Printer Friendly Format Email a Friend


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 464-05
December 15, 2005

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF ANDREW H. KIMBALL AS PRESIDENT OF BROOKLYN NAVY YARD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the appointment of Andrew H. Kimball as President of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC).  The BNYDC Board approved the Mayor's nomination at today's board meeting.  The BNYDC is a city-contracted, not-for-profit corporation that manages the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a 300-acre industrial and commercial complex on the Brooklyn waterfront with 3.6 million square foot under roof.  The BNYDC is responsible for renting and maintaining the available spaces in the Yard, developing its underutilized areas, and overseeing the capital rebuilding of the Yard's infrastructure.  Existing tenants include a variety of industries including manufacturing, warehouse distribution, construction, theatrical set design, digital animation, contracting, and media communications.

"With his extensive experience in the government and non-profit sectors, Andrew Kimball is the perfect fit to lead the Brooklyn Navy Yard forward," said Mayor Bloomberg.  "Andrew understands the importance of the industrial sector to the economic health of the City, and I am confident that he will build on the successes the Navy Yard has achieved over the past four years.  I look forward to working with him to continue implementation of our expansion program that will create hundreds of new jobs and open up more commercial and industrial space."

"I am eager to build on the recent successes at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City's premier industrial and commercial park," said Kimball.  "In particular, we will focus on maximizing the Yard's unique development opportunities to create additional jobs and economic activity while continuing to diversify and strengthen the City's economy."

"Under Andrew Kimball's leadership, Brooklyn Navy Yard will be playing an increasingly powerful role as an engine of job growth and economic development," said BNYDC Chairman and Independence Community Bank President & CEO Alan Fishman.  "The growing success of the Brooklyn Navy Yard underscores the critical fact that industrial jobs remain an important part of the New York City economy. Working in cooperation with community and business leaders, Andrew Kimball will lead the Navy Yard to new heights of achievement."

Prior to his appointment, Kimball served as Director of Operations for NYC2012, the privately funded bid to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to New York City.  Kimball oversaw the organization's staff and all aspects of its day-to-day operations.  Before joining NYC2012, Kimball held senior positions at the New York Public Library, where he led the effort to increase annual operating support by $15 million and capital support by $100 million.  Kimball also served in a senior policy position with the State Urban Development Corporation.  Kimball's educational background includes a B.A. from Hamilton College and a Coro Public Affairs Fellowship.  A life-long New Yorker, Kimball lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with his wife, Sarah Williams, and two sons, Lucas and Eliot Kimball.

Under the Bloomberg Administration, BNYDC's annual net revenues have grown ten-fold from $400,000 to $4 million.  Total employment has expanded from 3,000 to a workforce of 4,500.  One of the Navy Yard's many success stories is Steiner Studios, a $100 million, 280,000-square-foot film and television studio.  The complex, which opened in October 2004, is now the largest sound stage on the East Coast.  When booked to capacity, Steiner employs up to 700 people in a wide range of fields. 

In July 2004, the Mayor announced a strategic plan to create new facilities and expand employment at the Navy Yard.  Now underway, the initiative is expected to create approximately one million square feet of additional commercial, industrial and retail space and generate between 500 and 800 new jobs at the Navy Yard.  The Brooklyn Navy Yard is also one of the 16 proposed Industrial Business Zones (IBZ) throughout the City as part of the Administration's new industrial policy, which Mayor Bloomberg unveiled in January 2005 with the creation of the Mayor's Office of Industrial and Manufacturing Businesses.  As an IBZ, the Brooklyn Navy Yard will provide tax credits of up to $1,000 per employee to companies who become tenants upon relocating from within the City or from out-of-state.   

The Brooklyn Navy Yard operated for more than 150 years as one of our nation's preeminent military facilities.  After closing in 1966, the City developed a plan to create an industrial park that would restore the civilian jobs that were lost when the Yard was closed.  In 1971, most of the Brooklyn Navy Yard was reopened as an industrial park.  Today, the complex is home to more than 225 businesses of all sizes employing more than 4,500 people







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler/Jennifer Falk   (212) 788-2958




More Resources