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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 046-04
March 03, 2004

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES EXPANSION FOR BROOKLYN INDUSTRIAL COMPANY FEDERAL JEANS

$20 Million In Projects Add Over 200 Jobs in the Bronx and Queens

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that Federal Jeans Inc., an importer, manufacturer and distributor of denim products, plans to build two new light manufacturing and warehouse distribution centers in the Bronx and Queens to complement its fast-growing business operations in Brooklyn.  The company was designated to acquire and develop a 156,000-square-foot site in the Zerega Industrial Park in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, and is working with the City to acquire a 270,000-square-foot parcel in Far Rockaway, Queens.  These new facilities will create about 200 jobs in addition to the existing 100 jobs at its Brooklyn facilities.  Federal Jeans President Yoram Moussaieff, Economic Development Corporation (EDC) President Andrew M. Alper, and Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Robert W. Walsh joined the Mayor for the announcement at Federal Jeans headquarters in the East New York Industrial Park.
 
“Federal Jeans’ plan to expand its operations will more than triple the number of its employees in New York City,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “This is in addition to the company’s Brooklyn headquarters and its showroom in Manhattan, and will make Federal Jeans a presence in four of our five boroughs. Our Administration’s economic development policies are working, and this project is in keeping with our commitment to diversify our economy and foster growth in all five boroughs to strengthen the City’s vital industrial and manufacturing business sector.  Federal Jeans was founded here in New York City, and I am proud that the City has played an integral part in its continued success.”

“Much of our company’s great success is a result of the cooperation and support we’ve gotten over the years from the City of New York,” said Federal Jeans President Moussaieff. “EDC’s maintenance and improvement programs make it easy to do business in the industrial parks.  And EDC’s Real Estate Division has been invaluable in helping us find the right property for our expansion.  It is good to know that we will be able to continue to grow and provide many new jobs for fellow New Yorkers.”

“We’ve simplified our RFP process to make it easier for smaller industrial companies to submit proposals for City-owned sites,” said EDC President Alper. “And that effort has been very successful. The designation of Federal Jeans for the Bronx property is a direct result of the new streamlined industrial proposal process, and we expect to be making announcements about the distribution of a number of other industrial properties in the very near future.”

“The expansion of Federal Jeans is an indicator of the strength of business districts throughout the City,” said SBS Commissioner Walsh. “The City supports more than 100,000 jobs through programs like In-Place Industrial Parks, Empire Zones and other publicly leveraged industrial programs and initiatives. This is another great example of how the Bloomberg Administration is working with the private sector to bring jobs to all five boroughs.”
 
In the Bronx, Federal Jeans plans to invest $10.5 million to construct a one-story, 118,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility on a City-owned vacant lot at Seward and Zerega Avenues.  The building will consist of about 103,000 square feet of warehouse space and 15,000 square feet of office space.  The Bronx project is a result of a Requests for Proposals issued by EDC on behalf of the City in keeping with the Administrations commitment to foster development of quality industrial space to enhance the growth of the City’s vital industrial sector. 

In Far Rockaway, Queens, the company plans to build a 150,000-square-foot light manufacturing and distribution facility on a 270,000-square-foot vacant lot located between Beach 77th and Beach 84th Streets, within the Rockaway Empire Zone and Arverne Urban Renewal Area, one of ten Empire Zones throughout the City managed by SBS.  The company estimates the cost of this project at $10 million.

Once completed, Federal Jeans anticipates employing nearly 70 workers in the Bronx and 130 in Far Rockaway.  In addition, Bronx and Queens projects will create more than 150 jobs during construction.  Committed to hiring from local communities, Federal Jeans is working with the Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation to develop a hiring program at the nearby Hammels Houses public housing community.
 
In 1999, with the help of the New York City Industrial Development Agency (IDA), Federal Jeans was able to purchase three parcels of vacant City-owned property in East New York to build about 100,000 square feet of additional warehouse capacity to expand its existing adjacent 62,400-square-foot facility. That expansion allowed Federal Jeans to nearly double its workforce from 46 employees to 90.  Without IDA help, the company would have purchased a facility in New Jersey where it had identified a site at considerable lower cost.

The East New York Industrial Park is home to more than 70 businesses that employ about 2,000 workers in light manufacturing jobs.  It is one of 11 industrial parks managed and maintained by the City.  Zerega Industrial Park occupies 250 acres in the Bronx.  It is home to more than 50 light manufacturing companies ranging from automotive and electronics to fuel oil distribution, with more than 3,000 employees. It is centrally located with access to Westchester County, Connecticut and upstate New York, as well as New Jersey, Queens and Long Island.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler / Jennifer Falk   (212) 788-2958

Michael Sherman / Janel Patterson   (EDC)
(212) 312-3523




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