Studio Brooklyn at work. Brooklyn 102 - Sixth chapter on a productive Borough

BROOKLYN 102 sixth chapter on a productive borough

authors

Bram D’hoedt Jeroen Kessels Jérôme Kockerols Tara Op de Beeck Margot Proesmans Michaël Sarens Reinaart Vandersloten Jeroen Vandervelden

promotors

Tom Thys Ward Verbakel

Studio Brooklyn at work, volume 1

Studio Brooklyn Brooklyn 102 on a productive Borough Studio Brooklyn sixth chapter sixth chapter on a productive borough

sixth chapter on a productive Borough

Bram D’hoedt Jeroen Kessels Bram D’hoedt Jérôme Kockerols Jeroen Kessels Tara Op de Beeck Jérôme Kockerols Margot Proesmans Tara Op de Beeck Michaël Sarens Margot Proesmans Reinaart Vandersloten Michaël Sarens Jeroen Vandervelden Reinaart Vandersloten Jeroen Vandervelden

Thesis voorgedragen tot het behalen van de graad Master of Science Thesis voorgedragen tot Architectuur het behalen in de ingenieurswetenschappen: van de graad Master of Science in de ingenieurswetenschappen: Architectuur Promotoren: Tom Thys Promotoren: Ward Verbakel Tom Thys Ward Verbakel

Academiejaar 2012 – 2013 Academiejaar 2012 – 2013 Master of Science in de ingenieurswetenschappen: Architectuur Master of Science in de ingenieurswetenschappen: Architectuur

Š Copyright by k.u.leuven without written permission of the promotors and the authors it is forbidden to reproduce or adapt in any form or by any means any part of this publication. requests for obtaining the right to reproduce or utilize parts of this publication should be addressed to k.u.leuven, Faculty of engineering – kasteelpark arenberg 1, B-3001 Heverlee (BelgiÍ). telefoon +3216-32 13 50 & Fax. +32-16-32 19 88. a written permission of the promotor is also required to use the methods, products, schematics and programs described in this work for industrial or commercial use, and for submitting this publication in scientific contests. all images in this booklet are, unless credits are given, made or drawn by the authors (Studio Brooklyn).

BROOKLYN 102 sixth chapter on a productive borough

Presentation of Studio

12 10 20 Students return to Belgium

Brooklyn: varieties on city life and other master projects,

12 10 24 Pin-up 4: quick start and case study proposal

aSro, leuven

launch of Studio Brooklyn

12 11 07

First meeting Studio Brooklyn, aSro, leuven

application deadline Studio

Pin-up 5: Site analysis + experiment

2011-2012 blog

12 11 29

Pin-up 6: individual session design proposal

12 12 19 Pin-up 7: “does your project

Brooklyn and other master

make sense?” + brief contract +

project studio’s

extrapolation borough

decision by PoC council of

13 01 09 Pin-up 8: Group discussion

aSro concerning all master

‘Case Study’ + Group

project applications

discussion ‘102’ + Group discussion ‘Bny’ + Group

aSro informs the 8 applicants

discussion project design

they are approved to join Studio Brooklyn

13 01 25 Pin-up 9: individual worksession project design

12 09 05 Pin-up 1: presentation individual literature study and substantive interest

12 09 16 arrival students in Brooklyn, nyC

12 09 30 arrival tom thys and ward verbakel in Brooklyn, nyC

12 10 01 Pin-up 2: research presentation

13 01 29 review 2 at kul studio de molen

13 02 13 Pin-up 10: individual worksession project design

27 02 13 Pin-up 11: individual worksession project design

13 03 13 Pin-up 12: individual worksession project design

12 10 02 meeting with Justin moore, city planner for the City of new york

with lars Ficher and kris Scheerlinck

department of City Planning, at the Brooklyn Planning Office Construction site visit leeser

27 03 13 Pin-up 13: feedback and divided worksessions

architecture 17 04 13 Pin-up 14: individual 12 10 03 Seminar Site Documentation

worksession project design and

talk by andrea kahn at GSaPP

postersession with Brooklyn

room 114

101 students

lecture by dense Scott Brown at GSaPP wood auditorium

26 04 13 Pin-up 15: individual worksession project design

12 10 07 Pin-up 3: workshop 08 05 13 Pin-up 16: individual 12 10 08 Site visit Brooklyn navy yard

12 10 09 Brooklyn 101 exhibition at mex

worksession project design

15 05 13 Pin-up 17: individual worksession project design

12 10 13 Faculty return to Belgium 28 06 13 Final presentation

acknowledgement

on behalf of all students of Studio Brooklyn 2012-2013, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all people who made our graduation project possible. we would like to thank our two promotors, tom thys and ward verbakel, for their unexhaustible effort to inspire us from start to finish and for their knowledge they have shared with us. we would like to thank the students of Studio Brooklyn 2011-2012 for their indispensable work that served as a strong foundation. we want to express our gratitude to Justin moore (GSaPP), mojdeh Baratloo (GSaPP) and Giovanni Santamaria (nyit), for sharing their knowledge, and to david Graham Shane (GSaPP), dongsei kim (GSaPP) and maarten van acker (Parsons) for guiding us in our research. we also would like to thank Joseph Haberl (leeser), Peter Coombe and michaela metcalfe (Sage and Coombe) for helping us discover Brooklyn, and matthew Hopkins and emilie evans (BldG92) for guiding us around the Brooklyn navy yard. lastly, we are grateful to aSro, nyit, Columbia university, and GSaPP, for making Studio Brooklyn possible.

Studio Brooklyn

brooklyn 102: sixth chapter on a productive borough

brooklyn made brooklyn changed creative impulse transport in need greener choices

brooklyn navy yard: industrious enclave

the evolution of brooklyn navy yard brooklyn navy yard today surrounding tissue bny and the sixth borough

case studies 8 case studies

individual design proJects channel vision east river exchange

what about wallabout big and small

bird’s nest

border spectrum

on top

e.a.t.

methodology

Sixth Chapter on a Productive Borough presents the studio results of the ku leuven master of architecture graduation thesis “Studio Brooklyn at work, a guide to the post-crisis city”, an investigation carried out during the academic year 2012-2013 by eight graduation students. Brooklyn 102, the first of three studio books is a sequel on last year’s Brooklyn 101 and explores Brooklyn as a productive city. the second studio book, an elaborate site analysis, is limited to a single enclave in the borough, the Brooklyn navy yard. the former shipyard, now industrial park, in many ways represents the spatial-economic tendencies present in the borough. the third and last studio book is a collection of 8 case studies. throughout the collective research, personal design proposals have arisen and led to the student’s individual graduation design theses.

Chapter index

i

Introduction

1

BROOKLYN MADE an insight into Brooklyn’s industrial history 30 32 34 38 40

2

Brooklyn CHANGED tendencies on a spatial-economical level 52 56 60 68 72 74 81

3

Creative class niche products marketplace People climates new workspaces essay: niche economy

TRANSPORT in need Stagnations in transportation development 126 128 130 132 134 136 140 144 147

5

Globalisation-glocalisation the decay and revaluation of industrial zones and their organization Policies of new york City Scale shift through adaptive reuse unemployment work/live relationship essay: Productive Brooklyn under pressure?

CREATIVE Impulse a new entrepreneurial economy?

98 100 102 104 106 111

4

From farming villages to city a growing industrial landscape Brooklyn’s multiproductive heyday rise and fall Brooklyn burns

unlocking the hinterland Faster, bigger, standard on a highway to hell? rediscovering old ways on a lighter note mass transport for everyone? waterfront greenway moving goods, moving neighborhoods essay: transport movements

GREENer choices From polluted grounds to fertile soil 162 164 166 168 170 172 174 177

Polluted Brooklyn recovering Brooklyn nyC’s garbage problem nyC’s solid waste management nyC: electrical load pocket energy crossroads Brooklyn based leed buildings essay: Cleaning up Brooklyn’s act

e

EPILOGUE

r

References

manufacturing decline

Policies

manufacturing decline

unemployment and racial diversity

work / live per sector

Job centers per sector

residences per sector

map index

average real estate value/m2

train and shipping by 1920

Current overland network

Public transportation

Park and Greenway

Public transport proposals

Brownfields

Solid waste facilities

waste transfer stations

energy production

leed buildings

introduction

Ma

nh

att

an

The Bronx

Queens

Brooklyn

Staten Island

24

INTRODUCTION

| Comparison

INTRODUCTION

Brooklyn at work 183 km²

1 139 200

109 km²

551 300

59 km²

281 km²

151 km²

935 100

1 133 000

Brooklyn, one of the five new york City boroughs, is globally observed as manhattan’s alternative little brother and a lifestyle mecca. the image of a hip Brooklyn is partly shaped due to the association with disused industrial sites, found throughout the borough. But these sites also reveal a very different story, one of a declining industrial powerhouse and world-scale harbor. with this decline of urban manufacturing, white-collar jobs gained momentum in nyC. the financial meltdown of 2008 just across the east river in manhattan resulted in a deep recession and posed questions about the long-term livability of a city built entirely on a paper economy made up of the traditional Financial, insurance and real estate industries. as a response to this crisis, new kinds of typologies are developed. as happened before, Brooklyn is again the test ground for these interventions. urban farming, co-working and manufacturing cooperatives are some of the examples of new ideas finding space within the borough’s aging industrial framework.

Combined with the arrival of the creative class, Brooklyn becomes a test-case for productivity in the post-crisis city.

243 100

Surface = total labor force Share = unemployed Population

Manufacturing in the five boroughs

25

Brooklyn Made An insight into Brooklyn’s industrial history Brooklyn is a child of its time. As a city that never knew an urban form prior to industrialization, the recollection of its past as an industrial capital is never far away, yet harder to imagine in today’s changing productive environment. 200 years of manufacturing growth resulted in today’s enormous variety of both spatial industrial heritage and social empowerment.

Understanding Brooklyn’s history allows to situate the city in its current post-crisis context.

From farmland to industrial capital 1636 - 1800

The story of Brooklyn starts in 1636, when Dutch settlers crossed the East River to discover a rolling, densely forested landscape. Over the next few years six small towns were founded;

Gravesand,

Flatlands,

Flatbush,

Breuckelen, New

Utrecht

and Bushwick. These colonies were tossed back and forth between the English and the Dutch for several years until they were united in 1683 as Kings County, part of the English colony of New York. During this

1

early period (1698) the population of Kings County roughly added up to 2000 inhabitants, whose main source of income was farming. These settlements grew slowly, developing mainly around the remaining Native American trails. The absence of newcomers to Kings County can be attributed to the high price of land.

Farmland because

could the

be

high-priced,

proximity

of

New

2

York ensured a market for all farm products. In 1790 the first official U.S. Census showed that the population of Kings County had grown to 4500 inhabitants nearly one-third of whom were African, accounting for

the

highest

concentration

of slavery at that time. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, factories started to form Brooklyn’s

3

backdrop, replacing the farms in the western and northern parts. Farming remained a primary activity in the

30

eastern and southern parts of the

1

1690 Lefferts - Zabriskie Homestead

Borough, as late as the early 20th

2

1699 The Old Stone House

century, until it was replaced by

3

1880 Brooklyn farm

residential Brooklyn.

4

1767 Brooklyn topology and buildings

5

ca. 1800 Farmland ownership

Brooklyn made

| From farmland to industrial capital

maps

4

5

Historic maps

31

A growing industrial landscape 1800 - 1880

The Town of Breuckelen (Brooklyn) was Kings County’s most prosperous town, profiting from the emergence of neighboring Manhattan’s great port, allowing easy trade of Brooklyn’s farmland products. At the turn of the century Brooklyn’s waterfront was big business: from speculators to merchants, everyone was buying along the East River. Industry was starting to define Kings County’s waterfront,

especially

industries

deemed too polluting for neighboring Manhattan

or

businesses

searching

for

larger

1

simply

industrial

infrastructure, such as the Brooklyn Navy Yard (1801) and the Red Hook Basins (1825). Most industries were strongly dependent on their proximity to water, such as sugar and

oil

refineries,

textile

mills,

ironworks and chemical factories, but also shipyards, trading companies, slaughterhouses

and

markets.

2

Further spurring on waterfront activity was the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. An enormous flux of European immigrants

accompanied

this

industrial growth. By 1855 nearly half of King’s County’s inhabitants were foreign-born, filling the low wage jobs at the waterfront’s emerging factories. This influx along with the merging of the City of Williamsburg

3

and Town of Bushwick with the City of Brooklyn, ranked Brooklyn as the third-largest city in the United States

32

after New York and Philadelphia.

1

1820 Brooklyn village

Albeit it was described as one vast

2

1860 Havermeyer Sugar Refinery

slum full of foul odours and filth.

3

1850 City of Brooklyn

4

1855 View of Brooklyn from East River

5

1898 Brooklyn

Brooklyn made

| Industrial growth

Historic maps

Commuter neighbourhood

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS

Sorage and stores

BROOKLYN PIERS

Initial catalyst

FULTON FERRY LANDING

Strong mixed production Machinery,paint,sugar,coffee packaging and food trading

DUMBO

Shipbuilding and derivatives

WALLABOUT BAY

Metal products Machinery Refineries

WILLIAMSBURG

image

4

3 5

33

Brooklyn’s multi-productive heyday 1880 - 1929

By 1880 Brooklyn’s industry had expanded to five thousand factories employing

over

49.000

people.

Brooklyn’s population also continued to grow, with 566.663 inhabitants in 1896 as the towns of New Lots, Flatbush, Gravensand, New Utrecht an Flatlands were annexed between 1886 and 1896. Shortly afterwards, in 1898, Brooklyn itself was annexed, to become a borough of New York City. At the turn of the century innovations in transportation brought

1

new bridges (Brooklyn Bridge 1883, Williamsburg Manhattan

Bridge Bridge

1903

1909),

and trolley

lines, elevated railroads and subway lines reaching farther into Brooklyn and

traversing

the

East

River,

resulting in the end of ferry services.

