NYC Wants to Turn Laid-Off Bankers Into Entrepreneurs

Bloomberg unveils $45M program
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 18, 2009 6:09 PM CST
NYC Wants to Turn Laid-Off Bankers Into Entrepreneurs
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg discusses his initiative to support the city's financial services sector and encourage entrepreneurship in lower Manhattan, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

With the Wall Street mess taking a heavy toll on New York City's economy, Mayor Bloomberg is launching a program to retrain laid-off investment bankers and make the city a mecca for entrepreneurs and foreign financial firms. The city plans to spend $45 million in federal and city money to seed new businesses—ideally created by those very same laid-off bankers and traders—and provide office space for them, the New York Times reports.

Bloomberg said the city isn't waiting until the financial sector rebounds to act. “When it does, cities around the world will compete to capture the jobs it brings,” he said. “In New York City, we’re not waiting for that day to come. Instead, we are taking aggressive steps to put the city in the best position to capture growth, and we’re doing it by promoting one thing more than any other: innovation.” (More Wall Street stories.)

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