Featured by DNAInfo. 

Officials cut a ribbon Thursday to open New York University’s new Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) in Downtown Brooklyn.

The center, which will focus on addressing the challenges cities face as their populations grow, is part of a larger plan by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to boost technology education in the city.

“NYU CUSP will spin off hundreds of new companies, create thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic activity for the city,” Bloomberg said at the ceremony. “It will drive innovation and lend even more momentum to our booming tech sector, which is creating good-paying jobs for New Yorkers every day.”