These evolutions in transportation caused a mushrooming of newer, non

water

dependent

industries,

radiating inward from the waterfront, developing

along

rail

2

routes

which connected Brooklyn to the Hinterland.

Other

advancements

such

technological as

building

methods with concrete, the assembly line manufacturing system and the elevator, allowed for higher and more efficient storage and manufacturing spaces. Between 1880 and 1929 manufacturing

jobs

were

widely

3

available in Brooklyn.

Although the industrial expansion was

explosive

and

uncontrolled,

several similar industries appeared

34

heavy industries

clothing (men/women)

chemicals, dyeing

food, tobacco, leather

wood

potential development

Brooklyn made

| Multi-productive

1

1918 Brooklyn Army Terminal

2

1915 Newtown Creek

3

1905 Living room garment workshop

4

1922 Manufacturing districts

5

1920 Brooklyn

maps

4

3 5

Historic maps

35

to cluster together. Water dependent and

noxious

activities

could

be

found by shorelines and canals.

In the vicinity, derivative activities were situated such as boxmaking, electrical plants, leather and food processing, landward such

as

and

even

further

more

diverse

activities

the

garment

industry,

publishing and other miscellaneous activities took place. This clustering allows for co-operation between the various small companies, and the ability to collectively benefit from

1

external economies on which they depend. Brooklyn, like Manhattan, never adopted ‘the mass-production factory type’ as these often require a lot of space, and within the density of Brooklyn parcels are small and expensive.

Therefore

Brooklyn’s

output was not comparable to other American

industrial

cities,

since

mass production and a strong single product identity were not inherent to its production mode. Instead, Brooklyn’s metropolitan production was characterised by diversity and

2

distribution of work.

36

Brooklyn made

| Multi-productive

1

1896 Downtown Brooklyn

2

1920 Eberhard Pencil Factory

image

1930 Industry City

37

Rise and fall 1929 - 1960

After taking a hit with the stock crash of 1929, Brooklyn’s industry revived during World War II. Supported by the second New Deal, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief program made the government the largest single employer in Brooklyn.

Secondly a revival was spurred on by an ever growing population. For the first time, women were allowed to enter the workforce, claiming the spots of men who went to war. This

1

war effort, stretching over different branches of Brooklyn’s economy, resulted in a record high 950.000 people employed in manufacturing (in NYC as a whole), and a shift in neighborhood

demographics

near

federal owned industrial sites, which had by far the largest employment gains.

After the war, Brooklyn had lost its productive energy and passed

the

2

peak. Large union strikes proclaimed the

awareness

of

social

rights

and the inequality in wage. Larger manufacturers sought out cheaper locations,

up-state

or

overseas,

encouraged by both a governmentfunded nationwide highway system and the advent of containerization.

Containerization

in

turn

resulted

in larger vessels, which required deeper harbors, ultimately leading to the decline of port activities along the East River. It became easier and cheaper to transport globally, than to continue business within Brooklyn.

Only a small number of specific niche

38

manufacturers remained. Brooklyn’s

1

manufacturing heyday had passed…

2

1945 Strike

3

1951 Brooklyn

Brooklyn made

| Downward

1938 WPA Surplus Clothing Warehouse

map

3

Historic maps

39

Brooklyn Burns 1960 - 1990

A million people left NYC in less than thirty years, known as the white flight. This movement brought about

the

deterioration

of

blue

collar neighborhoods. Union strikes continued during the 60’s, further crumbling down the economy and the city itself. Due to the fiscal crisis in the 70’s, NYC had to avoid bankruptcy in 1977 by asking a federal loan, which was rejected by President Ford.

The citywide electricity blackout later

1

that year turned out to be the last drop. Riots emerged in the poorest neighborhoods,

especially

from

Greenpoint to Crown Heights, with the arson of multiple building blocks on Broadway in Bushwick. After this, even the last merchants left, and Brooklyn became “Crooklyn“ in the 80’s, as coined by Spike Lee. After a record high unemployment in ‘93 (13,5%), things took a turn for the better. The rise in nationwide economy and the decline in crime that came with it, hinted at a possible new future for the Borough.

2

40

Brooklyn made

| Burning

1

1977 Brooklyn Burns

2

1977 NYC Bail Out

3

1991 Brooklyn

map

3

Historic maps

41

Brooklyn Changed Tendencies on a spatial-economical level Brooklyn needed to reinvent itself to compete in an overall context of globalization and glocalization. Adaptation proves to be Brooklyn’s loyal expedient. Yet the evolution towards a new kind of productivity means finding a balance in developping different aspects of Brooklyn’s regrowth, as envisioned by both governments and entrepreneurs. This chapter describes the changes and current tendencies on different spatial scales, by sketching the use of the built environment, the current work-live situation and the complex and intertwining organizational structure of New York’s economic environment.

Globalization Historically manufacturing existed in

working for you) or off shoring (moving

places where either raw material was

your manufacturing to lower-wage

easy to excavate or in places that lay

countries) resulting in headquarters

on the intersection of trade routes.

and subsidiaries where previously

Because of the poor communication

only manufacturing took place.

and the inadequate transportation, the market stayed fairly local.

In

case

of

labor-intensive

manufacturing, it was mostly offshored By improving technology, especially

to third world countries. The cost of

communications and transportation

labor union in

means, this local market had the

unprofitable,

possibility to grow. Colonization and

and minimum wage elsewhere made

the industrial revolution expanded

production

the

There

required more skilled labor, the firms

was a steady growth until World

could easily just relocate to more

War I. Afterwards the economical

pleasant regions, resulting for the US

growth diminished resulting in the

in the shift from the Manufacturing

stock market crash of 1929 and the

Belt, located at the great lakes in the

following depression worldwide until

North to the Sun Belt, located around

the late thirties or even early forties.

California in the South.

market

considerably.

In 1944, towards the end of World War II, the Treaty of Bretton Woods was signed. This agreement had some major consequences for economy worldwide. It stated that currencies should be measured with each other by their relative value towards gold, free trade and the diminishing of the duty taxes. After World War II the rebuilding of Europe created a significant amount of jobs, boosting the global economy of which especially the US profited. Together with the standardization of containers in 1968, this led to the fact that production could be executed “everywhere�.

Firms started outsourcing (other firms

52

| | Globalization brooklyn changed

the US was simply

whereas cheaper.

long If

hours

production

Local Local

outsourcing outsourc

offshoringoffshorin Globalization Globalization

scheme

outsourcing offshoring

1

2

production for the local production for market the local market

production for the local production for market the local marke

1

Scheme of localization

2

Scheme of globalization production for the local market

Globalization schemes

53

Glocalization Nowadays more and more people

a marketing strategy, implying the

are becoming conscious about what

understanding of the glocal mindset.

they buy, being it fair trade products

This means that firms have to act on

or design. A tendency is to be more

two different scales, the global and

appreciative

made

the local one. The global scale means

locally, resulting in both a bottom-

of

recognizing the benefits of a global

up and top-down movement. The

market, and the local scale means

bottom-up movement started around

understanding the context of the

1969 with David Brower, founder of

local market, its heritage and culture.

Friends of the Earth, who coined the

Production then incorporates both

phrase “Think globally, act locally”.

global and local elements, represented

He

consideration

by means of packaging, implementing

about the health of the planet, taking

the native language, and by the use

fossil fuels, global warming etc. into

of the Internet (a website for every

account and promoting sustainability

country the firm operates in). However

and environmental soundness. This

this concludes that the local element

started small, and grew incrementally,

still is subordinate to the standardized

driven by politics and community

production process.

expressed

products

his

marketing, From this idea sprouted the “locavore” food movement, It

Glocalization thus is the blending of

meant becoming conscious about

a global (whether or not with a local

food and its impact on the planet, and

touch) with a local market. In Brooklyn

advocates buying locally produced

the appreciation of locally made

seasonal food and reducing transport

products started with the creative

pollution. In major cities where this

class residing in the abandoned

movement has a strong base, this

industrial buildings of Williamsburg

idea of local food expresses itself in

and Dumbo. Artists started to promote

the exploitation of unused roofs for

Brooklyn by the means of branding

farms and community gardens.

giving it the image of being strongly involved locally thus attracting similar

The awareness of a local production

minded people. The branding effort

could enable a niche market and

proved to be successful, and the

maintain local capital. Although more

population density of NYC allowed the

expensive than global products the

local and the niche market to become

knowledge of its production leads to

sustainable and even prosperous.

more appreciation and becomes a

On the other hand, multinationals

selling point.

still reside in Brooklyn, like the newly emerged IKEA in Redhook, making

54

Nowadays the phrase ‘Think globally,

Brooklyn the place where particular

act locally’ is adapted worldwide by

niche markets and multinationals

governments

coexist.

and

businesses

| | Glocalization brooklyn changed

as

Glocalization

scheme

2

3

1

production for the local market

1

Scheme of glocalization

2

Local adaption of a global product

3

Local adaption of a global product Production for the local market

Glocalization schemes

55

The decay and revaluation of industrial zones and their organization Before 1960, a diverse land use

industrial uses about noise, smell and

defined the urban layout of the city,

traffic, hinder normal operation and

with a mere notion of manufacturing

cause a lower efficiency. Secondly,

districts where there was a denser

the rise of rental prices by gentrifying

concentration of production, allocated

newcomers, would drive industrial

as districts with ’unrestricted use’.

users out.

Residential use always intertwined,

These strict zoning laws as such have

and manufacturing districts spread

proved to be largely inadequate in

out far within the borough.

keeping industry and manufacturing within

the

city,

as

employment

The 1961 zoning resolution came

numbers in the sector decimated from

into existence not on account of

950.000 in 1947 to around 73.000 in

intolerable

residential

2011, 20.000 of which in Brooklyn.

areas, but rather the other way

New York, as a manufacturing city,

around, to protect industrial and

was hit harder by this downturn than

manufacturing territories. It was a

the US average. Between 1970 and

defense mechanism as a reaction to

2000, NYC lost over two thirds of

the industrial flight, achieving better

its manufacturing jobs, compared

equipped industrial space by relieving

to a mere 8,4% nationwide average

the burdens of practicing industry in the

in the same period. The North East

city, and at a more competitive price.

in general suffered from the effects

The area of M-zoned land (reserved

of domestic population movement

for industrial uses) was but a fraction

towards, and the lower resource price

of the former known manufacturing

for both land and labor in, Southern

districts. Being noncumulative zoning,

and Western America.

burdens

in

this also meant new residential use suddenly became prohibited. The

As a consequence, less strongly

regulations could be used as an

defined M-zoned land in the city

indirect planning tool for cleaning up

was

certain neighborhoods together with

place for other uses, up till 2002.

the direct slum clearance plans, by

Since the turn of the last century,

declaring them manufacturing zones.

a more drastic approach is used

After all, 50% lived in non-residential

in order to meet changing needs.

area’s citywide before the 1961

Manufacturing

resolution.

characteristic industrial heritage along

gradually

rezoned,

zones,

making

especially

the waterfront, experience a revival as

56

Today, the same two main reasons

interest is shown by different parties.

still stand in favor of this kind of

On the one hand there is Brooklyn’s

zoning. Firstly, the complaints by non-

new exigent population boom and

>100% gain

> -25% loss

25 - 100% gain 0 - 25% gain

-25 - 0% loss

brooklyn changed | Zoning

Map

1.000.000

900.000

800.000

1969 28% USA 28% NY region

700.000

2012 14% USA 3,5% NY region 1,9% NY City

25M

percentage employed in manufacturing 600.000

20M USA NYC

500.000

15M

400.000

10M

300.000

5M

200.000

0

100.000

2010

0

NYC

1990

1970

Brooklyn

US Manufacturing decline

57

the realization that over 40% of its

residential uses before 2009 can now

shoreline was made inaccessible by

be given residential status without

landbanking over the last half of the

consequences,

century. This is facilitated by a network

from eviction and providing rent

of technically illegal non-conforming

stabilization. The amount of buildings

uses, like loft conversions, seeping

affected is unknown, but is estimated

in. Also, manufacturing was largely

to surpass several thousands. Mayor

replaced by the health sector and by

Bloomberg strongly opposed the law,

services. Lastly, the contemporary

claiming it would ‘hurt the economy by

manufacturing uses have changed

driving manufacturers out’.

environmentally,

This expression of dissatisfaction is

partly

diminishing

tenants

the industrial-residential conflict.

not the first opposing motion. There

This has resulted over the last decade

will always be a need for industry

in the creation of inclusive special

within the city, and recently the

mixed-use zoned districts, abandoning

declining numbers in manufacturing

the

and

employment tend to carefully rise

waterfront rezoning (2005), facing

again, as a result of improved

Manhattan. Both of these impose

manufacturing conditions. Productive

an extra pressure on manufacturing.

startups in Brooklyn boom, continuing

Waterfront residential rezoning acts

the

as a follow-up to, and a regulation and

and the reduction of company size.

maximization of, the overwhelming

The intention of further protecting

non-conforming use that preceded

manufacturing zones within specially

it. Now high-rise development is

provided

allowed

noncumulative

strategy,

replacing

fragmentation

spatial

in

and

businesses

economic

smokestacks

structures, like Industrial Business

with condos. Whereas mixed zoned

Zones (IBZ), were introduced under

land nevertheless facilitated desired

Mayor Bloomberg in 2005, but not put

exchange between different uses, it

into law. These interventions promise

also tended to the maximization of

a safeguard from rezoning, while

profit within vague predetermined

in practice, they also incorporate

limits concerning these uses. Retail

exchange through the consent of

and offices tend to be more attractive

creative class industries. In fighting

financially

and

the Loft Law, Bloomberg arranged a

storage space, pandering to the

than

compromise that these IBZ’s wouldn’t

initial fear that initiated noncumulative

be affected. He could only keep 13 out

zoning.

of 16 IBZ’s out of harm. Strikingly, the

Another important change was the

3 rapid gentrifying IBZ’s in Brooklyn,

passing of an update to the Loft

Williamsburg,

Law in 2010, signed by New York

Bushwick, were no part were no part

State

of this compromise.

Governor

workshops

Paterson.

