As Jiro Otsuka of Urban Future Lab told Technical.ly earlier this month, the proliferation of all these accelerators and incubators has at times created some confusion. There’s some distinction between the programs, as Otsuka pointed out, in what niches and development stages they seek out. For instance, Urban-X guides companies in building initial prototypes, while the Urban Tech Hub works with companies seeking to scale after launching their initial products. The Hub @ Grand Central isn’t focused on physical products at all, but rather software.

That’s a whole lot of “Urban” and “Hub” to keep track of.

But beyond that, how do all these programs, and the companies that come out of them, work together within the area’s budding “smart cities” ecosystem? We spoke with Robinson Hernandez, the executive director of the Hub @ Grand Central Tech, for more insight.

First of all, Hernandez emphasized that the Hub, despite its location, is not Manhattan-centric.

“We want to make sure all five boroughs are represented,” he said. “The majority of our employees do not come from Manhattan.” (Hernandez definitely doesn’t have a Manhattan bias. He’s a Queens guy, having grown up in Astoria and now living in Ridgewood.)

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Speaking of cities abroad, just as the Urban Future Lab attracted international startups for its Urban Future Competition, so has the Hub @ Grand Central Tech. Its members include companies from France, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Closer to home, there’s Memphis-based ZoomThru, which provides analytics to garage operators to make parking more efficient and will soon be moving into the Hub.