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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 194-04
July 14, 2004

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES EXPANSION PLAN FOR THE BROOKLYN NAVY YARD AND REJUVENATION PLANS FOR THE FLUSHING AVENUE CORRIDOR

City Will Develop New Industrial Jobs and Manufacturing Space & Expand Shopping Opportunities for Local Community

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) President Eric Deutsch today unveiled a strategic plan to create new facilities and generate hundreds of new jobs in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, one of the City's largest and most successful industrial centers.  The expansion plan is expected to generate between 500 and 800 new jobs at the Navy Yard within the next three to five years.  To underscore market demand for industrial space within the City, the Mayor also announced that thirty-eight industrial firms representing a total workforce of 380 employees - and occupying a total of 422,300 square feet - had decided either to locate, expand or renew their leases at the Brooklyn Navy Yard over the past six months.  Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Council Members Letitia James and Albert Vann, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Chairman and Independence Community Board President & CEO Alan Fishman, and Duggal Visual Solutions President Baldev Duggal joined the Mayor for the announcement at the Navy Yard.

"Today, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, one of the City's most successful industrial centers, is bursting at the seams and it needs room to grow," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The Navy Yard expansion plan is another key part of our strategy to preserve and grow jobs in all five boroughs by diversifying our economy and strengthening the City's business environment in all sectors. Manufacturing firms will continue to play an important role in our strategy for long-term economic growth, and industrial companies need the kind of affordable and accessible space offered here. We will continue to capitalize on the Navy Yard's success and provide even more employment opportunities, especially for residents of Brooklyn. And while we create those new jobs, the City also will stimulate the development of new shopping opportunities for local residents along Flushing Avenue to improve business conditions and quality of life in the surrounding communities."

"The Navy Yard, with more than 220 private-sector tenants providing 4,000 jobs, is a great example of a place where the City's industrial sector can flourish and provide important employment opportunities," said BNYDC Chairman and Independence Community Board President & CEO Alan Fishman. "Our vision for the expansion of the Navy Yard builds upon our current success, and allows for both the expansion of current tenants and the attraction of new firms."

"The Navy Yard offers a secure, supportive manufacturing environment, and the strategic plan would increase the amount of available space by targeting large parcels of underutilized and developable land, while also nurturing industries already thriving in the Yard," said BNYDC President Eric Deutsch. "We are prepared to work with industrial companies to meet their needs, and look forward to full implementation of the plan."

"Today's announcement is further proof of Brooklyn's increasingly robust economy," said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. "This plan will benefit Brooklynites of all income and skill levels by encouraging manufacturing businesses to make their homes where they should be - in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  By creating more jobs and expanding our industrial sector, Brooklyn is once again sailing at the helm of urban America."

Building on the success of the Navy Yard's existing 3.5 million square feet of space, which is 97% occupied, the City through BNYDC will help generate new industrial capacity at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as part of a strategic plan that calls for creation of as much as 500,000 square feet of additional industrial space in the 300-acre industrial park's western section.  The new industrial expansion would extend into land now made available through the shrinkage of the NYPD tow pound located at the corner of Sands and Navy Streets.  In addition, the City will improve underutilized sections of the original Navy Yard to rejuvenate Brooklyn's Flushing Avenue Corridor through the creation of new neighborhood-oriented retail space.  The strategic plan's vision segments the Yard into the following three zones:

  • West Side District: This zone includes 20 acres of developable land targeted for the development of several new industrial facilities with as much as 500,000 square feet of space, as well as new, neighborhood-oriented retail space.  The new retail space is expected to provide additional amenities and improve the quality of life in the surrounding communities by making the Brooklyn Navy Yard a more attractive neighbor. The strategic plan would increase the number of manufacturing sites, including the launch of a new, large-scale, food manufacturing complex with shared freezer and refrigeration capabilities.  The food complex, projected to commence construction in 2006, would be more than 100,000 square feet in size.  BNYDC plans to initiate expansion activity in this district next year by breaking ground for some 180,000 square feet of industrial space. 

  • East Side District: This zone is comprised of extensive, developable property, including the recently acquired grounds of the former Naval Hospital.  The district could accommodate a mix of industrial, film studio, office and retail facilities.

  • Waterfront District: The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation will continue to operate the Navy Yard's waterfront as a regional maritime resource.  This district is currently fully tenanted with maritime businesses utilizing its three dry docks and four piers as well as extensive berthing space.

BNYDC, along with new and growing Navy Yard tenants, will bear expansion costs associated with the construction of new buildings at the industrial park, which will be financed with private dollars.  To complement the activity associated with new construction, the City is providing $71 million from its capital budget targeted toward infrastructure improvements at the Navy Yard like roads, sewers and electrical, over the next five years.

Over the past six months, 38 industrial firms representing a total workforce of 380 employees have decided to locate, expand or renew their leases at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  Firms deciding to establish new operations at the Navy Yard during this period include:  Airwear NYC, Artopia, Damascus Bakery, Emerald Holding, Evan Eisman Co., Golden Touch Antiques, Greco Bathroom & Tile Supplies, LL Metal Works, Marcap, Robert Kalka Custom Woodwork, Stitch, T&S Supplies, Tryptyck, Antiques Ltd. and Y & B Sales & Distributors, Inc.

Companies that decided to expand at the Navy Yard within the past six months include:  Agger Fish Company, Brooklyn Severe-Duty, Crye Associates, DeVore Fidelity, Duggal Visual Solutions, Elizabeth Kennedy Landscape Architects, GFD Courier, Gemini Company, Inland Sea, Jeremiah Coyle Design and Consulting, Metropolitan Artificial, and Surround Art Company.

Companies renewing leases over the past six months include:  Active Plumbing & Fire Sprinkler Corp., AIS Furniture, All County Business Essentials, Claw Construction, Diversified Packaging, Gianni Upholstery, Kazuaki Sugi Studio, M W Moss, Mercedes/St. Joe Distribution, Osborne & McLellan, and Philip Fordyce Construction.

In May, the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) announced that their Workforce Development Corporation had released an RFP for a workforce consultant to coordinate a hiring initiative with Steiner Studios and other film industry-related employers at the Navy Yard, which will bring hundreds of jobs to the area.  The consultant is expected to establish a recruitment outpost at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the next few weeks, which will be a single point-of-contact between local jobseekers, production companies and vendors involved in Steiner Studio productions.  The consultant will be responsible for establishing relationships with local community organizations and educational institutions to create a steady pipeline of candidates for production related jobs and ancillary services at the film and television production complex.  The consultant also will be responsible for conducting outreach to the Fort Greene community including the New York City Housing Authority's Farragut, Ingersoll and Walt Whitman Houses.  Steiner Studios is scheduled to open this fall.

Established in 1801, the Brooklyn Navy Yard served as one of the nation's preeminent military facilities for more than 150 years.  After the federal government closed it in 1966, the City of New York assumed ownership of the Yard and reopened it as an industrial park.  The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation, manages the Brooklyn Navy Yard under a lease with the Yard's owner, the City of New York.  BNYDC is responsible for leasing space in the Yard, developing its underutilized areas, and overseeing the ongoing modernization of the Yard's infrastructure. 







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler / Jennifer Falk   (212) 788-2958

Steve Vitoff (Marino Org. for BNYDC)   (212) 889-0808




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