Comprehensive study will highlight strategies for continued growth of tech sector in Downtown Brooklyn, Navy Yard & DUMBO<\/p>\n
BROOKLYN, NY (March 9, 2012) \u2013 Today, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, along with Council Members Stephen T. Levin and Karen Koslowitz, announced funding for a study of the Brooklyn Technology Triangle led by a coalition of stakeholders from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the DUMBO Improvement District, and private companies located in the area. The announcement was made at the sixth annual Polytechnic Institute of NYU\u2019s Leadership Forum and Innovation Think Tank, a gathering of Downtown Brooklyn and New York City visionaries. This year\u2019s forum focused on the growth and promotion of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle and included a panel with Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation President and CEO Andrew Kimball, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Tucker Reed, DUMBO Improvement District Chairman Tom Montvel-Cohen that was moderated by NYU-Poly President Jerry Hultin.
\nIn an October 2011 speech to the Association for a Better New York, Speaker Quinn proposed the creation of a Brooklyn Tech Triangle that would connect tech-oriented academic and real estate resources in Downtown Brooklyn to the nearby tech business hubs of DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The City Council will now provide $100,000 in funding for a 10 month area-wide study that will help the City determine how to best adapt available commercial space to meet the needs of tech start-ups, develop a strategy to attract new companies, and provide the MTA and other transportation providers with the information required to improve transportation within and among the three burgeoning neighborhoods. The study, which will launch this summer, is also funded by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and the DUMBO Improvement District. Preliminary study findings are scheduled to be released in 2013.<\/p>\n
Technology firms, digital and creative star-ups have grown significantly along the Brooklyn waterfront in recent years. In DUMBO alone, there are more than 100 technology and digital companies and hundreds more in other creative industries, but many of these companies are expanding at a rapid pace and struggling to find the office space and skilled employees they need to fuel their growth. The Navy Yard is home to an increasing number of clean-tech\/green-tech and creative firms and maintains a waiting list of companies looking for space. Meanwhile, Downtown Brooklyn boasts growing tech-oriented academic resources, as well as infrastructure and real estate opportunities that have the potential to attract hundreds more tech firms<\/p>\n
\u201cThis study will help us learn how to make the Brooklyn Tech Triangle a more a desirable location for tech companies to set up shop and create jobs,\u201d said Council Speaker Christine Quinn. \u201cI look forward to working with my Council colleagues, NYU-Poly, and the Brooklyn Tech Triangle coalition to leverage the study\u2019s findings to support our goal of making New York City the tech capital of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brooklyn Tech Triangle coalition also used the forum to launch an online survey, conducted by Urbanomics, of technology companies in Brooklyn and around the city. The brief survey aims to better understand the sector by asking about current and future office space needs, growth projections and location expectations. The survey, which will be up for two weeks, is available at: www.BrooklynTechTriangle.com
\n\u201cThe Brooklyn Tech Triangle, made up of Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is the new tech hub of the East Coast,\u201d said Council Member Stephen T. Levin. \u201cBy continuing to invest in this growing center of 21st century jobs, it is only a matter of time before we will be the first place people think of when they think of high-tech. This announcement of $100,000 investment is yet another of the many steps we are taking to ensure our success. It is because of the vision of Borough President Marty Markowitz and the commitment of NYU-Poly that we are able to keep moving Brooklyn forward. A special thanks is due to Council Speaker Christine Quinn for allocating money for this study. Additional thanks for continuing to improve our competitive edge go to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and president and CEO Andrew Kimball, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and president Tucker Reed, and the DUMBO Improvement District and its Executive Director Alexandria Sica and Chair Tom Montvel-Cohen. I am very proud to represent high-tech Brooklyn and I remain excited about all the great things coming out of Brooklyn.\u201d
\n“New York City is becoming a major player in the tech field and the Brooklyn Technology Triangle will be key area to this development,\u201d said Council Member Karen Koslowitz, Chair of the Council Committee on Economic Development. \u201cI recently toured the Brooklyn Navy Yard and witnessed its great potential for growth. I commend Speaker Quinn for her leadership in this exciting endeavor.”
\n\u201cEveryone knows Brooklyn is hot. We at NYU-Poly look forward to advancing Brooklyn\u2019s tech triangle,\u201d said Jerry Hultin, President of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. \u201cThe triangle supports NYU-Poly\u2019s own three-pronged i2e philosophy of invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship. We\u2019ve enjoyed the support of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in our expansions bringing more faculty labs and research into MetroTech. In DUMBO, our newly-launched incubator at 20 Jay Street promotes digital media and technology start-up companies. We\u2019ve long looked for ways to collaborate with the Brooklyn Navy Yard and we hope this City Council funding enables it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no doubt that one day Brooklyn will rival Silicon Valley in terms of high tech ingenuity and the creation of technology sector jobs, and funding the Brooklyn Technology Triangle is yet another step toward getting us there,\u201d said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. \u201cKudos to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and President and CEO Andrew Kimball, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and President Tucker Reed, and the DUMBO Improvement District and its executive director Alexandria Sica and Chair Tom Montvel-Cohen for their grand vision in growing the tech sector not only in DUMBO, but throughout Downtown Brooklyn, the Navy Yard and beyond.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSpeaker Quinn has been a key public sector partner in the Navy Yard’s emergence as a national model for the creation of sustainable urban industrial jobs,” said Andrew Kimball, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. \u201cAs we explore ways to support the rapidly growing high-tech manufacturing sector at the Yard, the Speaker’s vision, support, and advocacy is once again critical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy all accounts Brooklyn has the potential to become the East Coast capital of the tech industry in this country,\u201d said Tucker Reed, President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. \u201cIt is vitally important to our local economy to ensure that this creative community thrives here. Thanks to Speaker Quinn for helping the Brooklyn Tech Triangle initiative to move forward, we can more effectively work with our public and private partners throughout the greater Downtown Brooklyn area to support this fast growing sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDUMBO is one of the most sought after locations in New York as digital and creative firms look for space every day,\u201d said Tom Montvel-Cohen, Chair of the DUMBO Improvement District. \u201cThey are coming to be part of the existing scene \u2013 a rich community of entrepreneurs and creatives. At the same time, the firms that are here are growing rapidly – which is a tremendous opportunity for Brooklyn and the City. However, there is limited space currently available to accommodate the expansion of this sector. We’re working to solve that by looking at every option \u2013 from activating underutilized buildings and spaces here in DUMBO to creating transportation links and amenities that will help expand our existing tech cluster up Jay Street to Downtown Brooklyn, over to the Navy Yard and everywhere in between. Thanks to Speaker Quinn for helping us get started.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brooklyn Technology Triangle is an initiative led by the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the DUMBO Improvement District and private companies located in the area. This coalition seeks to nurture the growth of existing tech companies by ensuring the availability of affordable and well-situated commercial space, improved training of the local workforce and implementation of transportation upgrades and place-making solutions.<\/p>\n
Media contacts:
\nJustin Goodman (Speaker Quinn\/City Council): (212) 788-7116
\nShane Kavanagh (Tech Triangle\/The Marino Organization): (212) 889-0808
\nKathleen Hamilton (NYU-Poly): (718) 260-3792<\/p>\n
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Comprehensive study will highlight strategies for continued growth of tech sector in Downtown Brooklyn, Navy Yard & DUMBO<\/p>\n
BROOKLYN, NY (March 9, 2012) \u2013 Today, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, along with Council Members Stephen T. Levin and Karen Koslowitz, announced funding for a study of the Brooklyn Technology Triangle led by a coalition of stakeholders from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the DUMBO Improvement District, and private companies located in the area.<\/p>\n
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