Senator Montgomery Testifies in Support of Industry City Rezoning

New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises Public Hearing on Industry City

September 15, 2020

Good afternoon and thank you Chair Moya and members of the Subcommittee,

I am New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and I represent Senate District 25 where Sunset Park and the Industry City site is located. Today I make myself present as a full supporter of Industry City’s rezoning proposal.

For more than 50 years, Industry City has remained a heavy manufacturing zoning site, which has limited the extent to which it serves the community and utilizes its vital waterfront. Industry City’s rezoning proposal is not a choice between a rezoning and nothing. It is a choice between a rezoning with sizeable locked-in benefits (protected manufacturing, reduced retail, and job training and placement) vs an as-of-right alternative with unlimited office and millions of square feet of last-mile delivery warehouses. As many of you may know, I have been a strong advocate for the thoughtful and responsible preservation of Brooklyn’s working waterfront. Industry City’s rezoning proposal is the right project to elevate both the waterfront and our community.

Industry City’s commitment to the community is unquestionable. They took part in more community engagement than any other developer I have ever met and they crafted their proposal to directly reflect Community Board 7’s 197A Waterfront Plan. 

As of today, Industry City:

• Serves hundreds of local job seekers through their Innovation Lab. The Lab is an integrated employment and business development center, which provides local job seekers access to career training and job placement.
• Provides space that has allowed new and small businesses to grow and serve the community.
• Removed hotels and reduced the amount of retail space from their original rezoning plan, as requested by the community.
• Supports green jobs and sustainable development on the waterfront. They have partnered with the Red Hook Container Terminal, New York State Energy Research & Development Agency and New York City Economic Development Corporation to redevelop the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in order to serve as a port that will service the offshore wind industry, which NYSERDA will be creating. NYSERDA is an authority committed to bringing offshore clean, green and renewable energy to the State of New York. Thanks to Industry City’s role in the adjacent South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, hundreds of high-quality green jobs in the offshore wind and maritime industry are coming to our community.

To read the full testimony, click here.