Brooklyn's Industry City rezone proposal pulled, 20,000 potential jobs lost: report
Industry City is located in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn
Plans to rezone Brooklyn's mega project, Industry City, have been pulled and with it, 20,000 potential jobs.
The expansion project was slated to transform part of the Brooklyn waterfront as well as add numerous job opportunities amid a time unemployment sits at an elevated 8.4%. However, the rezoning effort was scrapped after community members and an area councilman opposed plans to expand beyond the 16-building warehouse complex that currently sits on 35 acres of repurposed industrial space, NY1 reported.
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"Over and over, we have heard from key decision makers that while the substance of the project is strong, the politics of the moment do not allow them to support any private development project," Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball said in a statement obtained by NY1.
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Industry City is a historic complex, once known as Bush Terminal, filled with warehouse-style buildings located in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. The buildings had been renovated in order to attract tenants but developers wanted to focus on expanding beyond the current 16 buildings. To do so, they needed city approval, according to NY1.
In addition to the 20,000 jobs, developers had said the project would also create partnerships with colleges.
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However, "even the historic nature of our commitments – which significantly elevated the bar for future development projects – and a seven-year record of creating jobs and opportunity weren't enough to overcome purely political considerations," Kimball's statement read.
Kimball further lambasted a lack of leadership on the project saying, "in the context of one in five New Yorkers losing their jobs and the city's fiscal crisis spiraling out of control, the leadership needed to approve this development failed to emerge."
Instead of moving forward with the expansion, which would have required rezoning, developers will work on leasing out the office space and buildings, according to the report.
The area, according to Industry City's website, has created more than 7,500 jobs, "welcoming thousands of visitors every day."
Currently, the area serves over 550 companies and more than 50 eateries and retailers, according to its website.
This article has been updated to reflect that Industry City does not have a housing component.