Lofts

in Brooklyn illegally converted to

58

protecting

brooklyn changed | Zoning

Greenpoint

and

map

2002-2012 rezonings IBZ - protected

1961-2002 rezonings

Current M-zoned

1920 industrial districts

Manufacturing decline

59

Policies of New York City New York City (NYC), New York State

Small

(NYS) and the United States (US)

another agency of EDC, is more

each support local manufacturing

focused on commercial businesses in

in their own ways. Every entity

NYC. They provide direct assistance

of

and

institution

benefits

for

provides the

different

preservation

of

Services

promote

(SBS),

neighborhood

development. A subdivision of SBS

manufacturing in Brooklyn. First of

is

all there is New York City, which has

Division (NDD). A part of NDD’s

the closest contact with the business

workload is the Avenue Program,

world. The agency concerned with

aiming to improve and revitalize

making NYC economically stronger

the economic corridors by business

is

attraction, façade improvement and

the

Economical

Corporation

Development

(EDC).

The

sub-

department in charge of industrial development

is

the

Industrial

Development Agency (IDA). They help

companies

to

relocate

to

NYC, undertake capital expansion or

develop

IDA

existing

creates

applicable,

operations.

programs

consist

of

which, sales

if tax

exemption, mortgaged recording tax waiver and/or triple tax-exempt bond.

Apart from this agency, EDC also offers

general

incentives

every

business can apply for. In 2011 they released the Industrial Development Program (IDP), which stated twentytwo new incentives to support the industrial sector. Some aspects of this IDP were the creation of suitable spaces for industrial business (like the

Brooklyn

helping

new

Army

terminal)

businesses

or

getting

started by providing extra financial and entrepreneurial support.

60

Business

brooklyn changed | Policies

the

Neighborhood

merchant organization.

Developing

Scheme

GOVERNMENT

AGENCIES

PROGRAMS Spatial demarcations

General incentives

IDP

IBID

Industrial Business Improvement District

EDC

Economic Development Corporation

IDA Industrial Development Agency

SBS

Small Business Services

Tax incentives Financing Industrial space Entrepeneurial support

Tax incentives Financing

NDD Neighborhood Development Division

BID

Business Improvement District Avenue program

IBZ

Industrial Business Zone

EZ

Empire zone

FTZ

Sunset program Funding assistance Industry specific programs Workforce recruitment, development and benefits Government Contracts Market Expansion Mandated State Fillings

Free Trade Zone

Scheme explaining the multitude of economic policies

61

Business Improvement District (BID) BIDs

are

local,

bottom-up

organizations that aim to further the

economic

development

of

their respective areas. They exist throughout the US, but are especially popular in New York City.

BIDs

are

usually

local

business

instigated

owners

with

by the

support of the NDD, which provides administrative

support

sessions

interested

for

and

info

business

owners.

Participating

businesses

pay

a

membership fee and elect a board to

lead

their

organization

which

can then use its funds either to pay the city for additional services like landscaping, extra garbage pickups

1

and public safety, or to initiate its own marketing and business development programs. However, because BIDs are focused mainly on commercial development, these activities can sometimes be perceived solely as a

2

beautification strategy.

The BID’s biggest weakness is in its voluntary nature, which means companies

can

enjoy

some

of

the benefits of being located in a

Business

Improvement

District

without having to pay for them.

3

1

62

brooklyn changed | Policies

2

BID Ideal membership for starting a BID vs. a realistic approach

3

First BID meeting

IBID One of the EDC’s latest programs was

the

Business (IBID),

creation

Industrial

Improvement

initializing

borough

of

except

one

Districts in

every

Manhattan.

For

Brooklyn this IBID is situated in East-Williamsburg.

The

principle

is the same as a regular Business Improvement

District,

but

the

services given by the IBID focus more

on

industrial

advantages.

They range from cost sharing for infrastructure waste

removal

structure

and

improvement to

and

improving

advocacy

IT

efforts

related to mayor public works and environmental clean-ups.

4

4

IBID

4

EWVIDCO activity

5

Policies

63

Industrial Business Zone (IBZ) The

Industrial

Business

Zone

program (IBZ) was established by the city in 2005 as a replacement of the In-Place-Industrial-Parks to tackle some of the difficulties that manufacturing In-city

businesses

manufacturers

face.

often

find

themselves in a hostile environment, pestered

by

regulations,

parking

tickets and complaining neighbors.

On top of this they are increasingly being priced out of the market and threatened by a constant stream of rezonings that favor residential uses. In response to this the IBZs provide somewhat of a safe haven for

Industrial

businesses.

Inside

these zones, that follow the borders of existing land use patterns and the former

In-Place-Industrial-Parks,

1

rezonings are not allowed and the price of real estate is kept relatively low. The relocation of manufacturing businesses

to

these

zones

is

encouraged by extra financial support and the authorities’ reinforcement of for example parking regulations is somewhat looser.

2

64

brooklyn changed | Policies

1

IBZ

2

High business costs in NYC

3

EZ

4

NYS Small Business’ approuch

NYC EDC - protecting and growing new York City’s Industrial Job base

Empire Zone (EZ) Empire

Zones

Economic

(EZ)

replace

Development

the

Zones

executed by New York State in 1986, that focused on regions in great economic distress. For these zones the state initiated the excelsior program, which included real estate property tax credit, wage credits, sales tax refunds and investments.

In order to apply for this program the companies in these economically weak neighborhoods had to fulfill certain

job

creation

and

wage

criteria. However, the program was later broadened to include the entire city, which caused its spending to increase dramatically. Currently the excelsior program is no longer open to new applicants and the state is 3

looking to start a new program that would again focus solely on the Empire Zones.

4

Policies

65

Free Trade Zone (FTZ) The last incentive zone is the Free or

Foreign

Trade

Zone

(FTZ),

developed and maintained by the USA Foreign Trade Zone Board.

FTZs

exist

on

different

scales,

ranging from general purpose zones

Building 77 Navy Yard

that entail large areas and multiple

Pfizer Corporation Flushing Avenue

tenants, such as harbors, to single buildings. Brooklyn has two FTZs, namely Building 77 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and Pfizer Corporation on Flushing Avenue. Inside an FTZ companies do not have to pay duties on that

incoming they

products,

providing

substantially

transform

them into a different product with a different name character and use.

When these products move outside the FTZ boundries duties have to be paid on the exported product

1

and not on the importanted goods.

There are some restrictions on what companies are allowed to produce inside an FTZ, with products such as alcohol, tobacco and watches being forbidden.

2

66

brooklyn changed | Policies

1

FTZ subzones

2

Pfizer building Brooklyn

image

Poster promoting the first FTZ

67

Scale shift through adaptive reuse During

its

heyday,

metropolitan characteristically and

In today’s re-emerging productive scene, be it both physical production

diversity

or virtual production, a scale shift has

mass

occurred. As long as labor and raw

entailed

distribution,

production

Brooklyn’s production

meaning

present.

materials are more profitable abroad,

The physical representation of the

Brooklyn’s former industrial giants,

production facilities were formalized

like Domino Sugar, the Army Terminal

in

industrial

or Mergenthaler linotype Company,

a

wasn’t

really

patchwork

districts

housing

of

factories

will never be occupied by a single

and standardized brick, and later

one-off

occupant again. Neither will global

concrete, warehouses. They were

production return to Brooklyn under

both near the waterfront or good

these circumstances.

inland

Through

connections

These

bigger

like

railways.

typologies

were

neoliberal

metropolitan

politics, has

the

become

surrounded by all kinds of smaller

hospitable to high-end production

scale workshops and sheds, and

and services. On the one hand,

in

the

many

cases

tenements.

also

Many

employees

different

market

for

custom

physical

actors

production became mainly locally

operating within the same trade made

focused, with entrepreneurs wanting

up these districts, allowing for greater

to be close to their clientele, acting

specialization, serving both a local

rapidly on demand. On the other

and (inter)national market.

hand, tech and creative industries operating

The

manufacturing

within

a

wider

virtual

decline

market, also tend to prefer the same

manifested itself on different levels.

location, albeit for different reasons.

Generally, it entailed a downscaling of

In Brooklyn, this shows in the rising

the manufacturing footprint. Factories

amount of startups in this sector

and bigger employers making use

near the East River waterfront, again

of laborers disappeared for cheaper

a

havens,

today’s

capital spilling over from Manhattan,

known industrial heritage on these

when less interest is shown in

now residentially sought after places.

further

Smaller enterprises either went out

is the only borough that has so far

of business or survived by continuing

recovered from the 2008 recession

to supply for the smaller demand of

in this aspect, as startups have

the city, as they continue to do so

surpassed

today, dispersing small manufacturing

with 19,351 of a 65,658 NYC total

locations even more.

new

leaving

behind

1940

2012

Industry districts

Small businesses

Manufacturing spread

68

area

brooklyn changed | Adaptive reuse

bifold

development,

neighborhoods.

pre-recession

businesses

in

pursuing

Brooklyn

numbers

2011.

This

map

1940 2012

Scale shift

69

makes Brooklyn the fastest growing

this scale shift manifests itself even

borough, with a 165% rise in annual

further. When the tools of the job

startups since 1991, when NYC’s

are limited to a laptop and a cup

economic regrowth began.

of coffee, nearly any place can

Brooklyn’s industrial heritage hereby

start functioning as a workplace,

experiences a revival. Old storage

instigating the existence of co-work

houses now take over as the place

spaces, home working and even

of production. The diversity of the

coffee shop workspots.

different manufacturing districts from bygone times finds its collective

Through

renascence

this older infrastructure, as offices, residential, retail or manufacturing

operating freely within its permissive

uses, adaptive reuse became the

structure. Brooklyn-based businesses

norm. Open floors are appreciated

continue to shrink in size, with an

for their sense of space and kept in

average

per

one piece, or structures are divided

manufacturing firm in 2012 compared

into many different substructures.

to 16.8 in 2000. Another aspect

Bringing these structures into the

related to the success of these

21st century while advertising their

structures is the industrial aesthetic

authenticity, they become a selling

character, symbolizing what Brooklyn

point and identity carrier. Combined

made Brooklyn, making them amply

also with new development, they

attractive to non-manufacturing uses

now represent an integral part of the

as well. However, when it comes to

branding image of contemporary hip

new tech and creative businesses,

Brooklyn.

employees

1

70

of

building,

11,5

one

re-appreciation

housing several smaller businesses

of

within

the

2

brooklyn changed | Adaptive reuse

1

1940 - Engine assembly

2

2014 - Green manufacturing

Raaka creates Virgin Chocolate By omitting the roasting process of cacao beans, Raaka can manufacture very raw and tropical flavors. It is yet another food focused small business, started early 2011, that is successful in finding a niche market that grew within Brooklyn and is now serving 12 states, selling vanilla-rooibos chocolate bars at 4 bucks a piece.

Raaka consists of six people working in an eight floor warehouse in Wallabout, south of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, cramped in a room of about 280 sq ft. Every inch of space is organized to house all different aspects of the business.

Nate does his administration on a desk that doubles as a packaging table for Danielle, next to the rattling cacoa beans ground by Eric.

Despite their growing production, the future isn’t bright for Raaka. It seems they will have to leave their current production place. Are they expanding and don’t they fit their space anymore? Well yes, but no, they are being evicted by their landlord, who’s planning to sell the warehouse.

The landlord is speculating his property that now still is situated in an M1 area, but hoping it soon will be available to more profitable uses, as nearby blocks are being rezoned for residential use. When they are not allowed in the nearby Navy Yard industrial park, keeping Raaka alive will become very expensive.

Personal story

71

Unemployment The map on the right shows the 2012 unemployment rates in Brooklyn.

Although the numbers are high, Brooklyn, like the rest of NYC, is recovering from the financial crisis that hit in 2008. The unemployment rate has decreased

from 11.1%

in January 2010 to 9.2% in March 2013. Compared to NYC as a whole, Brooklyn has a slightly higher average unemployment, with the NYC number decreasing from 10.5% in January 2010 to 8.5% in March 2013.

The

averages nearly reached the rates from economic downturns back in 1991 and 1976, with 12.1% and 11.6% respectively.

The

dispersion

shows

a

Brooklyn’s

unemployment correlation

neighborhood

Neighborhoods of

of

strong

non-white

with

ethnicity.

a

residents

with

majority have

far

higher unemployment rates. More prosperous

neighborhoods

can

be found along the East River and in

southern

residential

Brooklyn,

while disadvantaged neighborhoods are situated in central and eastern Brooklyn, spanning from BedfordStuyvesant to East New York.

