Post: 23-1.26 – Story about biotech investments mentions Brooklyn Army Terminal
— Posted by JVS on 2.19.23, backdated to 1.26.23
Tag: Brooklyn Army Terminal
22-10.13 – Data: 2022 BAT tenant survey
Post: 22-10.13 – Data: 2022 BAT tenant survey
— Posted by JVS on 10.22.22, backdated to 10.13.22
22-8.29 – Document: “Brooklyn Army Terminal 2022 Tenant Survey”
Post: 22-8.29 – Document: “Brooklyn Army Terminal 2022 Tenant Survey”
– Posted by JVS on 8.31.22, backdated to 8.29.22
3.18.22 – Reporting on New York Embroidery Studio lease at Brooklyn Army Terminal
As reported by the Commercial Observer:
Cushman & Wakefield represented the EDC while WRE Consulting represented NYES; asking rents were $15 to $25 per square foot.
But the tenant plans to create 500 new jobs and bring an estimated $73 million in economic benefits to the area…
Not only is the material the New York Embroidery Studio uses in the isolation gowns biodegradable, the mayor’s office said the production methods used at the facility will reduce waste and the city’s carbon footprint.
The studio has had a relationship with the city for several years now, having accepted grant funding through the Fashion Manufacturing Initiative from 2014 to 2018 for new equipment, upgraded technology and improvements to its Manhattan facility at 307 West 36th Street. It will continue to operate both locations.
New York Embroidery Studio has signed the largest lease at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in three years, city officials announced Friday…
A former military base, the terminal leases space to dozens of companies, ranging from food and aerospace manufacturing to the life sciences and museums…
City officials have been trying to shift garment-making operations out of their traditional Midtown enclave to lower-rent portions of the city such as Sunset Park, freeing up space in the central business district for more lucrative businesses. That was the premise of a controversial Garment District rezoning during the de Blasio administration.
— Posted by JVS on 3.19.22, backdated to 3.18.22
3.18.22 – Release: “Mayor Adams Announces New York Embroidery Studio Creating 500 Jobs at Brooklyn Army Terminal”
The below press release was issued by the Office of the Mayor on 3.18.22.
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Mayor Adams Announces New York Embroidery Studio Creating 500 Jobs at Brooklyn Army Terminal
March 18, 2022
Local, Women-Owned Business Will Be Largest New Lease at BAT in Three Years
Company Pivoted From High Fashion to Make Sustainable PPE for Frontline Workers, Now Growing to Help Restore National Stockpile
Announcement Comes During Women’s History Month, Builds on Mayor Adams’ Economic Recovery Blueprint Released Earlier This Month
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that New York Embroidery Studio (NYES) will be the newest tenant at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT), signing the largest new lease at the terminal in three years and filling one of the largest spaces at BAT. This expansion will create more than 500 on-site jobs, yielding an estimated $73 million in economic output for New York City. The full-service design manufacturer will take over nearly 80,000 square feet to create a state-of-the-art facility, where they will manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline health-care workers across the country.
“One week after announcing my administration’s economic recovery plan, I am proud to show New Yorkers that we are getting to work and creating jobs in our city,” said Mayor Adams. “Small and minority- and women-owned businesses must be at the core of an inclusive and equitable economic recovery, and I am proud to honor Women’s History Month by supporting NYES and women entrepreneurs in all five boroughs.”
“The New York Embroidery Studio’s expansion at the Brooklyn Army Terminal will bring 500 jobs to Sunset Park and further advance New York’s economic recovery,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “As we continue to invest in the city’s garment manufacturing sector, this is a great opportunity to support an innovative, women-led business providing life-saving personal protective equipment to medical professionals across the country. New York Embroidery Studio embodies the spirit of reinvention will bring our economy back from the pandemic.”
