Industry and Economic Development

Welcome to the Industry and Economic Development page where you can learn about the working group goals and recommendations, and view the meeting agendas, notes, presentations and other materials.

Background

Industry and Economic Development is a wide-ranging topic that seeks to find strategies for creating new jobs and supporting existing businesses, whether they are based in an office, warehouse or art studio. Gowanus serves as a local economic hub with a diverse mix of commercial and industrial jobs, a characteristic that’s woven into the canal’s history. As the neighborhood’s economy continues to change and evolve, a central topic is how to support existing and new businesses, as well as promote job-generating uses in the industrial, arts, cultural and creative sectors of the local economy.

During the winter and spring of 2017, the Department of City Planning and sister agencies worked with community members, businesses , organizations and local elected officials to discuss city-based programs/resources and to identify gaps and opportunities for businesses inside and outside the Industrial Business Zone (IBZ), create a list of key infrastructure and transportation needs, develop a workforce development plan to support local hiring and job training opportunities, identify how land use and zoning can support businesses and job-generating uses and potential recommendations for geographic areas, and identify overlapping issues or goals from other working groups, such as sustainability, arts and cultural uses, and public realm. The working group was supported by staff from related City agencies: the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Documents and other information from working group meetings and public workshops can be found in the document library.