72

Brooklyn Changed | Unemployment

Map

Majority of white population Unemployment rate 10%

20% 34-36

28-30

24-26

18-20

8-10

14-16

4-6

Unemployment and racial diversity

73

Work live relationship The maps on the right, produced

55% of its workforce. Labor and trade

by Pratt Institute, show

hereby fell from 23,4% in 2000 to 19%

correlation

and

in 2010. These jobs are continuing to

in

be replaced by service jobs, and more

four main categories. Diversity in

and more also the rising creative and

job centres show the difference

tech jobs. The north western part of

between Manhattan as a ‘Capital of

Brooklyn is hereby proving to become

Capitalism’1 and the outer Boroughs.

a work-live-play area on its own,

The heterogeneity of employment in

more and more independent from

Manhattan and upcoming Downtown

Manhattan. Its change in employment

Brooklyn versus their own inhabitants’

occupation and lifestyle, introduced

occupation emphasizes their status

the arrival of capital, wealth, culture,

as expensive high-end professional

consumerism and recreation.

living

in

between

the direct

New

working

York,

divided

areas, attracting commuters. Labor and trade jobs still find their home

The

along the East River, at the Brooklyn-

with critical remarks on the great

Queens border, and near JFK. Service

disparities in transportation access in

jobs are far more dispersed over all of

relation to occupation and residence.

the city. The overall image of Brooklyn

The largest difference is manifested

as a sleeper city remains partly valid.

between higher-income, professional

Based on the 2000 census, citywide

workers and low-wage manual and

nearly 45% of employees operate

service workers. High housing costs

within the service sector. The smallest

imply low-wage workers living outside

sector, but rapidly growing, is the

the city’s subway core. On top of

creative and tech industry, providing

that, workers tend to commute to

15% of the workforce. These numbers

sites dispersed widely around the

are drastically changing however, as

city, which contradicts the subway’s

the first decade of the new millennium

commuting orientation. This leaves

was marked by the Great Recession

the lowest-paid workers with the

and often described as a lost decade

longest commutes, which limits the

for American workers. In New York

geographic range of job opportunities

a further decline of manufacturing

and their earnings.

occurred,

dropping

an

Pratt

research

concluded

additional

1 Professional

Health / services

Creative / tech

Labor

WORK - Job centers of the NYC region Pratt center for Community development

2

LIVE - Type of employment by residence Pratt center for Community development

1

74

A term coined in 1967 by Saul PEET in The Times: “One assumes Svetlana Alliluyeva is aware of her father’s image in America and of the many ironies attending her presence in the world capital of capitalism. Only 20 minutes from Wall Street, she shows no fluster.” Later K.T. Jackson used it to describe the whole NY Metropolitan Area: The Capital if Capitalism: The New York Metropolitan Region, 1890-1940. In SUTCLIFFE, A. (ed.) Metropolis 1890-1940, pp. 319-353, Mansell, London.

brooklyn changed | Work live

Maps

1

2

Work live relations

75

A breakdown of the different sectors

sector has grown an additional 6,5% in

lays out different trends. Professionals

the last decade. This makes Brooklyn

and creative / tech represent about

the best represented borough in this

30% of Brooklyn’s working population.

sector. In opposition to other sectors,

They generally have a higher income.

health and education employment can

Around 150.000 professionals live in

be found equally throughout all areas.

Brooklyn, and a bit more in Creative

Yet this sector’s employees mostly

Tech. Brooklyn’s neighborhoods close

live in central, eastern and southern

to Manhattan are catching up with the

residential areas.

latter in relative density of creative/ tech jobs. For the moment being,

As for Labor and Trades, the decline

Manhattan still dominates both these

has

areas. A remarkable trend can be

before. In 2000 it still represented

discovered in comparing the choice of

23.3% of Brooklyn’s economy, albeit

residence of Brooklyn’s professional

that transport and utlity overshadow

class and the creative / tech class.

manufacturing. Both Queens and

Proffesionals are far more spread out,

The Bronx are more active in this

while the creative / tech sector prefer

sector. The diverse pattern of the East

either more expensive residential

River waterfront activity combined

neighborhoods

Hill

with a dispersed pattern of small-

to

Park

from

repeatedly

gentrifying

scale manufacturing throughout the Borough still shows, but is clearly

Greenpoint.

affected by newer uses. This is

kind

of

or

described

neighborhoods like Williamsburg and These

Slope,

Clinton

been

occupations

lend

supported by looking at the commute

themselves to working from home,

of workers. An absence of employees

and about 4% of the total NYC

is showing up around Downtown

population chooses to do this. In these

Brooklyn. Laborers tend to live close

specific sectors, that number can rise

to work, but less and less in gentrified

significantly.

areas, while manufacturing employers still try to withstand pressure, showed

The other part of employed people

by the amount of jobs still created in

represent a much larger part of the

Williamsburg and Greenpoint, and in

economy.

lesser gentrified Sunset Park

Services,

Health

and

Education accounted for 46,1% of Brooklyn’s workforce in 2000, and the

76

Brooklyn Changed | Work live

1

Work-live professionals

2

Work-live creatives/tech

3

Work-live services

4

Work-live laborers

Maps

36% 34-36

30 28-30

4-6

24-26

Job locations of laborers Residences of laborers 28-30

24-26

18-20

8-10

14-16

4-6

36%34-36

30

10

36% 34-36

24-26

30 28-30

14-16

20 18-20

4-6

10 8-10

20

4

14-16

Job locations of people in service Residence of people in service

36% 34-36

24-26

30 28-30

14-16

20 18-20

4-6

10 8-10

3

Job locations of creatives / tech Residence of creatives / tech 20 18-20

2 10 8-10

Job locations of professionals Residences of professionals

1

Work live relations

77

Productive Brooklyn under pressure?

“We’re sitting in the middle of the best market in the world. Even though costs of doing business are high, the opportunities are more. People pay more in NY. Where else will people pay $4 for a muffin?”1 The once industrial landscape of

became scarce, those in the service

Brooklyn’s productive past, still form

sector boomed.

an integral part of the borough’s

Today the Brooklyn waterfront has

present-day

tissue.

once

smoke-stacked

been

transformed,

Although

the

become

skyline

has

accompanied by prime real estate,

‘making’

has

primarily as a consequence of a

a

recreation

destination

returned to Brooklyn. Nevertheless

few

the revival of making has taken on

rendered under Mayor Bloomberg’s

quite a different form compared to

administration.

Brooklyn’s

manufacturing

heyday.

manufacturing at a disadvantage and

From

mid-nineteenth

the

recent

significant This

rezonings, mainly

put

century

greatly dissolved the opportunity for

up until 1960 Brooklyn was one of

it to bloom once again in Brooklyn.

USA’s preeminent industrial cities,

Yet,

characterised by the East River

destined for manufacturing, ‘making

waterfront

things’

lined

with

factories.

despite is

a

decreasing

becoming

area

increasingly

Together these factories produced

popular with Brooklynites. Brooklyn’s

quite a diverse range of products

once industrial landscape has been

ranging from metalwork, produced

replaced by an amalgam of small

in

the

niche manufacturers.

to

coffee,

located

workshops

of

roasted

under

Gowanus,

in

the

factories Manhattan

Although

manufacturing

centers

Bridge2. By the 1950s however,

are no longer cornerstones to the

Brooklyn’s industrial narrative had

City’s

passed its peak. Its decline can be

still house a sector which serves

attributed to many factors, such

important

as an evolution in transportation,

providing employment for an often

allowing

factories

to

be

economic

vibrancy,

niche

markets,

they while

located

less-educated and largely immigrant

upstate or overseas, the decline of

workforce as well as contributing

Brooklyn’s population, as returning

to

WWII veterans sought to fulfil the

stimulation of urban everyday life.

suburban dream, or technological

Economically

advancements,

manufacturing

allowing

products

the

diversity, these

intensity small

and urban

entrepreneurships

to be produced without ‘costly’ blue-

have proven to be quite resilient.

collar workers. These shifts resulted

As Wall Street and other financial

in an abandoned waterfront and

districts worldwide have crashed,

a restructuring of the Borough’s

plunging us into a global crisis, these

economy. As jobs in manufacturing

small manufacturer’s are continuing Productive Brooklyn under pressure

81

to do good business3. Many factors

today, is increasing the polarisation

contribute to their success: e.g the

between the very high end and low

small number of skilled employees

end of skill and wages. Blue-collar

and

specialised

manufacturing jobs could form a

markets, assuring that their well

link between the two, providing jobs

designed and manufactured product

requiring a certain amount of skill for

will, in its specific market, always find

an often better wage than that of the

a buyer.

service industries5.

servicing

a

few

urban

So how is the city of New York

manufacturing can have a positive

helping to promote these ‘makers’?

impact on its surrounding urban

Before the Bloomberg administration

space, as manufacturing is inherently

came

a local product (requiring the urban

was designated to areas zoned

as its local market for certain niche

M.

products or finding only a certain set

derelict during the 50s-60s, these

of skills or experiences located within

M-zoned areas often situated on

the City) produced in a workspace

prime

within

Furthermore,

small

scaled

into

As

office,

many

manufacturing

factories

locations

along

became

the

East-

tissue

River, were the first to be rezoned,

contributing to the urban. This in

to become mainly residential or

contrast to the new City economy of

occasionally

white-collar FIRE-industries (finance,

When the Bloomberg administration

insurance, real estate…) which take

came into office, they put forward a

place in the virtual space of flows

plan to support manufacturing within

of the global market, having little

the city. They realised that although

to no impact on the surrounding

manufacturing has declined since

environment .

for

its heyday, there is still a lot of high

industries

value niche manufacturing that relies

a

specific

4

the

needed

that

further

physical

Except

maybe

service shape

these

commercial

areas.

white-

on New York’s high end market to

collar spaces, such as the many

sell their products. Thus the Industrial

restaurants and shops located within

Business Zone (IBZ) was created,

office districts. This duality, between

which entails M-zoned land that

service and white-collar industries,

Mayor Bloomberg commits not to

present in the urban condition of

rezone. Furthermore these zones are

1.

Winifred Curran, “’From the frying pan to the over’: Gentrification and the experience of Industrial Displacement in Williamsburg, Brooklyn,” Urban Studies 44 (2007): 1428.

2.

Kay S. Hymowitz, “How Brooklyn got its groove back,” City Journal 21 (2011): accessed February 12, 2013, http://www.city-journal.org/2011/21_4_brooklyn.html/.

3.

Christine Haughney, “In New York, No Crisis for Niche Manufacturers”, The New York Times, January 11, 2009, A23.

4.

“Urban Manufacturing/Manufacturing the urban”, Kees Christiaanse, last modified 2012, http://www.christiaanse.arch.ethz.ch/?page_id=327

5.

Winifred Curran, “’From the frying pan to the over’: Gentrification and the experience of Industrial Displacement in Williamsburg, Brooklyn,” Urban Studies 44 (2007): 1430.

82

shifts | Productive Brooklyn under pressure

essay

given tax benefits provided by the Ctiy and the State. The Bloomberg administration

will

additionally

support non-profits in these areas that are supporting manufacturing by

providing

necessities

“Not one (rezoning) added a single acre of new space for manufacturers...”

(Amy Anderson)

such

as certain infrastructures. At the

In

moment, there are three such non-

becoming scarce, even with the

profit

organisations

short,

space

for

‘making’ is

supporting

implemented IBZs. As Pratt Center

manufacturing along the waterfront

for Community Development reports

each within an IBZ: Brooklyn Army

in their Issue Brief, New York’s

Terminal,

Threatened

Brooklyn

Navy

Yard

Corporation

and

“Not one (rezoning) added a single

Manufacturing

and

acre of new space for manufacturers.

Development Greenpoint

Design Center. These IBZs entail

Manufacturing

Space:

The rapidly shrinking amount of

that all other M-zoned areas, of

land for industry and manufacturing

which there are many more outside

is making it extremely difficult for

IBZ’s than inside IBZs, do not have

companies to find space to make

a commitment from the Bloomberg

things in New York City”7. From 2003

administration

to

to 2012 121 rezoning projects have

uses.

taken place and have converted over

with

one quarter of manufacturing areas

M-zoned areas and IBZs, is that

into other land uses, often more

any structure forming a nuisance

economically interesting, such as

within residential areas, such as a

residential or commercial uses.

supermarket, hotel or office complex

When the areas to become IBZs

or

were being mapped, it is quite

residential Furthermore

other

to

or

be

rezoned

commercial the

problem

structures

necessary

to the City, such as wastewater

obvious

treatment plants, can be built within

administration’s Office of Industrial

these zones without any specific

Manufacturing

permission.

in

productive

Often

ensure

search

Bloomberg

Business of

areas

went already

resembling industrial parks, areas

landowner a higher price, as the rent

primarily housing a high density

for industrial space lies significantly

of

below

productively being used and which

of

will

non-

the

the

that

uses

these

that

leasing

commercial opportunities6.

land

for

warehouses

and

factories

weren’t likely to be rezoned any time soon. Many of the M-zoned

6.

“Does NYC Industrial Zoning Policy Preserve Local Manufacturing?,” Brad Lander, last modified March 19, 2009, http://www.thirteen.org/uncertainindustry/content/does-nyc-industrial-zoning-policy-preserve-local-manufacturing/

7.

“Protecting New York’s Threatened Manufacturing Space”, Amy Anderson for Pratt Center for Community Developement Accessed March 21, 2013, http://prattcenter.net/sites/default/files/publications/threatened_manufacturing.pdf

Productive Brooklyn under pressure

83

area’s remain outside the appointed

through a land-use action. Only the

IBZs, raising questions and creating

tax credit aspect of an IBZ remains

uncertainty

located

out of the City’s control, as this

within these areas, as they do not

for

industries

aspect falls into the States hands.

hold any certainty when rezoning is

It can thus not be easily revoked,

coming. If rezoning does eventually

but must comply to a boundary

occur, industries are permitted to

commission and state legislation.

remain where they’re located, but

Technically speaking, it would not

will, as past examples have proven,

be impossible to re-designate IBZs,

(probably) be considered a hindrance

which further creates a feeling of

to their new residential neighbours

uncertainty

and will ultimately have to relocate.

which ever part of the M-zoned

Another point of concern is what

spectrum they are located.

the fate of M-zoned land along the

Another type the City now often

East River will be. As the residential

rezones to is the mixed-use zone

neighbourhoods

(MX)

surrounding

the

implying

tenants,

that

in

residential,

waterfront’s (derelict) industries are

commercial, and industrial activities

becoming ever more expensive, it

can all take place within the same

is not unlikely that these areas will

zone.

all too soon be rezoned to a more

well on paper, but in practice many

profitable land use. As Developers

examples

are

creative

industrial aspect of this zoning never

in finding lucrative solutions. They

lasts long. This is mainly because a

have already begun to purchase

larger profit can be made by leasing

warehouses within these M-zoned

to a residential or commercial user.

waterfront areas, hereby landbanking

As opposed to what would be made

these structures and their land until

by leasing to an industrial user, and

rezoning permits their demolition and

as usage isn’t predetermined within

the construction of a new ‘condo-

mixed-use zones, landowners are

tower’.

both

free in their choice of usage. So the

manufacturing opportunities as well

City now has yet another zoning tool

as

pressuring manufacturing.

becoming

This

evermore

situation

development

hold,

basically

puts

opportunities paralysing

on

certain

areas until rezoning occurs.