“The local production of PPE is essential to our health care workers and our city, so we are always prepared,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “We must be forward-thinking as we address our city’s future pandemic preparedness. NYCEDC is proud to support a local, women-led small business, like New York Embroidery Studio, with a new state-of-the-art space in the Brooklyn Army Terminal, to help them meet their PPE quotas and ensure the equipment is made in America. We commend New York Embroidery Studio for answering the call and pivoting from high fashion to sustainable PPE for our frontline workers.”
“New York Embroidery Studio has been manufacturing in the garment center for over 30 years. I am totally committed to growing the apparel industrial base here in NYC,” said Michelle Feinberg, founder and owner, NYES. “Additionally, we want to bring high fashion’s drive for innovation and quality to PPE manufacturing, by developing novel and sustainable products for our clients.”
NYES’ production facility at the Brooklyn Army Terminal
Photo Credit: NYES
At the height of the pandemic, NYES pivoted from high fashion to making PPE. Founder Michelle Feinberg and her team prototyped and made more than 590,000 hospital gowns in just nine weeks, while also keeping hundreds of New Yorkers employed when the city’s economy was shut down.
That pivot laid the foundation for the company’s expansion to NYCEDC’s BAT, where they will use state-of-the-art automated cutting and spreading machines and other advanced manufacturing techniques to produce biodegradable and sustainable PPE full-time, as part of an ongoing effort to restore the country’s national stockpile. NYES prioritizes eco-friendly production methods to reduce waste and the city’s carbon footprint. While medical PPE is typically not biodegradable, NYES has developed an innovative biodegradable isolation gown.
In the coming months, NYES will be fitting out the large-scale operation center at BAT, and the company has committed to working with Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises as contractors and subcontractors to build out the space. In addition, NYES will utilize NYCEDC’s HireNYC program, which connects businesses with qualified job seekers in the local community.
Previously, NYCEDC supported NYES with grant funding through the Fashion Manufacturing Initiative from 2014 to 2018, to offset costs associated with purchasing new equipment, upgrading technologies, and making improvements to the company’s Manhattan facility.
Michelle Feinberg founded NYES in 2001, in Manhattan’s Garment Center, offering embellishment and specialized services and skills in fashion manufacturing for the likes of Tory Burch, Thom Browne, Coach, Ralph Lauren, and Alexander Wang, as well as small and emerging New York City-based brands like Kerby Jean-Raymond.
Today’s announcement builds on the mayor’s vision for the future of New York City’s economy outlined in “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for NYC’s Economic Recovery.” The blueprint, released this month, contains 70 initiatives designed to capitalize on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate the city’s economy and increase equity and inclusivity. The blueprint specifically aims to accelerate the return to pre-pandemic employment levels, while simultaneously laying the foundation for the city’s economic future — addressing historic injustices and reimagining outdated ways of doing business.
“The road towards a full and just recovery is a long one, but we must learn the hard lessons coming out of this pandemic,” said New York City Councilmember Alexa Avilés. “We cannot continue to rely on unstable global supply chains when our community stands willing and able to produce necessary PPE right here. We welcome New York Embroidery Studio to our district and look forward to working with EDC on adding even more high-quality, good-paying jobs to our working waterfront.”
NYES Founder Michelle Feinberg at the Brooklyn Army Terminal facility
Photo Credit: NYES
NYES Founder Michelle Feinberg at the company’s Manhattan facility in the Garment Center
Photo Credit: NYCEDC
Media Contact
pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov
(212) 788-2958
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— Posted by JVS on 3.19.22, backdated to 3.18.22
11.10.21 – “Biotech giant RegenLab opens US manufacturing hub in Brooklyn”
As reported by Real Estate Weekly:
Swiss biotech giant RegenLab USA has officially opened its new new research and manufacturing facility at BioBAT at the Brooklyn Army Terminal…
RegenLab specializes in cutting edge cellular therapy and tissue engineering medical devices including platelet-rich plasmas and bone marrow cells. Its investment in Brooklyn will create up to 150 jobs in the years to come. Between operations, research, design and manufacturing positions, jobs at the site on average pay $110,000 per year and will contribute to Brooklyn’s arrival as a blossoming biotech hub. RegenLab USA’s new facility occupies approximately 15,000 s/f.
