Yeah, it's cheap city-owned land and a chance to get in on NYC's bid to become the innovation capital of the East Coast.
Right but why not use the local schools who have better resources and roots here?
I agree with you, but the reason stated in the article by an anonymous source is reputation.
I hope NYU-Poly wins the bid but the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship is not quite there yet like it is in places like Stanford. (even though that's in the school's marketing efforts)