As IBZs were implemented under Bloomberg’s and

legally

administration entail

nothing

more

than a public statement, there is nothing

84

amongst

This

arrangement

have

shown

works

that

the

“Small manufacturers have found that these older robust infrastructures, make excellent workspaces”

from withholding the next

administration to revoke these IBZs

Brooklyn’s waterfront is becoming

and

quite contested as both developers

rezone

the

M-zoned

areas

shifts | Productive Brooklyn under pressure

essay

and manufacturers seek to claim

arranged or self-initiated depending

the old industrial giants still present

on the leasing system the tenants are

along the East River. For developers

involved in.

the stakes are clear: knocking down

As demonstrated, these new small

the old to make way for waterfront

urban manufacturers depend upon

condos and lofts all at a considerable

the City to conduct business, so

profit. Small manufacturers however

the question may be asked, why

have found that these older robust

isn’t

infrastructures, when divided into

providing more IBZs, to create more

smaller allotments, make excellent

certainty

workspaces.

For

amongst

administration entrepreneurs

moment

and encourage a blooming sector. In

the ‘makers movement’, which is

addition these small manufacturers,

blooming,

can

the

Bloomberg’s

the

compared to other larger companies,

affordable rent for their workspace

benefit

from

have recently proven more resilient

and often easily commute to work

to crisis as well. As products can be

by bicycle. Their niche business

made upon order, there is no extra

can solely be located within the City

stock wasting away in storage that

as their market lies with upscale

eventually still needs to be sold;

Manhattan buyers (and more recently

small makers can perfectly answer

certain Brooklyn buyers) and the

the demand, sometimes temporarily

pool of specifically skilled employees

working with a few extra workforces

required, is greater within the City

when more orders come in9.

than elsewhere . Brooklyn sees these

Furthermore

niche manufacturers as its future;

today are nothing like their industrial

a highly skilled workforce making

predecessor,

products for local consumption. For

M-zoned area because of pollution,

now these smaller manufacturers

noise hinderance and smell. The

are working side by side within the

‘makers’

old industrial buildings, sometimes

manually and on a much smaller

in the form of a cooperative or under

scale, probably producing not a lot

a non-profit structure set up by the

more hindrance than a hobbyist

City or the usual set-up of a lease

working

contract between tenant and owner.

Saturday.

8

This

proximity

of

of

in

these who

today

their

‘makers’ needed

are

of an

working

garage

on

a

manufacturers

within a complex can be seen as an

Many questions arise about zoning

advantage, as tenants can easily

being a tool tailored to the 21st

share resources, tools and ideas

century. As an eliminating tool, it is

about products they’re making. This

not adopted to today’s more positive

interchange between tenants can be

situation where interactions of ideas

8.

Joseph Berger, “Instead of Industrial Giants, Brooklyn Has Niche Factories,” The New York Times, August 8, 2012, A14

9.

Christine Haughney, “In New York, No Crisis for Niche Manufacturers”, The New York Times, January 11, 2009, A23.

Productive Brooklyn under pressure

85

are encouraged, side by side with sustaining solitary industries. It is suggested that there has to be a continued search to level the playing field for different uses, supporting and

regulating

competition

and

not eliminating it. Large gestures of planning through zoning should be complemented with supporting exchange among and within these zones, via truly mixed used districts, and conflict should be resolved rather on a micro level, instead of on a macro level.

To conclude this part on where manufacturing can take place in the present-day city, there is one important “The

remark

businesses

to

be

discussed

made: here

are threatened not by international competition

or

increasing

labour

costs, but by soaring real estate costs, become

as

industrial

attractive

for

space

has

residential

conversion10.” As New York City is the capital of capitalism, a landowner will always capitalise their land to a maximum of profit, further pressuring Brooklyn’s blooming manufacturing revival.

10.

86

Winifred Curran, “’From the frying pan to the over’: Gentrification and the experience of Industrial Displacement in Williamsburg, Brooklyn,” Urban Studies 44 (2007): 1430.

shifts | Productive Brooklyn under pressure

Creative Impulse A new entrepreneurial economy?

Creativity is considered to be essential in Brooklyn’s ‘new’ entrepreneurial economy.

Every human being is creative and creativity is certainly a limitless resource to develop.

Should we make all jobs creative to resolve the dichotomy of the labor market between higher-skilled, higher-wage working class jobs and lower-skilled, lower-wage service class jobs?

Creative class According

to

Richard

Florida’s

definition, “the creative class is a new or emergent socioeconomic class that can be seen as a key driving force behind economic development in postindustrial cities in the US.� The class structure from 1800 to 2010 shows a major shift in the US workforce

1

from

working class (blue collar workers 2 ) toward service class (white collar 3 ) and creative class (black

1

collar 4 ). This

is not just another economic cycle but an enormous structural transformation that manifests itself in the living and working environment. The creative class mostly include professionals in the fields of science and technology, of design and architecture, of art and entertainment, but also healthcare, the legal sector and education. Their job is to create new ideas, technology

2

or creative content and independence is highly regarded. In New York State they account for 34,7%, and in New York City even for 51,9% of the workforce. Though there is some criticism that argues the occupational composition of the creative class, its statistical indices, or the forthcoming economic

growth

in

upcoming

creative cities. Nevertheless a strong creative ethos shows itself in specific

3

areas of Brooklyn. This chapter will focus on the creative makers and entrepreneurs in these areas.

1

Blue - white - black collar

2

Smokers lunch hour Navy Yard

3

Service workers

4

3d printing business 4

98

creative impulse | Creative class

CHART

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% 1800

1820

1840

1860

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980 1990 2000 2010

Farming, fishing, forestry Working Service Creative

Class structure in the U.S. from 1800 to 2010 (percentage in workforce)

99

Niche products Brooklyn makers and Brooklyn industries do not build ships anymore, nor can they afford to keep producing commodity goods. They make niche products; new low-tech, low-scale, often handmade products for middleclass consumers, produced locally but acclaimed widely. Instead of mass production, artisanal makers believe in a post-growth economics model.

The model is based on local resources, local market, smallscale workspaces and elaborated branding of unique products. Rather than working towards a maximum of growth, they pursue resilience and the dismantling of common industrial supply systems. If we look at industrial Brooklyn, big industries have never really dominated the manufacturing landscape in New York. Adam Friedman (Pratt Center for Community Development) mentions that New York City will always provide a high-cost business environment, and “if New York is a business, it isn’t Wall Mart, ... It is a high-end product, maybe even a luxury product”. New York’s wealthy, diverse and dense population makes it the perfect marketplace for high value-added businesses. But local manufacturers not only serve the New York market. They also export to niche markets throughout the country, which are too small to support their own industries.

According to Friedman “the transformation of the New York City manufacturing sector into a smaller but very high added value set of businesses also offers lessons for the arts, legal and financial services as for other sectors of the economy.”

100

creative impulse | Niche products

1

2

3

4

Image

5

$1000

6

1

$1000

Brooklyn Brine Pickles

2

Scott Jordan Furniture

3

Brooklyn Cruiser Bikes

4

K Hansen Earrings

5

Full room with Ikea furniture: 1000$

6

Brooklyn-made lamp out of Sandy’s scraps: 1000$

Full room vs one-off for 1000$

101

Marketplace Creative makers are selling their products and image both in virtual and physical space. Brooklyn Flea and Etsy

2

1

are great examples of

socioeconomic platforms, where it’s easy to participate and interact with other makers. They both nurture the image of entrepreneurial Brooklyn; accessible, low-cost and artisanal.

Brooklyn

Flea

organizes

markets, in Williamsburg

3

flea

1

and Fort

Greene and acts as an alternative to

big-box

retail

that

value

a

2

personal approach. Etsy is an online marketplace

4

focused on handmade

or vintage items and art and craft supplies. Based on the tradition of open craft fairs, they provide sellers with a personal storefront where they can list their goods for a small fee. A range from hobbyists to professional makers sell their goods on Etsy.

3

4

1

102

creative impulse | Marketplace

Brooklyn Flea

2

Etsy

3

Smorgasburg Food Market Wiliamsbug

4

Personal storefront

Image

Kings County Beef Jerky

103

People climates “Where people choose to live can no longer be predicted according to conventional industrial theories, such as people will go to where the jobs and factories are.” Creative class workers are looking for a people climate where they can best be themselves. Civic leaders are convinced that they need to invest in urban environments, not with usual tax breaks and redevelopment

1

schemes, but on the playing fields of what Florida calls the three T’s; “Technology, Talent, and Tolerance”.

Creative workers are attracted to open, diverse, dynamic and hip urban

environments.

1

They

are

always and never working, always participating to their people climate.

“This manifests in a teeming blend of cafes,

2

sidewalk musicians, small

galleries and bistros, where it is hard to draw the line between participant and observer, or between creativity and its creators.”

3

2

The two areas of

Brooklyn that best illustrate these creative are

(gentrified)

Dumbo

and

environments Williamsburg.

The story of Dumbo tells us how time, branding, culture and clever developing strategies nurture these urban environments. And together with

other

areas

on

Brooklyn’s

industrial waterfront, like Red Hook, the Navy Yard and Greenpoint they form the ‘creative crescent’. It is remarkable that these productive

3

areas are also areas with the highest price/m2, compared to cheaper, inner

104

borough neighborhoods, that also

1

provide manufacturing space. (map

2

Bedford avenue street scene Williamsburg

on page 107)

3

Summer street festival, Williamsburg Walks

creative impulse | People climates

‘Heartwalk’ art installation Dumbo

In 1981, developer David Walentas took a look at the brick warehouses and factories (most dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) and, taking a cue from his recent development successes in another former industrial area, Soho, bought 11 of them—almost an entire neighborhood. Or what he hoped might someday become a neighborhood: like Red Hook, Dumbo was still zoned solely for manufacturing, despite manufacturers’ indifference to the area. Walentas had to wait 17 years for the city to pronounce Dumbo “mixed-use” and for the area to come alive.

Walentas’s prescience —and patience— put him in an unusual position. Like many successful developers, he was able to make a lot of money: space in the buildings he bought for $6 per square foot now sometimes sells for $1,000 per square foot. But unlike other developers, Walentas owned so much of a neighborhood that he could play God. Also, since he was making so much money from the properties overall, he could give rent breaks to commercial tenants that he viewed as desirable—for instance, upscale retailers like West Elm, the modernfurniture outlet, and Jacques Torres, a high-end chocolatier—while refusing chains like Duane Reade, which, he felt, set the wrong, down-market tone ...

(Kay S. Hymotwitz in “How Brooklyn Got its groove back”)

Story of Dumbo

105

New workspaces Along with new businesses come new

workspaces.

Brooklyn

has

a

On

one

lot

of

hand mobile

workers; self-employed people like graphic designers, web designers, writers and editors, hustling to find work and establishing new career trajectories. Coffee-shops are packed with freelancers

1

and each couple

of months a new coworking space pops up. 2 Mobile workers only need

1

internet and a desk to put their laptop on. What’s important, is that they’re in

a

dynamic

and

collaborative

work environment, that cultivates networking. The price you pay ranges from the price of drinks to a monthly membership fee. A lot of these coworking spaces are situated in industrial areas near the waterfront, like Dumbo, Gowanus, Greenpoint and East Williamsburg.

2

Beside upcoming coworking spaces, business

incubators

the

of

and to

growth

small

entrepreneurs. create

providing

support businesses They

much-needed affordable

jobs

space

help by and

business knowledge, as well as the equipment necessary to start up a small business. In work and education centres like ‘3rd Ward’ in

Greenpoint

3

you

can

also

take classes to learn new skills,

3

like welding, woodwork or jewelry.

Membership fees range from 150 dollars a month for coworking space to 450 dollars a month for workshop/

106

maker space and 100 dollars for

1

Mobile workers in crowded coffeshop

classes.

2

Metropolitan Exchange coworking space

3

Third Ward: work, learn and make center

creative impulse | New workspaces

Map

3

1

2

2

2 4 5

6

> 4950 $/m2 4940-4420 $/m2 4410-3190 $/m2 < 3180 $/m2

Average real estate price/m2 in industrial neighborhood

107

Renting floor space in a former industrial giant is an ideal way to start a small manufacturing business in Brooklyn.

4

Through the renovation

and repurposing of vacant industrial buildings,

affordable

space

can

be provided for new, more flexible tenants,

who

were

evicted

and

displaced from their manufacturing buildings due to residential and dotcom conversions. For example, on

4

Sunset Park’s waterfront three of the biggest properties are undergoing makeovers:

Industry

City,

a

6.5

million-square-foot complex off the Gowanus

Expressway

5

,

Federal

Building No. 2, and the city-owned Brooklyn Army Terminal 6 . The former working-class neighborhood is again reviving through light manufacturing businesses like Blue Marble ice cream, Industry City Distillery and Nunu Chocolates, capturing some of

5

the energy of the Brooklyn artisanal food scene. Nevertheless it is still extremely difficult to make a building this big profitable without the city’s help. Manufacturing’s decline has accelerated in the last decade, there is still a vacancy rate of around 8% in Sunset Park area and manufacturing jobs keep on disappearing. High rent and aging infrastructure are

6

two main obstacles. Manufacturing space in New York City costs an average of 13$/sqft compared to $5 in New Jersey and $4,5 nationwide.

But in the end the hundreds of new manufacturing jobs that small

108

businesses create, are still better

4

Floorspace in former industrial giant

than the dozen doormen employed in

5

Industry City

newly converted residences.

6

Brooklyn Army Terminal

creative impulse | New workspaces

Dustin Yellin is a Brooklyn-based artist. Born in California, Dustin moved to Brooklyn to practice contemporary arts. The artist, most reknown for his experiments on three dimensional forms by layering multiple collages and paintings on glass plates, recently founded an arts center in Red Hook. The arts center, named The Intercourse, is located in a Civil War era brick building. Originally part of the Pioneer Iron Works complex, a remainder of Red Hookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industrial heydays, the building was completely renovated to house an exhibition space, a garden and sculpture park, and a number of small workspaces for artists in residence.

Nearby his exhibition center, Dustin owns an atelier, where he employs volunteers to fabricate his artworks. Seven of his workers are present that day, of which one art student apprentice and a 6 amateur hipsters from all over Brooklyn.

