Facebook 'likes' New York high-tech recruiting

The Big Apple's ambition to rival Silicon Valley with its own Silicon Alley received a big boost when Facebook announced Friday that it will open an engineering office next year in New York, its first outside the West Coast.

The plan was unveiled at Facebook's Madison Avenue offices during an event attended by Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Senator Charles Schumer and other top officials.

“Facebook is capitalizing on what more and more tech companies are realizing: that New York City is the best place in the world to recruit and retain a talented work force,” Bloomberg said.

“We're well on our way to achieving our goal, and that is to become the world's number one hub for information technology and social media.”

Sandberg said establishing its first engineering presence outside the West Coast was a “big step” for Facebook, “one we would take only if we found the right combination of talent and community support.”

New York may not yet be able to lay claim to the high-tech crown held by Silicon Valley — home to Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Oracle, to name just a few — but it does have a flourishing tech scene of its own.

Major Internet companies such as Barry Diller's IAC have their headquarters here and the city has given birth to a number of successful

Internet startups including Etsy, Foursquare, Gilt and Tumblr.

Online music sensation Spotify selected New York as the base for its U.S. operations after launching in the United States in July.

“It's quite amazing how far the tech sector in New York has grown, even in the last three years,” said Jonathan Bowles, director of the Center for an Urban Future, a think tank that focuses on the city's economic and social development.

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