— Posted by JVS on 11.11.21, backdated to 11.10.21
11.9.21 – “Liquid Technology Increases its Operations in New York”
The below press release was issued by Liquid Technology and posted by PR Newswire:
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Liquid Technology, a best-in-class IT asset disposition service (ITAD) provider, has expanded its New York facilities this October. The new space is 31,000 sq ft and increases the organization’s footprint in the historical Brooklyn Army Terminal to 62,000 sq ft. The additional space is to support the company’s steady growth…
“This year, we celebrated our 20th anniversary. We are currently employing 90 people. Our new space gives us the ability to grow our workforce by 30%,” explained Managing Partner, Richard Greene.
— Posted by JVS on 11.11.21, backdated to 11.9.21
9.10.21 – Workforce1 ITC Center data, 4.1.16 – 8.31.21
In response to a FOIL request, I received the following data for the Workforce1 ITC Center, operating out of Brooklyn Army Terminal. The data spans from 4.1.16 through 8.31.21. (Note: I have been under the belief that the ITC Center started operating on April 1, 2016, but its grand opening was May 11, 2016, according to this press release from the Mayor’s Office.)
My analysis of the data, available here, shows the following concerning the ITC Center’s work with Sunset Park residents (those listing their primary zip code as 11220 or 11232):
- During the time period shown, the ITC Center provided services to 668 unique Sunset Park residents.
- During the time period shown, the ITC Center placed Sunset Park residents into 135 jobs, of which 75 jobs were located in Sunset Park.
- The average wage of the Sunset Park jobs that Sunset Park residents were placed into was $14.10 per hour, and the average number of hours per week for these jobs was 37.7.
- Of the 75 Sunset Park jobs that Sunset Park residents were placed into, 24 offered health insurance, 31 offered vacation and sick leave, and 0 offered child care.
— Posted by JVS on 9.16.21, backdated to 9.10.21
8.31.21 – FOIL doc: EDC doesn’t have post-2019 BAT workforce data and “has no plans” for new survey
On 7.29.21, I submitted the following FOIL request to NYCEDC:
(1) I am requesting a digital copy of the results of any surveys of the Brooklyn Army Terminal workforce conducted by EDC and completed in either 2020 or 2021. If the survey results are available in Excel format, I am requesting the data in that format, but please feel free to provide the data in any available form.
(2) If no survey results are available for either year, I am requesting any document stating when EDC expects to complete its next Brooklyn Army Terminal workforce survey.
On 8.31.21, I received a response from Records Access Officer Kurt Wintje stating the following: “NYCEDC has diligently searched its files and has located no responsive records. After consultation with the relevant project staff, I am told that at this time, NYCEDC has no plans to conduct a new employment survey of Brooklyn Army Terminal.”
Related information:
In November of 2020 (specifically on 11.27.20), I submitted a FOIL request to EDC asking for, “a digital copy of any surveys of the Brooklyn Army Terminal workforce conducted by EDC and completed in 2019 or 2020, with the exception of the survey completed in April, 2019,” which I had already received (see below). The request continued: “If the survey data is not available, I am requesting that you explain why it is unavailable in your response to this request.”
On 12.29.20, I received a letter from Records Access Officer Kurt Wintje stating the following: “NYCEDC has diligently searched its files and has located no responsive records as the the [sic] 2020 BAT workforce survey was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Related post: 11.27.20 – BAT workforce data from 2011-2019
The post above was produced using data from multiple FOIL requests asking for EDC’s data on the BAT workforce. The information I received stretches from January, 2011 through April, 2019. Here are my key findings from that data:
(A) From 2011 through 2018, it appears that the only workforce data EDC collected for the Brooklyn Army Terminal was…the number of male and female employees working at each tenant company…
(C) The available data sets do not provide zip codes for BAT workers, or comprehensive wage or benefits data (although the 2019 survey breaks down employment by type – full vs. part time vs. seasonal). Therefore, I am unaware of data showing how many local people have obtained jobs at BAT in recent years, or what kinds of jobs local workers have obtained.
