Will South Brooklyn Be the Next Fashion Capital?

NEW YORK—Southern Brooklyn is going to be home to a new fashion Manufacturing Innovation Hub where every aspect of the fashion industry can be coexist in one 160,000-square-foot space in Sunset Park.
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Will South Brooklyn Be the Next Fashion Capital?
Bob Bland, CEO and founder of ManufactureNY, poses in Bryant Park, in Manhattan, on July 16, 2014. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)
Catherine Yang
12/4/2014
Updated:
12/4/2014

Brennan Manuel, (R) creator of 6AM clothing, and uteng Mo, (L) creator of Modu, a women's clothing brand, work at ManufactureNY, in the Garment Disrict in Manhattan, on July 17, 2014. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)
Brennan Manuel, (R) creator of 6AM clothing, and uteng Mo, (L) creator of Modu, a women's clothing brand, work at ManufactureNY, in the Garment Disrict in Manhattan, on July 17, 2014. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)

Yuteng Mo, creator of Modu, a women's clothing brand, works at ManufactureNY, in Manhattan, on July 17, 2014. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)
Yuteng Mo, creator of Modu, a women's clothing brand, works at ManufactureNY, in Manhattan, on July 17, 2014. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)

The city was once the center of industrial activity, then jobs bled out by the thousands decades ago. But in 2010, the number stabilized, and certain areas of manufacturing have since seen an uptick. Manufacturing and industrial jobs currently account for 10 percent of the city’s private workforce.

Reports attribute the uptick to the rise of entrepreneurs in the city opening creative start-ups incorporating tech, food manufacturing, and increased interest in the local production of goods. But a lack of affordable space has been prohibitive, and areas zoned for manufacturing allow for competing uses under current codes.

The manufacturing zones created in the 1960s are no longer productive, according to the report, and it is time to rewrite some of the city’s zoning codes.