Brooklyn Progress

December 17, 2013

BROOKLYN PROGRESS

This week, Mayor Bloomberg will visit one of the five boroughs each day to highlight where each borough stood in 2001 and where it stands today in key areas. Today, the Mayor discussed the progress in Brooklyn at the new LeFrak Center Ice Rink in Prospect Park, which opens this week.

Population Growth

Since 2001, Brooklyn has grown by more than 94,000 people, bringing its population to an all-time record high of 2,565,000.

• Brooklyn’s population boom was fueled by the reversal of urban flight that has taking place over the last 12 years.
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more people are moving into the city than moving out now for the first time since before 1950.

Public Safety

Brooklyn has become a safer place to live, work and visit than ever before:

• Through December 15th, murders have fallen by more than 43 percent to record lows – 141 in 2013 compared with 249 at the same time in 2001.
• Through December 15th, shooting incidents are down by more than 35 percent since 2001 – 462 in 2013 compared with 712 at the same time in 2001.
• Through December 15th, traffic fatalities are down by more than 29 percent since 2001 – 79 in 2013 compared with 112 at the same time in 2001.

Education

In Brooklyn, 219 new schools have been created – the highest of any borough – and more than 29,000 new school seats have been added.

In 2002, fewer than half of Brooklyn’s high school students graduated within four years.

• Today, the graduation rate has risen to nearly 65 percent – an increase of nearly 33 percent and the largest increase of any borough in the city.

Economic Development

As a result of the City’s five-borough economic development strategy, Brooklyn’s economy has grown rapidly:

• Since 2002, private sector jobs in the borough have increased by more than 78,700 to over 484,000 – an increase of 19.4 percent, compared to less than three percent growth nationally.

New industries and businesses have also moved to Brooklyn:

• For example, 36 new hotels have opened the borough since 2002 – with another four under development.

• In addition, the number of leisure and hospitality jobs has almost doubled in Brooklyn during the same time.

Affordable Housing

Over the last 12 years, the City has financed the preservation and construction of more than 43,000 units of affordable housing for Brooklyn residents.

Parks

During the past 12 years, the Administration has invested $5 billion in capital improvements in city parks:

• This is the biggest investment for parks made by any administration in history.
• Across the city, approximately 1,750 parks and recreation facilities have been redesigned and upgraded.

The City also dramatically increased the size of the biggest and best municipal park system in the nation, including by:

• Adding more than 870 acres of parkland and more than 490 acres of new waterfront park land across the city;
• Creating more new parks in Brooklyn – 106 – than in any other borough, and the addition of 102 acres of parkland and 84 acres of waterfront acquisitions.

Now, approximately 76 percent of New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground – an increase of a quarter-million people in just the past six years.

Arts & Cultural Affairs

The City has completed more than 100 cultural capital projects in Brooklyn since 2001, including:

• “The Brooklyn Cultural District,” which now houses more than 40 arts organizations such as BAM, Theatre for a New Audience, BRIC Arts | Media House and UrbanGlass.

Attendance at city-owned cultural institutions in the borough increased by nearly 170,000 visitors from 2,455,208 in 2001 to 2,624,075 last fiscal year.

Compared with 2001, regrant support for individual artists and small arts groups has also increased more than three-fold to nearly $250,000.

Public Health

During the past twelve years, Brooklyn’s quality of life – and length of life – have both improved:

• On average, men in the borough live over three years longer than they did in 2001 – and women now live nearly three years longer.
• Between 2002 and 2012, the smoking rate in Brooklyn fell from 19.7 percent to 16.0 percent – a decrease of 18.8 percent.

Contact

Marc La Vorgna (212)788-2958