(D) The workforce data collected from January, 2011 through June, 2018 shows a workforce total that ranged between 3,125 at minimum and 4,212 at maximum. However, the source of these fluctuations is unclear, and there does not appear to be a significant trend in the data. According to the data, BAT hosted 3,343 jobs in January, 2011 and 3,580 jobs in June, 2018, with increases and decreases in between. A graph of the data is available on the “Totals” tab of this spreadsheet.
(E) There is a large difference between the April, 2019 workforce total and the 2011-2018 data. The average number of employees between 2011 and 2018 is 3,446. However, in April, 2019, EDC’s data listed 4,638 workers at the complex.
However, I would attribute a key source of that change to the inclusion of 1,114 seasonal, part-time workers at Uncommon Goods who were not listed in the 2011-2018 surveys. In January, 2011, Uncommon Goods listed 65 employees. As of June, 2018, the company listed 290 workers. In April, 2019, however, the data lists 1,312 workers at Uncommon Goods, including 1,114 part-time seasonal workers (along with 198 full-time and two part-time workers). It is not clear why this group of workers was only introduced into the data set in 2019. If we take out this seasonal group, we get an overall BAT workforce of 3,524, which is 78 jobs more than the 2011-2018 average for the site.
And here is a related graph of BAT employment data from January, 2011 through June, 2018:
— Posted by JVS on 9.6.21, backdated to 8.31.21
6.28.21 – “Architecture Students Explore How Aquaculture Could Transform Industrial Brooklyn with Oysters and Algae”
As posted by Pratt Institute:
Imagine approaching the Brooklyn Army Terminal from the ferry or subway and seeing cows grazing next to the shore, where oysters are being released to begin their time cleaning the waterways, rebuilding habitats, and even providing food. Maybe there’s also an algae farm or a geothermal power plant that not only provides sustainable energy to Sunset Park’s buildings but jobs for the people who live in the neighborhood.
Those are just a few of the designs proposed by students in the School of Architecture’s Graduate Architecture and Urban Design (GAUD) program as part of the fall 2020 Design 5: Crisicity: Urban Infrastructure in the Anthropocene studio led by Alexandra Barker, assistant chair of GAUD and adjunct associate professor-CCE, and Alex Tahinos, visiting assistant professor in GAUD. The first time Barker led this studio, it focused on a building in Red Hook. “The second time, I decided to shift to Sunset Park because there’s a lot more interest in green manufacturing there,” she said.
Each student started with the same assignment: design adaptive reuse programs for the currently vacant Boiler House, part of a warehouse complex that was home to 20,000 employees during its height in World War II, and an important driver of New York City’s industrial economy in the 20th century. The Brooklyn Army Terminal now has over 4,000 employees across a range of industries, but the historic site has the capacity to house much more and to do so in a way that benefits the local community.
Each of the students’ projects incorporated aquaculture, a method of using waterways to produce food, restore habitats, and rebuild populations of endangered species. The studio worked with the Billion Oyster Project, an organization dedicated to rebuilding New York’s once-thriving oyster population and educating New Yorkers about the sustainable and culinary power of oysters. The students learned about algae farming and how other forms of aquaculture provide sustainable sources of food, fuel, and jobs, rebuilding marine habitats and ecosystems along the way.
The students were also asked to follow the principles of the Green Resilient Industrial District (GRID). A plan developed by the Sunset Park community organization UPROSE, GRID provides a framework for preserving the neighborhood’s industrial zoning, creating jobs for residents, and building resilience against climate change.
— Posted by JVS on 11.13.12, backdated to 6.28.21
Sunset Park Reports 