New York City Council approves plan for Garment Center

The City will implement a set of targeted zoning changes with real estate and programmatic support. The initiatives will provide fashion manufacturers with the long-term stability needed to maintain their foothold in the historic home of fashion. The citywide strategy includes the creation of a 200,000-square foot garment production hub at the Made in NY Campus in Sunset Park, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) said in a press release.

The new plan addresses rapid diversification of industries in the Garment Center, whose 66,000 jobs across industries is expected to grow to 72,000 by 2021. As the district has grown, its economic profile has changed: although fashion office space has grown by 17 per cent in the past five years, 60 per cent of the area’s jobs are now in non-profit, healthcare, entertainment, and IP services.

“The plan removes a decades-long ineffective zoning mechanism that will finally allow the Garment Center to achieve its potential as a mixed-use neighborhood that includes significant office space alongside manufacturing, wholesale, and showroom space,” the release said.

“We’re preserving the City’s fashion manufacturing capacity both in its traditional home in the Garment Center, and with investments across the city,” said Mayor de Blasio. “The vote ensures that the Garment Center will continue to thrive as a mixed-use neighbourhood - and that New York City will always be the world’s fashion capital.”

The zoning changes lift the cumbersome 1:1 preservation requirement that prevented as-of-right office conversions and led to disinvestment in building infrastructure. The zoning changes also include a new special permit to curb hotel development throughout the entire Special Garment Center District.

Non-zoning tools will preserve garment manufacturing space, with mechanisms including a customised tax incentive programme that requires property owners to provide long-term, affordable leases for fashion manufacturers; and funding support for the public-private acquisition of a building to permanently house garment production. These strategies are further bolstered by other investments in the district and programmatic support for garment manufacturing and fashion businesses located across the city through partnerships with industry stakeholders.

The approval of the new plan is a culmination of a nearly two-year effort between the administration, Speaker’s Office, Manhattan Borough President’s Office and local and industry stakeholders. (RKS)

ALCHEMPro News Desk – India