Director of MAS Planning Center Eve Baron and MAS Senior Planner Susanna Schaller review the most important issues raised at last week’s panel discussion on the future for manufacturing in New York City.

A few years ago, many believed that manufacturing was dead in New York City, but now it is widely understood that manufacturing jobs are critical to a diverse, decentralized, and healthy economy as well as to a greener New York. Manufacturing jobs are also good jobs, which pay $10,000 more per year than restaurant work or entry-level retail jobs. Plus, over 60% of manufacturing jobs come with health care coverage, unlike most restaurant and retail work.

MAS arranged two tours related to the theme of its April 28 panel discussion, Manufacturing a Greener New York. The first of these took place this past weekend. The second, Look for the Union Label takes place on Friday, May 22, 2:00 p.m.

President of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), Andrew Kimball, led a MAS bus and walking tour of the extraordinary industrial park that is the Brooklyn Navy Yard last Friday afternoon, briefing tour-takers about the site that contains 40 buildings, 4 million square feet of leasable space and 5,000 employees. On our first stop, we saw the Perry Avenue Building, the nation’s first multi-tenant, multi-story green building — in fact a LEED Gold Building. (All future buildings at BNY will at least meet LEED Silver standards). To our right was the red brick 1889 Paymaster’s Building where burial shrouds for Hasidic Jews were made (niche market, indeed). Striking juxtapositions were everywhere. Continue Reading>>

A few years ago, many believed that manufacturing was dead in New York City. But now it is widely understood that manufacturing jobs are critical to a diverse, decentralized, and healthy economy as well as to a greener New York. Manufacturing jobs are also good jobs, which pay $10,000 more per year than restaurant work or entry-level retail jobs. Plus, over 60% of manufacturing jobs come with health care coverage, unlike most restaurant and retail work.

Join us tomorrow night and listen to an outstanding panel discuss opportunities and challenges ahead from their varied perspectives.

Manufacturing a Greener New York: More Industries, More Jobs
Tomorrow Night – Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., Reception to follow.
At The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue, MAP.
Moderator: Adam Friedman, executive director, New York Industrial Retention Network. Panelists: Andrew Kimball, president and chief executive officer, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp.; Omar Freilla, founder and director, Green Worker Cooperatives; Rebecca Lurie, director of development, Consortium for Worker Education; and Dawn Ladd, founder and president, Aurora Lampworks.

$15, $10 MAS members. Purchase tickets online or call 212 935 2075.

In light of the City’s plan to rezone 25 blocks of the Gowanus Canal corridor, MAS is conducting an investigation of the area’s historic resources, including the canal itself. Although the Gowanus Canal is sometimes better known for the pollutants from decades of heavy manufacturing and industrial use which earned it the nickname “Lavender Lake,” the canal should also be considered a historic industrial landscape. In fact, the waterway has been officially recognized as eligible for inclusion on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.  MAS recently completed a historic resources survey of the Gowanus Canal rezoning area, and will expand the study to include the other blocks along the canal and adjacent to the rezoning area that may be affected by the rezoning. The survey has already identified several unprotected potential historic buildings and structures, many of which are featured in this slide show.  Continue Reading>>

The Department of City Planning is holding a hearing today about its proposal to rezone 25 blocks along the Gowanus Canal to allow for a mix of uses, including residential, commercial, retail, light industrial, community facility and artist spaces.

MAS believes that existing businesses in this thriving manufacturing district should be nurtured and safeguarded, and that the rezoning presents a tremendous opportunity to create space for new industries and jobs. We are concerned that, given the area’s industrial past and present, and the lack of adequate sewage and storm-water infrastructure, new residential development may not be the best solution for the Gowanus neighborhood. Read our full statement here.

The video above is also available as a podcast below, and through iTunes.

For more information about MAS advocacy on Gowanus, click here.

The City is proposing to rezone 25 blocks along the canal to allow for a mix of uses, including residential, commercial, retail, light industrial, community facility and artist spaces. The Department of City Planning will have a hearing tomorrow about the rezoning. MAS will be there and share how the thriving manufacturing district could be a tremendous opportunity to nurture and safeguard existing businesses and create space for new industries and sorely needed job growth. Continue Reading>>

Joining founder of the Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint and Williamsburg Ward Dennis were: moderator and president of the Society for Industrial Archaeology Mary Habstritt; MAS director of advocacy and policy Lisa Kersavage; president & chief operating officer of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Andrew Kimball; and preservation consultant to the Austin, Nichols, warehouse rehabilitation Robert Powers. Continue Reading>>

Greenpoint Manufacturing & Design Center (GMDC) – the premier not-for-profit industrial developer in New York City – was one of ten New York City places honored by Place Matters at its tenth anniversary and awards ceremony in May of this year. GMDC, located at 1155 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was celebrated for creating a vital gathering space.

The organization has rehabilitated five vacant North Brooklyn manufacturing buildings for occupancy by small manufacturing enterprises, and a historic spinning house is currently in the process of restoration. Rehabilitation of these buildings has made more than 700,000 square feet of space available for 100-plus tenants, triggering the preservation and creation of over 500 blue collar jobs. Continue Reading>>

Describing MAS as a “civic group” advocating for the preservation of Admiral’s Row in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, NY1 covers the ongoing debate over the future of the area on its website today, but does not mention the mid-August visioning session MAS convened with community representatives, architects, preservations, and other experts to explore alternatives to demolition of the historic buildings.

MAS officially presented the outcomes of this visioning in the form of initial plans to the owners National Guard and future owners City of New York/Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation at a Section 106 meeting last week. This fall, MAS and local groups will continue to expand and enrich these alternative plans by presenting them to the public for feedback and input. For more news, Continue Reading>>

Yesterday, MAS testified at the City Planning Commission hearing regarding the Willets Point rezoning plan. First and foremost, MAS stressed that the plan, which includes an urban renewal action that will allow for the use of eminent domain, must reflect the results of an inclusive planning and monitoring process. In regards to the rezoning – from manufacturing into a mixed-used residential and commercial district – MAS suggested the City conduct a thorough examination of the plan’s implication for long-term, industrial and manufacturing job growth, including a justified strategy deployment of public resources tied to agreed upon community benefits. Finally, MAS raised concerns over the purported high standards of sustainable neighborhood planning Willets Point aims to achieve. The full testimony is after the jump. Continue Reading>>