Case Study 9

Community Planning Led to the City's Industrial Plan for North Brooklyn

Background:

Evergreen, a North Brooklyn business services provider dedicated to expanding manufacturing in East Williamsburg, and Saint Nicks Alliance, a community development corporation that develops affordable housing, together were awarded a $67,500 state-funded planning grant in 2004. Their partnership was borne out of their mutual interest in attracting new business and more affordable housing to North Brooklyn. The limited state planning grant encouraged both partners to use existing staff to conduct planning and use their existing relationships with fellow CBOs and community stakeholders to build community support for the planning effort. These actions created a coalition which successfully navigated the initial planning process and led to a second state-funded planning grant of $316,980 which has focused on identifying strategic development sites.

Strategy:

Both organizations share a vision for the area, which shaped their assessment of potential development sites. Such projects may have access to an existing site acquisition fund. The coalition agreed that successful brownfield redevelopment could retain high-quality working class jobs for neighborhood residents, while simultaneously cleaning up vacant, underutilized sites and attracting new and expanding industrial businesses.

Conclusion:

As a result of the Evergreen and St. Nick’s partnership, the New York City Department of City Planning is actively consulting and coordinating with the coalition to include and build upon the coalition’s planning efforts as DCP completes the Northern Brooklyn Industry and Innovation Plan. This plan will identify strategies to promote job growth and economic activity, and ensure that core industrial areas – areas of the most intensive industrial activity – provide opportunities for existing industrial businesses to grow. DCP has worked closely with the coalition to ensure continuity in planning goals.

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