Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?
Marty Markowitz
Brooklyn Borough President
Brooklyn was once a manufacturing powerhouse, but sadly most of those businesses closed up shop, taking jobs with them. And because not everyone can have a master’s degree and land a high-paying job, it’s important that we make every effort to revive Brooklyn’s manufacturing and light industry base—making things by hand again and creating the jobs of today. We are seeing forward-thinking entrepreneurs filling that gap and supporting our borough’s local economy by using locally sourced materials to make everything from artisanal pickles and mayonnaise to solar-powered street lights manufactured at the Navy Yard and fresh produce grown on rooftop farms.
Sunset Park’s Federal Building #2—renamed Liberty View Industrial Plaza—is a great example of repurposing old space for a new economy. It will be a place that creates jobs and nurtures Brooklyn’s creative economy, attracting the artisans and crafts-people whose unique vision makes Brooklyn the creative epicenter of New York City. Smaller firms are increasingly threatened by displacement in Brooklyn, and the best thing we can do for them is provide them a home so that they can concentrate on doing what they do best. At the old Pfizer plant, Kombucha Brooklyn, Brooklyn Soda Works, People’s Pops and Steve’s Ice Cream are tapping into this growing movement as well.
Another example is that of the business incubators popping up in Brooklyn—incubators, for example, that take advantage of Brooklyn’s thriving food and culinary industry, help bring light manufacturing and production back to Brooklyn, and support growth of small businesses and entrepreneurs. Central Brooklyn represents one of the most economically challenged areas of the city, so I was proud to fund the 3rd Ward incubator that will help create much-needed jobs by providing affordable space, business acumen, as well as the equipment necessary to help a small business get off the ground. Entrepreneurship doesn’t know income levels, and I know that great ideas can come from anywhere. This incubator will help provide the “tender loving care” today that will grow into the Brooklyn businesses of tomorrow.
Over in DUMBO, we are witnessing Brooklyn’s exploding high-tech economy, and I have no doubt that one day Brooklyn will rival Silicon Valley in terms of high-tech ingenuity and the creation of technology sector jobs. And just recently we were proud to announce that an NYU-Poly applied science campus is coming to 370 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn, further solidifying Brooklyn as a center for innovation and higher education—“College Town, USA.”
Only time will tell if Brooklyn’s “new” economy can be sustained and how many of today’s startups can survive over the long haul. But history has shown that many Brooklyn small businesses grow into big businesses—Domino Sugar, Brillo, Alpo, Sbarro Pizza and PC Richard & Son, to name a few.