Race for Space

A comprehensive suite of programs to attract new and growing businesses to New York City.

In 2025, the City unveiled “Race for Space,” a comprehensive strategy to revitalize and reimagine office space across the five boroughs and double down on a commitment to bringing New York City’s economy back by creating thousands of new jobs for working-class New Yorkers. Race for Space will attract both national and international companies to offices—including large, well-known businesses and growth-stage companies in search of large commercial space—and create thousands of jobs over the next three years.

Race for Space programming complements the mission of the NYCEDC Business Development team: to attract relocating and expanding businesses to New York City, and to connect these growing firms to the city’s unmatched resources.

Race for Space contains several programs that will create jobs, attract talent, and address the city’s vacant office space:

• Launching a pilot Relocation Assistance Credit for Employees program (RACE), which incentivizes out-of-state companies to move to New York City and sign leases for at least 10,000 square feet of space at qualifying office buildings. Under this new program, the City is targeting 15 new anchor tenants by the end of 2026, activating over 800,000 square feet of office space and bringing an additional 3,000 jobs to New York City.
• Extending the existing Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (REAP) incentive program for an additional three years. REAP offers business income tax credits for relocating jobs from outside of New York City or below 96th Street in Manhattan to designated locations above 96th Street in Manhattan or in one of the other four boroughs.
• Extending the existing Lower Manhattan Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (LM-REAP) for an additional three years. LM-REAP offers business income tax credits for businesses relocating to lower Manhattan.
• Creating a new International Landing Pad Network, which will support growth-stage international companies in their expansion to New York City, attract new sources of innovation and investment, and grow jobs for New Yorkers.
• Continuing support for and accepting new applications for the Manhattan Commercial Revitalization Program (M-CORE) program. M-CORE aims to convert up to 10 million square feet of aging and vacant office space to amenity-rich, high-quality office space that meets the demands of the current workforce.