All day long the atmosphere in the workplace has been relaxed. The hipsters have been cutting images out off old National Geographic magazines for 4 hours now. From time to time the employees have a casual conversation. One of them lights up a joint...

Personal story

109

Niche economy “Can an economy of 2,5 million people run on iPhone apps and artisanal pickles?” is the question posed by Adam Bonislawski in his paper, ‘Is the ‘new’ Brooklyn economy for real?’ 1. Creative Brooklyn is the most visible and bloggable part of the Brooklyn workforce, but is its momentum big enough to solve structural problems, like the decline of manufacturing jobs, unemployment, the rise of rent or the displacement of low-income people to the outskirts of the city? Or could creative makers, after all, be the impulse to transform NYC’s, and specifically Brooklyn’s manufacturing landscape to attract and stimulate new generations of entrepreneurs to maintain the city’s characteristics of edginess, diversity and specialization.

The creative makers, mostly artisans

sound, it is probably not going

and artists discussed in the previous

to run an economy of 2,5 million

part of this chapter, are either being

Brooklynites. Of course, you can

praised or ridiculed. Richard Florida’s

not blame people for being hopeful

theory received criticism for being

in times when the known structure

too much of a sales pitch for the

is crumbling. Every era has had

creative class, and being too easily

its

incorporated in city policies

2

. On

pioneers,

writing

and

who,

through

experimenting

art, with

the other hand, it’s short-sighted to

new ideas, tried to reach out to the

depict ‘hipsters’ as human wallpaper,

public, sometimes gaining enough

useful solely to create an atmosphere

momentum to make a change.

of cultural richness and innovation to attract more obviously productive

“The idea of Brooklyn as test kitchen

types,

as

blogger

for a new economic model” 4, based

writes

in

‘Creative

BikeSnobNYC Class:

The

on

locally

focused,

small-scale

Selflessness of Consumerism’ 3. The

businesses,

story of Brooklyn’s economy is more

quality and authenticity, has spread

nuanced, influenced and controlled

rapidly.

by different actors, challenges and

success of small businesses and

opportunities.

internet firms who turned big such

driven

Especially

by due

passion, to

the

as Brooklyn Brewery and Etsy, the PROBABLY NOT ... BUT To

be

realistic,

idea could establish in the public’s how

and more important the media’s

appealing the idea of today’s creative

no

matter

conception. Also numbers show that

and entrepreneurial Brooklyn may

Brooklyn is booming compared to

1.

Adam, Bonislawski, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”, Brooklyn Magazine, 2012.

2.

Jamie, Peck, “Struggling with the Creative Class” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 29 nr 4 (2005):740-770

3.

Bikesnobnyc, “Creative Class: The Sel essness of Consumerism”, Blogspot, june 2011, http://bikesnobnyc.

4.

Adam, Bonislawski, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”.

Niche economy

111

the other boroughs. “From 2000 to

an enormous rise of 31000 jobs.

2010, the borough’s employment

Even more dramatic is the fact that

rolls grew by 11 percent as more

higher-wage working class jobs like

than 50 000 jobs were created.”

5

manufacturing and construction jobs

Dumbo for example was dubbed as

declined respectively with 23600 jobs

‘silicon beach’ due to the explosion

and 1400 jobs.

7

of internet firms and digital creative agencies. Other areas are thriving

This is a big setback for theories that

as well, as seen in Williamsburg with

propose to make all jobs creative.

jewelry-makers, in the Navy Yard with

At the moment it is not clear how

whiskey distillers and in Sunset Park

to restructure the service sector,

with an artisanal food scene.

knowing that it could be the tipping point to solve structural problems.

“The idea of Brooklyn as test kitchen for a new economic model.”

Sociologist Sharon Zukin puts it

(Adam Bonislawski)

Brooklyn as bohemia of the self-

this way, “the silent majority does not support the romantic image of employed”8. She mentions that 90

EVERYBODY CREATIVE?

percent

Still independent, artisanal creative

hospitals, colleges, offices, as well as

makers have done little to mitigate

in retail stores and people’s homes

general trends. For the last two

and most people either depend on

decades, median household income

a regular paycheck from a large

has basically been stagnant, while

organization or have informal jobs

rent increased almost 25 percent and

were they are paid off the books.

of

Brooklynites

work

in

52 percent of Brooklyn’s residents are spending more than 30 percent of

Another problem is that small-scale

Of the 50000

businesses have a limited impact on

jobs that were created, only a small

the borough’s total economy. For all

rise of 1300 jobs is in creative sectors

their energy and creativity, Brooklyn’s

related to the area’s boom and new

young entrepreneurs tend to have

image, such as art, entertainment

few employees. The factories of

and recreation. Unfortunately most of

the past employed hundreds, if not

the jobs are created in the low-wage

thousands. Etsy has a staff of just

service sector. Health care and social

180 people, and Brooklyn Brewery

assistance for example account for

has only about 50 employees. 9

their income on rent.

6

5.

Adam, Bonislawski, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”.

6.

Adam, Bonislawski, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”.

7.

Adam, Bonislawski, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”.

8.

Sharon, Zukin, in: Bonislawski, Adam, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”.

112

CREATIVE Impulse

|

Niche economy

essay

of higher wages exists. After all, Also, if we focus on areas farther

prosperity in the 21st century will no

from the East River, the image built

longer be about life-long employment

up by the media vanishes fast. The

and

lovely idea applies mostly to areas

but on connecting, contributing and

and population close to Manhattan.

creating, all in strong relationship with

What about inner borough Brooklyn

our daily life. 11

and

less

prosperous

ever-increasing

consumption,

areas? As

bit players in the nation’s economy,

“Just because the futureeconomy is here today doesn’t mean our support system has caught up” 12

depends on whether creative culture

(Sara Horowitz)

Slate Magazine notes, “the question whether liberal arts entrepreneurs will usher in a new era, or remain

catches on and sticks in Middle America, and whether the masses

Emphasizing that every job should

It is very

be creative in order to abolish the

will be able to afford it.” doubtful

whether

10

borough

gap between lower-wage service and

Brooklyn will follow the tendencies

inner

high-pay creative class is one thing,

along the coastline.

but establishing a support system for small, independent businesses

WORK/Live CHALLENGES That

being

said,

is yet another. There are still a lot of creative

entrepreneurs are a strong impulse

challenges creative businesses have to deal with.

to change the way Brooklynites work and live. First of all, it’s already a

First, there is the fact that being a

big accomplishment that more and

successful

more people leave routine jobs to do

a significant amount of risk and

something that they like and make

an

things of which they are proud. If an

It’s difficult to be an artist and a

individual can exercise judgement

businessman all at once. Fortunately,

and decision-making at work in order

there are more and more coworking

to innovate and enhance productivity,

centres

his input is of greater value and his

where knowledge and skills are

job is less likely to be offshored.

shared, what makes it easier to

Furthermore, when higher quality

combine these two.

products are made, the possibility

Then, most startups usually can’t

entrepreneur

enormous

and

amount

business

involves of

work.

incubators

9.

Kay S., Hymowitz, “How Brooklyn Got Its Groove Back” City Journal 21 nr 4 (2011)

10.

Will, Oremus, Slate. “Industrial Devolution” Accessed April 6, 2013. http://hive.slate.com/hive/made-america-how-reinvent-americanmanufacturing/article/industrial-devolution

11.

Philip, Auerswald, “Bliss Is On the Way: The Case for Economic Optimism” Accessed April 6, 2013. http://www.good.is/posts/bliss-is-on-theway-the-case-for-economic-optimism

12.

Sara, Horowitz, in:Bonislawski, Adam, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”.

Niche economy

113

afford their own factory or retail

interact

space, unlike Silicon Valley tech

The connection to Manhattan, high-

ventures that are able to attract

tech areas like Dumbo, and affluent

big investors. Instead, they share

Brown-stone Brooklyn is crucial at

space and equipment in converted

the moment. The cheaper and inner-

factories and warehouses, and team-

city area of Brooklyn therefore will not

up together to sell their wares at

be a direct solution.

and

distribute

products.

farmer’s markets and street fairs.

To support and grow a collaborative Capital is crucial for a business

community, the creative class needs

in

Brooklyn

to get politically organized. City,

this is especially the case on the

New

York

City.

state and federal regulations, fees

waterfront,

where

In

manufacturing

and fines are extremely burdensome

is being displaced by speculation

for small businesses. The public

and

conversions.

and

high

value-

proactively implement policies and

added activity because the major

with the right technical assistance,

investments

and

they can create sustainable business

equipment. There is little money

plans that will transform more people

left over to pay for land, making

into entrepreneurs.14

residential

“Manufacturing

is

are

a in

labor

nonprofit

organizations

must

small businesses very vulnerable to displacement”13. This uncertainty

ADVANTAGES OF A HIGH VALUE CLIMATE

makes

There are enough opportunities to

to

13.

14.

114

it

even

reinvest.

less

attractive

Furthermore,

when

change New York’s manufacturing

industrial parks are being hollowed

landscape, allowing the Brooklyn

out by non-industrial conversions,

economy to prosper. New York City

such as hotels, big-box superstores

has always been a fertile ground

or offices, they tend to have serious

for high value manufacturing and is

consequences on the surrounding

home to a thriving technology and

areas.

walk-to-work

information environment. The city will

communities like Sunset Park, are

always provide a high cost business

threatened with a decline in quality

environment. However businesses in

of life through the replacement of

all sectors can adapt to high costs by

well-paying jobs by low-wage retail

producing high added value goods

jobs. Relocating to cheaper areas

and services to provide middle-class

isn’t always an option, because of

and decent entry-level jobs. These

the need of a creative community

jobs create an entry for the poor into

and people climate to participate,

the middle-class. The strategy is as

Adjacent

Adam, Friedman, Pratt center for community development. “Transforming the city’s manufacturing landscape.” Accessed April 6, 2013. http:// www.hunter.cuny.edu/ccpd/repository/files/Friedman%20GG%20Transforming%20the%20City2019s%20Manufacturing%20 andscape.pdf incoln, Restler, in: Bonislawski, Adam, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”.

CREATIVE Impulse

|

Niche economy

essay

true for manufacturing as it is for the

for a tangible reward or unique

arts, legal and financial services and

experience, like t-shirts, a dinner with

other sectors of the economy.

the artist or maybe a piece of an art installation.

“If New York City is a business, it isn’t Wal-Mart...

It’s a high-end product.” 15

It’s important to keep on expanding

(Adam Friedman)

economic

niche sectors and try to nurture rooftop

diversity farms,

by

expanding

artisanal

food

If small businesses want to have a

factories,

real impact on the economy, they

universities and locally owned shops.

have to grow. It would require a lot of

They continue building the image

local businesses, like Kings County

of Brooklyn: an image of diversity,

Beef Jerky, to turn into national

edginess and specialization, to attract

producers or even multinationals.

new generations of entrepreneurs.

cultural

workspaces,

That’s possible, of course. They keep the local spirit but use technology

CONCLUSION

and

expand.

Although the new Brooklyn economy

Though, they should be careful not

isn’t there yet, the foundation to

to loose the homespun appeal that

change the old one is being laid.

made their business successful in

The impact of creative entrepreneurs

the first place. Only time will tell how

is still too small. However the idea

many of today’s startups can survive

that we have to adapt our work/live

over the long haul. “History has

environment to provide answers to

shown that many of Brooklyn’s small

future

businesses grow into big businesses,

Brooklyn’s manufacturing landscape

such as Domino Sugar, Brillo, Alpo,

is

Sbarro Pizza and PC Richard &

sites such has the Brooklyn Navy

Son.”16

Yard, Third Ward and Industry City

global

branding

to

challenges

changing

is

and

widespread.

old

industrial

are again open for business. The Online funding program Kickstarter

interaction and collaboration between

is a great example of how small

creative,

creative projects can expand with the

manufacturing businesses is showing

help of technology and social media.

signs of success and in the future

The lack of capital that startups often

the expansion of niche sectors that

have to deal with can be raised by

create a diversity of higher skilled,

people who believe in the project.

higher-wage jobs, will offer more and

Backers pledge money in exchange

more paths into the middle class.

tech,

information

15

Adam, Friedman, Pratt center for community development. “Transforming the city’s manufacturing landscape.”

16

Marty, Markowitz, in: Bonislawski, Adam, “Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?”.

and

Niche economy

115

transport in need Stagnations in transportation development The evolution from locally manufactured goods along the shoreline distributed locally by barges or trains, towards globally containerized cargo transported by trucks has now left NYC with a lot of unused and overused infrastructure. Near the water as well as within the urban tissue, old infrastructural veins are reprogrammed for other uses, while existing road and public transportation structures are under pressure.

Rethinking the way both old and existing transportation spaces are used, can have a big impact on future developments for a borough in economic and ecological need.

Unlocking the hinterland In the nineteenth century, industrial development

along

the

Brooklyn

coastline began to thrive, with goods being transported overseas and by railway.

Overland, rail tracks were constructed connecting the five boroughs with Long Island, New Jersey and upstate NY. Most railroads carried freight as well as passengers, sometimes in the same rail car.

1

1

Along these tracks, freight depots were constructed and many different industrial activities took place. In this period, between

transportation NYC

and

connections New

Jersey

became essential to connect the city to the western land. An essential element in this connection was the car oat ferry route between Brooklyn and New Jersey.

An important development in waterbased transportation was the Erie canal which opened in 1825. It completed a navigable water route

2

from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes and thus connected New York City with the rest of the State.

3

Located in Red Hook, the Atlantic, Erie and Brooklyn Basins served as a transfer end of the canal.

Lake Ontario

Other areas along the waterline were becoming thriving places of activity

Erie Canal

as well, due to the many

Hudson River Atlantic Ocean

local and upstate naval routes, of

Lake Erie Brooklyn

which thousands of piers along the Brooklyn and Manhattan coastlines bore witness.

