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December 6, 2018

Pratt Center has been one of New York City’s most outspoken advocates for a strong industrial policy for over a decade. 

In this edition of our newsletter, we highlight successes over the past year in moving the City to implement some of our key proposals and lay the foundation for future actions.

One of the major threats facing New York City's manufacturing companies has been the encroachment of hotels, self-storage facilities, offices and entertainment uses into industrial zones, which directly displaces some manufacturers and drives up rents throughout the area. 
 
This year, Pratt Center and partners' more than decade-long fight to stabilize real estate in industrial areas paid off with the passage of two important zoning changes: one to protect industrial areas against self-storage facilities and the other against hotel development.

Read about why we support restrictions on Hotels and Self-storage

 

Furthermore, the Department of City Planning finally fulfilled its commitment to analyze land use challenges in the North Brooklyn Industrial Business Zone and to develop new zoning recommendations which might be used as a template throughout the city. While much remains to clarified and refined, two significant recommendations would prevent office development and large entertainment venues from locating in industrial areas.  

We mapped the extraordinary concentration of industrial businesses in North Brooklyn to visualize the potential impact of the City's proposed zoning changes.  View Map
 

Eighteen months ago, New York City was prepared to initiate a rezoning of Manhattan’s Special Garment Center District without any provisions for retaining the extraordinary cluster of fashion- and apparel-related firms.

Now, as a result of the intervention of a working group organized by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, the City is putting into place a more comprehensive approach, which includes tax incentives, a non-profit, industry-ownership model, workforce training, and a program to improve the competitiveness of the existing firms as an alternative to the protective zoning. Pratt Center played a leading role on the task force, and we are continuing to work with the industry’s leadership to ensure New York’s vibrant, constantly innovating fashion ecosystem continues to be the greatest concentration of designers, producers, fashion schools, showrooms, and textile and other related businesses in the world.

Read Testimony delivered by Pratt Center's Adam Friedman:

Garment Center should inform future mixed-use solutions
Preserving an Important Industry and a Vibrant Ecosystem

 

On November 30, Pratt Center's Made In NYC initiative launched its third annual Gifted & Talented holiday campaign to encourage New Yorkers to purchase locally this holiday season and support our Made In NYC network of talented and creative manufacturers. This year's campaign shines a spotlight on the extraordinary diversity of NYC’s local food and beverage products. It also includes an exceptional array of wide-ranging gift ideas that will surprise and delight. The entire collection of food and gift items can be found in the 2018 Gifted & Talented Guide.
 
Made in NYC’s Instagram channel (@madeinnewyorkcity) will highlight products and participating companies through the end of December 2018. 

 
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Made In NYC Week shines a spotlight on NYC manufacturers and factories in all 5 boroughs
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New York City is home to almost 6,000 small manufacturers employing 72,000 people. They make everything from pianos (Steinway in Queens) and landing gear for spacecraft (Vahl in Brooklyn) to food, fashion, film and furnishings.

The manufacturing sector is a proven source of good jobs for individuals with limited education and other barriers to employment in many of the city’s most distressed communities. For example, manufacturers in the Bronx, the city’s poorest borough, pay an average salary of $42,675 per year. Over 14,000 Bronx residents are employed by local manufacturing companies and live in neighborhoods with exceptionally high unemployment rates. In addition, many industrial activities, from bus repair to the storage of building materials, are essential to the efficient operations of the city.


Read more in our Making Room for Housing & Jobs and What Makes the City Run
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