Pursuit, the Long Island City nonprofit that trains New Yorkers for careers in technology, is building a new headquarters and training hub on the 14th and 15th floors of The JACX, the Tishman Speyer office development in Long Island City. The space will house Pursuit's new AI Jobs Institute, which Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Thursday, Oct. 22, and which aims to serve up to 40,000 New Yorkers by 2032.

What is being built

Pursuit signed a long-term lease for about 41,000 square feet, the entire 14th and 15th floors of The JACX, according to Newmark, which represented the nonprofit in the deal. Building owner Tishman Speyer represented itself. Pursuit will move its New York headquarters there.

In a post announcing the institute, Pursuit CEO Nick Simmons wrote that construction starts this winter and that the organization expects to move in by mid-2027. Between now and then, Pursuit says it is lining up programs, partners and employer commitments to fill the space on its first day.

The JACX sits within a block of seven subway lines, according to Newmark, with connections to Manhattan, Brooklyn and the rest of the city.

What the institute will do

Pursuit has spent more than a decade on one goal: moving New Yorkers from low-wage work into high-growth technology careers, pairing intensive training with employer partnerships and support that continues after a graduate is hired. The institute expands that model around jobs being created by artificial intelligence, and Pursuit lists four areas of work:

  • Workforce training: AI-enabled career pathways and Pursuit's immersive AI-Native programming.
  • Innovation: pilots and tools built with small businesses and nonprofits.
  • Policy and research: data and recommendations for city, state and federal AI workforce strategy.
  • Convening: bringing employers, trainees and industry partners together under one roof.

The building will also be home to the New York Global Tech and Innovation Center, an initiative of the Queens Borough President's Office that will connect underrepresented entrepreneurs with capital, corporate partners and global networks, with a goal of launching more than a dozen high-growth startups over five years.

Who is paying for it

The launch is supported by $10 million in public investment from New York State, the Queens Borough President's Office and other city partners. That includes $3.06 million from Empire State Development for the Long Island City hub: $1.5 million through its Office of Strategic Workforce Development and $1.56 million through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.

Private and philanthropic partners named by Pursuit include Ascendium Education Group, Wells Fargo, Google.org, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mizuho, the Siegel Family Endowment, Con Edison, Spectrum, the MetLife Foundation, Adobe, the New York Jobs CEO Council and the Partnership Fund for New York City. A national advisory council chaired by former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and including CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, will guide the work.

Already rooted in Long Island City

Pursuit has trained New Yorkers out of Long Island City for years, and Newmark described the move as building on that presence. The organization's graduates have gone on to software, data and cybersecurity jobs at employers including Blackstone, JPMorgan Chase, Pinterest, Citi and Moody's, according to the alumni Pursuit lists on its site.

How to get involved

Residents do not have to wait for the new floors to open. Pursuit's current application window is for its Winter 2027 AI-Native cohort, and applications close Friday, Dec. 4. Details and the application are on Pursuit's website, and more on the institute itself is at aiji.pursuit.org. Pursuit is also asking employers hiring for AI-related roles, and small businesses and nonprofits looking at how AI fits their work, to reach out.

Sources