126

transport in need

3

| Unlocking the hinterland

1

Trains meeting in 1877

2

Piers and ships in 1880

3

Erie canal route

Map

big boat route ferry route pier railroad basin

big boat route

big boat route big boat route ferry route ferry route pierroute big boat pier railroad ferry route railroad basin pier basin railroad

ferry route big big boat boat route route pier ferry route railroad ferry route Railroad big boat route Light naval route basin pier Terminal Freight naval route basin pier ferry route Market Pier railroad railroad Basin 1912 manufacturing pier basin basin railroad trucking route expressway Rail and shipping in 1920 127 basin trucking route interborough

Faster, bigger, standardized After WOII, three major and interacting national shifts changed the face of freight transportation: the decline of the railway network, containerization and the construction of a national highway

system.

For

NYC

a

consequence was the growth of New Jersey as opposed to for example the Brooklyn coastline as a container port because of space requirements and technological developments.

1

An

network

extensive

highway

was constructed in a couple of

1

decades, connecting areas of freight concentration such as airports and terminals. The big overlap between the old railway network and this new development shows the ‘taking over’ of a different modus of transportation.

For

the

past

decade,

the

Port

Authority has been deepening the channels of the harbor in one of the largest dredging projects in American history. While the northern area of Brooklyn remains unreachable for the huge container ships because of the clearing of the bridges, more than $1 billion will be spent to raise the Bayonne Bridge between New Jersey

and

Staten

Island.

Two

Brooklyn terminals are being revived

FIRST GENERATION: CONVERTED CARGO VESSELS AND TANKERS

1956 - 1970 656ft SECOND GENERATION: CELLULAR CONTAINER SHIP

1970 - 1980 705ft THIRD GENERATION: PANAMAX CLASS

1980 - 1988 951ft

in Red Hook and Sunset Park, where

AIR DRAFT MIN:

new

1988 - 2000 1000ft

intermodal

technologies

are

necessary because of lack of space: direct unloading of containers in the already present warehouses opens

195FT

FOURTH GENERATION: POST PANAMAX CLASS

FIFTH GENERATION: POST PANAMAX PLUS

2000 - present 1100ft

interesting possibilities.

2

128

transport in need

| Faster, bigger, standardized

1

Port New Jersey around 1965

2

Ship growth

Map

B

M

W

big boat route ferry route big boat route big boat route pier ferry route ferry route railroad pier pier basin railroad railroad basin basin big boat route

big boat route

ferry route

ferry route

pier big boat route railroad big boat route ferry route railroad basin big boat route big boat route pier ferry route basin ferry route ferry route railroadpier pier basin pier railroad trucking route expressway railroad railroad basin trucking route interborough basin basin trucking route expressway truckingroute routelocal expressway trucking Tuck route expressway trucking route interborough trucking route interborough Terminal market Truck route interborough trucking route local Wholesale market Airport trucking route local pier

B Brooklyn Bridge clearance 135ft M Manhattan Bridge clearance 135ft W Williamsburg Bridge clearance 135ft

Container terminal

Railroad tracks

Navigable water routes

2012 manufacturing

trucking routenetworks expressway 129 Current overland

trucking route expressway

trucking route interborough

On a highway to hell?

In Brooklyn, planning magnate Robert Moses

designed

the

expressway

system at the end of the 1930s as an aid to national defense and industry. It was to run along the western shoreline of the borough while cutting through various neighborhoods and forming a divide in the tissue.

The

1

Brooklyn-Queens-Expressway

(BQE), a six-lane highway, was designed prior to the development of the Interstate Highway system, which is why design

1

aws such as

sharp curves, lack of shoulders and short ramps are no exception. Low clearances obligate high trucks to drive on local roads for parts of their route. Because of all this, dangerous conditions create lots of accidents.

3

Repairs on the BQE began as early as the 1960s, before its official opening in 1964 at a total construction cost of $137 million.

Six years

after finishing the highway, a major

2

$30 million reconstruction of an intersection began. From the 1980s onward, adjustments were made to fit standards, but still a lot of

aws

remain. Currently, there are constant safety and congestion issues. Recent projects of reconstructions had a total cost of approximately $320 million.

3

130

transport in need

| On a highway to hell?

1

Construction of the BQE

2

Traffic on the B E

3

Traffic accident on the B E

4

Trenched BQE going green

5

Highways to Trains

Alternatives for the current road situation are being proposed, studied and then cancelled or postponed.

Costs for proposals such as the construction

of

tunnels

or

the

rebuilding of sections of the highway range from $200 million to $20 billion.

To make the trenched parts of the BQE more liveable for the neighborhood, â&#x20AC;&#x153;greenâ&#x20AC;? design proposals have been 4

developed with costs from $10 million to $100 million.

4

For now, small scale repairs are constantly being executed to maintain safety,

but

these

are

strongly

depending on funding preferences.

As congestion problems rise, and trucking becomes less economically and ecologically interesting, thinking big might be necessary: reconstructing the whole highway at once, into a high-tech highway thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s designed for the current size of vehicles for 5

example. Or could the structure be redesigned to support other vehicles such as bicycles or light rail trains, such as Columbia University students conveyed in an interesting proposal and argumentation in 2008?

5

131

Rediscovering old ways Ways of integrating the old custom of rail transportation and small shipping within the transportation system are being considered to meet with growing pressure on highways.

4

With 80% of all cargo in NYC carried by trucks and only 1% by rail, removing trucks from the roads is a challenging ambition. It is clear from the relative energy efficiencies

that

rail and barge are more ecological and economical alternatives as opposed

1

to truck, but heavy rail infrastructure also produces noise and fumes and can become a disrupting scar tearing

through

neighborhoods.

NIMBY resistance and high finance costs make any big revival project a struggle.

Intentions

of

Management the

the Plan

Bloomberg

Solid

Waste

proposed

by

administration

to

restructure the waste deposit business and transport garbage by rail and

2

barge show a political will to embrace these alternative transport modes.

To increase the share of rail freight movement within NYC and Long Island, a number of options were considered and tested in the last couple of years by the government, spending nearly $200 million since 2007.

In 2012, the Sunset Park rail yard reopened.

2

3

The area is symbolic

because it was an essential link in the connection between NY and NJ ever

3

1

132

transport in need

| Rediscovering old ways

Hunts Point produce market

2

Sunset Park rail yard

3

Car oat in Sunset Park

4

Number of miles one ton can be carried per gallon of fuel

since the 19th century. Alternative to polluting, congesting and road wearing

trucking,

the

underused

waterways could be reinvented. With Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marine Highways Program, marine

transportation

revival

is

studied nationwide. The reopened terminals of Red Hook and Sunset Park show a renewed interest in the water as an active sixth borough. For movements between NJ container ports and NYC coasts, but also between different locations along the waterfront, short sea shipping by freight ferries is considered. As use of the roads becomes more and 59 miles

more inefficient from an economical perspective, using â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;water trucksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; might become one of the solutions.

202 miles

514 miles

4

133

On a lighter note Experimenting

with

freight

transportation isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a priority in NYC, although it is becoming more and more important. A lot can be learnt from European cities such as Paris, where policies are more focused on promoting new ways of moving goods within the city centre.

One option is bringing back small

1

logistic facilities within the centre, socalled Urban Logistics Spaces (ULS), to reduce truck travel distances. In Paris, an example of such a space is an underground parking lot managed by

the

municipality

called

the

Concorde.

Environmentally friendly modes of transportation can be used such as electric vehicles or bicycles to move goods from these U S to their final destination.

A third option is the combination of public and freight transport, using public transportation infrastructures for light freight rail cars.

Planning for and keeping urban logistics

and

production

spaces

alongside rail tracks and waterfronts anticipates

future

infrastructural,

economic and social problems by shortening delivery distances and keeping low wage jobs within the city.

As mentioned before a very open and willing policy and community are needed, and with freight movement in NYC being controlled mainly by private parties, profitable incentives should be created to steer towards new directions.

1

134

transport in need

| On a lighter note

Cargocycle

A Greenpoint warehouse, centrally located within New York’s Boroughs is home to “from the source”.The first oor of the old depot houses the showroom of the self declared green company, active in the niche-market of tropical wood furnishing and interior design. The raw wood, plantation grown or reclaimed, originates from Indonesia. The decorations and furnishings however are crafted locally, at the warehouse in cooperation with the expert craftsmen working behind the scenes in the big manufacturing room. In this way, the company provides in a custom made service.

Targeting high-end costumers with high price tags, from the source opened a second sales point in Manhattan. The readymade design, however, can be picked up in, or delivered from, the Greenpoint exposition room, with suggestions from the helpful staff of course.

Hassan Habib explaines how the wood is transfered by container ship from Indonesia to the Port of New Jersey.

The wood is then transferred to trucks which drive the final stretch, up north parallel to the Hudson River, through Lower Manhattan, under the East River, through Queens, to arrive in its final destination in Greenpoint.

But how ecological can imported products really be and would a change in the last 16 miles of transport from trucks to short sea shipping thugs mean a big difference?

Personal story

135

Mass transport for everyone?

NYC is known for its great public transportation

system.

The

24/7-subway system is unique in the world. It is also the city where the largest percentage of people walks to work.

Despite these facts, New York is far from a car-free city, as is shown by huge road congestion numbers.

Some regions of the outer boroughs aren’t well connected at all.

1

This is

1

due to a Manhattan-oriented public transportation

system,

prioritising

accessibility in the western part of the Borough. For example, there is no concentric connection between all subway lines in Brooklyn, the majority of the lines form a direct connection with Manhattan. The ferry network

2

is

limited to the northern neighborhoods.

In the southern regions, car use is rule rather than exception. Numerous “dollar vans” (illegal private buses)

3

are a symptom of this lack of

2

connection. They drive along bus stops where commuters have been waiting for delayed buses to pick up customers and charge them a dollar for a speedy drive to their destination.

A total of nearly 6 000 illegal cabs were confiscated in New York in 2012.

3

136

transport in need

| Mass transport for everyone?

1

Car ownership in Brooklyn

2

East River Ferry

3

Dollar van

Map

big boat route big route ferryboat route ferry pier route pier railroad railroad basin basin

big boat route ferry route pier railroad basin

big boat route ferry route truckingpier route expressway trucking route expressway railroad trucking expressway trucking route interborough trucking route route interborough basin trucking route local trucking trucking route route interborough local trucking route local

Subway

Expressway

Bus

Ferry stop

Public transportation networks

137

To

maintain

its

position

as

a

number one public transport city in combination with a predicted rise of population in the city by 1 million in the 20 years to come, thinking big is necessary. Two ambitious expansion options are being explored.

One is a revival of the trolley system, inspired by the network of around 1930, which is being evaluated in Red Hook and Downton.

2

3

1

The second option is an expansion of the subway network. While some lines are being executed, others remain vague, such as the horizontal line that cuts through Brooklyn and most of all the other subway lines following the path of the abandoned railroad track.

Although construction of a lightrail or subway would be less disruptive as opposed to new highways, NIMBY opposition plays a big role. New road development has always stirred real

2

3

estate development in its proximity, illustrated

by

bicycle

lanes

or

Greenways. Could road development be considered a tool to make big ambitions such as rail development possible?

As opposed to the Hudson Ferry which restarted service in 1986, the East River Ferry was only revived recently, in 2011. Expension of the water transportation network could serve neighborhoods that now lack connections.

138

transport in need

| Mass transport for everyone?

1

Trolley history in Red Hook

2

Streetcars for Brooklyn proposed project

3

Brooklyn streetcar system 1930

Map

big boat route ferry big route boat route pier ferry route railroad pier basin railroad basin

trucking route expressway trucking route interborough trucking route expressway trucking route local trucking route interborough

big boat route big boat route ferry route ferry route pier pier railroad railroad basin basin

trucking route local Proposals

Existing ferry stop

Existing subway

Proposals

Public transportation proposals

139

Waterfront greenway The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Initiative is an ambitious project to

unify

the

waterfront

with

its

constituencies by means of creating a safe and “green” path for pedestrians and bikers.

1 2

When completed, the fourteen-mile, separated bike route will connect neighborhoods to four major parks and several other open spaces along the waterfront, responding to the continuous increase in commuters

1

by bike in the borough. The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway will serve as an integral link of New York City’s fast

growing

greenway

network,

connecting the Manhattan Greenway system, Queens Greenway and the Shore Parkway Greenway.

The

initiative

local

community

was

started

by

organizations

in

association with the Regional Plan Associated

and

from

state’s

the

Protection

Fund

receives

funding

Environmental and

the

Local

Waterfront Revitalization Program.

Having a lot of political momentum, 2

the Greenway is a powerful tool for

are represented by a demarcated space on the road, class III only by a road sign.

140

transport in need

| Waterfront greenway

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

state. For instance class II bike lanes

2002

lanes are available or are in a good

x2

2001

prolific on maps, not all of the bike

2000

Although the greenway system seems

x3

1999

cemetery.

1998

as the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s naval

x4

1997

such

1996

parkland,

1995

into

1994

redeveloped

1993

proactively seek out sites to get

1992

activists

1991

Greenway

1990

properties.

relative amount of commuters by bike

initiating redevelopment of waterfront

3 1

Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway

2

Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway

3

Relative increase of communting by bike

Map

Proposed or planned Greenway Proposed or planned Bik Lane Proposed or planned Greenway Class 2 Bike lane Proposed or planned Bik Lane Class 3 Bike Lane Class 2 Bike lane Greenway Class 3 Bike Lane Major Parks Greenway Major Parks Brooklyn commuting by Bike Brooklyn commuting by Bike Manhattan commuting

by Bike Brooklyn bike commuters Manhattan bike commuters

Manhattan commuting by Bike

Proposed or planned Greenway Proposed or planned Greenway Proposed or planned Bik Lane Proposed or planned Bik Lane Class 2 Bike lane Proposed Class 2 Bike lane Proposed or or planned planned Greenway Greenway Class 3 Bike Lane Proposed or planned Greenway Class Bike Lane Proposed or or planned planned Bik Bik Lane Lane Proposed Proposed or planned3Greenway Greenway Proposed or planned Bik Lane Proposed greenway Proposed bike lane Class Greenway Class 2 2 Bike Bike lane lane Proposed or planned BikParks Lane Bike lane Greenway ClassClass II bike2 lane Major Class 3 Bike Lane 3 Bike Lane Major park Major Parks ClassClass III bike lane Class 2 Bike lane Class 3 Bike Lane Greenway GreenwayBrooklyn commuting Class 3 Bike

by Lane Bike Greenway Brooklyn commuting by Bike Major Parks Major Greenway Park andParks Greenway map 141 Major Parks Manhattan commuting by Bike Major Manhattan commuting byParks Bike Brooklyn commuting by Bike

Much has been said, written, tweeted and blogged these last few years about biking in Brooklyn. Officials have been taken the buzz into action and are transforming New York City’s streetscape into a pedestrian and bikers friendly environment. Taking the letter to the test, I, an outsider/tourist with a rather basic Brooklyn knowledge, will bike the Borough.

