to pronounce "Technion" :-) - ##cornellalumni live on livestream.com/cornellalumni

— Technion Israel (@TechnionLive) December 19, 2011

3:39 p.m. Scott Stringer, Manhattan borough president. How many elected officials get to speak at this thing? We haven't even gotten to City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin yet, and she led a Facebook Twitter and email campaign to bring the campus to Roosevelt Island, and hundreds of New Yorkers responded, according to a press release.

3:33 p.m. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, of the 14th District which includes Western Queens, the East side of Manhattan and Roosevelt Island, takes the stage to say some generic boostery things. "We are the center of many areas, finance, media, healthcare... now we're going to be the center of high tech." Oh hey, the campus has a Twitter account! "Serkan Piantino, super early Facebook engineer is here," reports Nitasha.

3:30 p.m. Showing a video of aerial renderings. "Wowwwwwwwww," reports Betabeat's Nitasha Tiku over Gchat. "Video looks very cool. It's like a scene from AI. The Spielberg movie." The video plays; dramatic music. Reporter flashbulbs. "The idea is to set up the opportunity for spontaneous interaction between people, between organizations both academic and corporate, and make it a living laboratory," Mr. Skorton said, likely a reference to the oft-lauded "serendipity" that happens in Silicon Valley (guy behind you at the bike store is a Googler, taxi driver has a startup, etc.).

3:26 p.m. The campus will offer masters degrees from its "hubs" as well as dual PhD from Cornell and Technion, Mr. Lavie said. "We decided to go away from the traditional structure of a university," he said. "Instead of having faculties we are going to have hubs, and the hubs will be flexible. You can see now the first three hubs we have envisioned on Roosevelt life, the healthier life hub, the connective media hub, and the built environment hub."

Rendering of the Cornell-Technion campus on Roosevelt Island.

3:24 p.m. Mr. Skorton talking about attracting talent now. "Very importantly, we need to retain them in New York City, as many as possible for as long as possible," he said. There are 4,654 views on the Cornell livestream of the presser.

3:20 p.m. Mr. Skorton again and Mr. Lavie presenting infographics to illustrate the synergy between the two institutions. "We envision a ring of companies around the campus," said Mr. Lavie, in order to mentor and employ students.

3:16 p.m. Technion president Peretz Lavie found out he got the job on Friday, when he got a call saying he needed to come to the event. "We are not going to have an extension of the Technion or the Cornell, we are going to have something new," he said.

3:13 p.m. Obligatory joke about hiring Bloomberg after his term is up. Thanks, Cornell president David Skorton. "This is not a time for a touchdown dance for Cornell or Technion. This is a time for a touchdown dance for New York City." Let's see one!

3:10 p.m. "Incredibly aggressive schedule;" first programs will be running in a few months in 2012. The city is also still negotiating with NYU, Columbia and Carnegie Mellon, to help them realize their proposals in some way, Mr. Bloomberg said.

Mayor Bloomberg.

3:08 p.m. Still the mayor, although he's handing it over to the schools soon. Talked about Cornell's history of entrepreneurship and Technion's presence in New York City, including 5,000 employees mostly at its medical center. "The Technion brings international star power... which is fitting because we are the most international city."

3:06 Part of the proposal includes a $150 million fund for startups that stay in New York for three years.

3:04 p.m. The tech campus will generate more than $23 billion in economic activity over next three decades, the mayor said, as well as generate 20,000 construction jobs and 8,000 permanent jobs. He says the campus will spin out naturally into Long Island City and Queens. Talking about how Cornell and Technion proposal was the best, "boldest."

3:01 p.m. David Karp, Alan Patricof and Sandy Weill are in attendance.

3:00 p.m. 10,000 pages if you added up all the proposals from all schools, says Mr. Bloomberg. Official award to "two world-class institutions," Cornell and Technion.

2:57 p.m. The mayor takes the podium. Over the past ten years, the mayor's office has worked hard to diversify the economy. The press's eyes glaze over every time they heard about the five borough economic diversification plan but it was not a joke, it is something that has really happened. Long windup here, Bloomie. Quotes recently-disproven statistic that NYC has surpassed Boston in VC investment.

Bedouin saying: "Beware of the patient ones..." - ##cornellalumni live on livestream.com/cornellalumni — Technion Israel (@TechnionLive) December 19, 2011

2:41 p.m. The presser hasn't started yet. Betabeat's Nitasha Tiku reports Julie Wood, deputy press secretary, is wearing a red dress [Press Secretary Stu Loeser writes in with a correction: the dress was orange, and not an homage to Big Red. Apparently we were blinded by all the carnelian]; Cornell president is wearing a gold Apple pin "People are lined up against the walls to the side and back. Cornell sent a bus, an Ithaca campus-to-campus bus." Leslie Torries President of the Roosevelt Island Operating Coorporation is present. There is an Israeli flag next to the American flag. Technion says, on Twitter, "Hello America! :-) We have our Nobel Laureate Dan Sheechtman here. - ##cornellalumni live on http://livestream.com/cornellalumni."