The self declared rules of engagement of this experiment are: follow the most bike-friendly route without the use of a map, smartphone or GPS. Here follows a testimony of a Brooklyn by bike experience.

The experiment started by using Spinlister, a funky social media based bike-rent website, which introduced me to Loretta. Black, one-geared and in great shape, this iron horse would surely fulfil its duty.

On the 17th of September, early in the morning, I took Loretta out for the Brooklyn trip. Still somewhat uneasy in traffic, I decided to follow a group of biking hipsters on their daily commute to work. A separate bike path led us by the Brooklyn Navy Yard, an industrial park in historical settings.

We were biking on the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a community driven initiative to connect parks along the East River by “green infrastructure”. Only glimpses of the promised waterfront, though, were perceived during this part of the trip.

As suddenly as it had begun the super-bike-infrastructure vanished into thin air. This is where I got lost (I). I was designated to crisscross streets in search of a decent biking path. Unfortunately, the green line on the NY-biking map, turned out to be a virtual one.

This criss-crossing technique brought me to Flatbush Avenue, straight through Manhattanized Downtown Brooklyn, like its bigger counterpart dominated by high-rise buildings and wide

142

transport in need

| Personal story

streets. Unfortunately this meant choosing between riding on the sidewalk and biking on a six-lane wide highway. Soon after, my first harsh contact with the king of the city jungle was a fact. Alive and well I made it to Prospect Park, a true relief. A car-free recreational four-lane (!) track gave me the opportunity to test Loretta’s max speed.

Taking on a slower pace, I continued my trip southwards.

After getting lost (II), I stumbled on a small pedestrian bridge crossing the interstate Belt Parkway towards my first contact of the day with Brooklyn’s waterfront. A pleasant bike/pedestrian path, trapped between the East River and the expressway, took me under the Verrezano-Narrows Bridge all the way to, well, to nothing. A Wendy’s burger tent, however, provided the sportsman with some additional calories.

With Loretta still loyal by my side the trip took me to the famous Coney Island pier. Going Eastwards I started to leave the city behind and was biking through the partly landfilled marshlands of Jamaica Bay along the interstate Parkway.

Realizing this would take me to Long Island, heading north was the way to go. Biking through the car-mecca of East New York it was very clear that the car is the sovereign ruler here. Greenways or separated bike paths were nowhere to be found.

Continuing the trip northwards, this time Loretta intervened. A de ating front tire ended my tour of Brooklyn prematurely. But to be honest, I am grateful for it.

Brooklyn’s waterfront biking infrastructure made it worthwhile, however once inland, biking required constant attention and often led me into dangerous situations. But with rising awareness and greenway implementations Brooklyn has taken a good step towards embracing its biking community.

Personal story

143

Moving goods, moving neighborhoods Vacant pier and rail infrastructures are now being developed into new commercial and residential cores or beautification projects to reconnect the surrounding neigborhoods.

The Manhattan High Line Park

1

is

certainly the best known symbol of this reuse and an example for other cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia. A green park now covers the West Side Line, which was an active passenger and freight rail until 1980. It brought

1

a huge urban infrastructural vein down to the human scale, leaving no possibility for it to function within a bigger transportation network. This park development had a huge impact on its surroundings: with about $2 billion of real estate developments, it can be considered a veritable gentrification tool.

In Brooklyn, unused rail tracks bear witness to the decline of once thriving heavy industries along the coastline. 2 Are these historical areas to become magnets for profitable developments in the future, or will there still be room for productivity?

2

144

transport in need

1

High Line park

2

Brooklyn rail relict

3

Brooklyn Bridge Park

4

Intrepid Air-Space Museum

| Moving goods, moving neighborhoods

Near

the

water,

the

piers

are

reprogrammed with new uses. Park developments like Brooklyn Bridge Park

3

and Bushwick Inlet Park in

Brooklyn and the Hudson River Park, Battery Park City and East River Waterfront Esplanade on Manhattan, explore ways to reach out to the water with recreational, residential and commercial uses. The attempts to realize a continuous waterfront 3

walkway are part of this evolution towards embracing the water.

But

other uses are also possible. Pier 57 was converted into a huge garage for the Metropolitan Transit Authority and at Pier 86 the Intrepid AirSpace Museum was constructed. 4 All kinds of public realms are designed on former places of industrial activity.

On the other hand, most of these developments

are

repetitions

of

the generic kind of public park, with some

benches

and

vegetation.

The unique opportunity of reusing these

sites

is

often

met

with

economical opportunism to make the developments beneficial through real estate.

4

145

Transport movements

From moving goods and people to moving neighborhoods

When trucks started distributing freight between huge container ports and local warehouses or storage places around the middle of the 20th century, a shift occured in transportation. Untill then, trains and barges moved goods between hundreds of piers and centralised manufacturing locations. Three major and intertwined developments contributed to the shift: the construction of a national highway system, containerization and the decline of the railway network. Combined, these evolutions created a transport situation in New York with congested and high-maintenance roadinfrastructures and abandoned waterfronts. Pressure on roads will only grow in the next decades, and as trucking becomes less economically efficient, the city should search for qualitative long-term solutions for both freight and public transportation.

TOWards stagnation Technological

Brooklynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s freight rail connection lay

innovations

such

further up north, and tunneling was

as the Erie Canal and geographic

not an option (electrical propulsion

advantages made the Port of New

limited the weight capacity), so goods

York the biggest port of the country

to and from the west travelled the

by 1840. Thirty years later, the

Hudson and East river on small fleets

waterfront had gradually developed

of towboats, barges and car floats.

into

a production machine: an

Less navigable waterfronts such as

amalgam of wooden docks, piers and

Red Hook and Gowanus were lined

wharves were occupied by oyster

with more noxious industries.

merchants, brewers, carpenters...

The decline of NYC manufacturing The initially

Manhattan

waterfront

developed

by

was many

was

ironically

neighbouring

conceived Port

in

Newark,

the New

different private manufacturing and

Jersey, where trucking entrepreneur

warehousing

Malcom McLean and his company

companies

because

of the geographical benefits of the

Sealand

location. The presence of the water,

facilitating easy movement between

but also of the New York Central

the different modes of transport,

Railroad, the only railroad on the east

eventually leading to the use of

side of the Hudson connecting NCY

standardised containers. The growth

to the western hinterland, were a big

of

advantage for industrial development.

created by the faster and cheaper

The downside was that the four-track

method of containerization, caused

rail bed fenced off the water from the

trade operatons to move from the

islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior.

crowded urban waterfront to large

developed

possibilities

and

a

technology

infrastructure

vacant lands, like the newly landfilled meadows of Port Newark Eizabeth.

Movements

147

few shipping lines wanted to unload

“Although this highway is notoriously old, clogged with traffic, and in bad physical condition, there are many unique features along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The designs of the overhead arches, the brick walls and other features are very varied from section to section.

Besides, where else are you going to find something like the Brooklyn Heights Esplanade?” 1

there. Port Newark was much bigger,

(Mike Tantillo)

As waterfront and freight rail use between NJ and NY declined, leading to

the

or

abandonment

bankrupties,

conversions

as

experienced

today, officials, politicians and labor organisations examined responses concerning a new waterfront policy.

By the end of the sixties, activity along

the

waterfront

declined.

However, when the city did introduce plans for a container port, and even became owner of a plot after years of procedures, demolishing

homes

and paving over the land, the port would steadily lose money because

and had a better connection to the rest of the State.

Current approach construction

With an overall strategy of patching

of the Interstate Highway System

up, instead of long-term investments,

further stimulated railway decline

the BQE is an examplary case

as

showing

The

simultaneous

trucking

took

over,

taking

the

lack

of

long-term

a

holistic

advantage of flexibility in destination

approach,

and organization and aided by the

creativity

vision

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956.

transportation issues. Studies are

Under the influence of planning

done and designs proposed, from

magnate

concerning

and

(freight)

NYC

small-scaled beautification projects

became a testground for large-scale

and reconstructions to tunneling, but

infrastructures

Robert

Moses,

in

road-based transportation as such

highway construction as planning

doesn’t seem to be questioned. With

started

the life-span of this

as

and

soon

pioneered as

1930.

The

heavy-impact

Expressway

highway steadily coming to an end in

(BQE), for example, was built prior

the next couple of years and actual

to modern expressway standards,

execution of big maintenance works

causing a problematic situation with

being postponed, radically rethinking

steep maintanance costs.

the approach to infrastructure will be

Brooklyn-Queens

necessary.

1.

148

Mike Tantillo on NYC Roads by Eastern Roads. “Brooklyn-Queens Expressway” Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.nycroads.com/roads/brook lyn-queens/

transport in need

| Movements

ESSAY

connecting millions of people, NYC

“Now that New York City is reclaiming its waterfront and converting it from historical maritime and mercantile uses to a more democratic, recreational public space, it is all the more important that we allow ourselves to dream big, by inviting plans for the most imaginative parks and urban amenities.” 5

has within its own borders an example

(Philip Lopate)

With a predicted population growth in NYC of

approximatly a million

people2 and the freight amount nearly doubling3 between 2000 and 2030, the scope of the problem stretches beyond highway infrastructure. The NY urban area already had the biggest total annual road congestion cost of all American regions in 2011 of $11,837 million4, surpassing cities such as LA and Chicago. With a unique public transportation system

of a functioning network. Can the city learn from this for their transportation

Besides these conversions, some

of goods?

alternatives to the current transport hiatuses are growing in interest, as

At present, the relicts of infrastructural

trucking

veins

are

become more expensive. To form new

being exploited for commercial and

links between container ports and

residential uses on a neighborhood

local distribution areas, old means

scale, stirring real estate development

are being reinvented. This poses

by beautifying the region. The High

the question: can old rail tracks be

and

the

waterfronts

and

road

infrastructures

ine Park is seen as a magnificant

revived and the sixth borough be

symbol for reconnection between

reactivated? A political will to realize

neighborhoods and a tool for new

these ambitions is certainly present,

development; it is also a witness to

as the Bloomburg Administration has

the end of an era: a time where trains

planned to start moving garbage by

rumbled over the island serving a

rail and barge and to revive shipping

productive city. Times have changed,

activity on the east side of the Hudson.

but from an ecologic and economical perspective, big infrastructures should

The recent reuse of Sunset Park's

not only be considered as disruptive

65th Street Rail Yard has taken 225

giants but also as possible connectors

trucks from the roads already in 20126

on a city-wide scale.

and demands for use of this new system are growing.

2.

New York City Population Projections by Age/Sex & Borough 2000–2030, December 2006, Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/ pdf/census/projections_briefing_booklet.pdf

3.

Hu, Winnie, “Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use” New York Times, July 19, 2012. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/nyregion/65th-street-rail-yard-reopens-in-brooklyn.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

4.

TTI’s 2012 Urban Mobility Report Powered by INRI Traffic Data, Accessed April 7, 2013. http://d2dtl5nnlpfr0r.cloudfront.net/tti.tamu.edu/ documents/ums/congestiondata/national/national-table2.pdf

5.

Philip Lopate in Reimagining the Waterfront, Manhattan’s East River Esplanande. MCNY. 2012, 9

Movements

149

on a globalized economy? Thinking As a historical connector with Port

about transportation methods means

New

an

thinking about a changing economy

essential element in cross-harbor

and the effects of these changes on

movements, and even a freight rail

the structure of the city.

Jersey,

the

railyard

is

tunnel connecting the Brooklyn and Jersey shorelines is being studied, although it is a utopian option for now. moving forward Could a renewed freight system attract productivity, as harbours and railroads did a century ago? Urban industries have shifted towards the production of ideas rather than nuisance and smog.

Globalized and containerized markets outside of the city are putting pressure on local markets and infrastructures.

Still,

the

population

ever-growning will

need

urban essential

products such as clothing and food.

Certain industries will also be needed within the urban environment, as they bring low-wage jobs and social diversity. They stir creativity, with the ability to respond quickly to change, and are the most direct way to reduce the disastrous consequences of long-distance transportion, with the

proximity

designers,

of

manufacturers,

showrooms,

retailers,

fabric suppliers...

With a growing demand for just-intime deliveries, the interplay between transport networks and the logistics of local economies becomes ever more important. What can be the effect of niche markets, keeping manufacturing in the city because of a number of local parameters,

150

transport in need

| Movements

Greener choices From polluted grounds to fertile soil Brooklyn is struggling with a long history of productivity. The rediscovery of its industrial territory pressures the city to redevelop its brownfields and remediate what are some of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most polluted sites.

Simultaneously, the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waste handling program is becoming an ever increasing burden on its communities, while the energy supply has shown its vulnerability during the post-Sandy blackout. New York is facing the choice whether to continue on shipping its trash to ever larger out-of-state landfills and building new polluting power plants, or to change course by investing in recycling, diversifying and greening its power generation and upgrading its building stock. Although Mayor Bloombergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PlaNYC touches on many of these issues, its overly market-based nature threatens to leave less powerful constituents behind.

Polluted Brooklyn Historically Brooklyn has been home to some of New York City’s most polluting

industries.

Not

wanted

on the isle of Manhattan because of their pollution and in search for ever larger spaces, industries such as shipyards, chemical processing plants and sugar, oil and copper refineries settled in Brooklyn. For a long time these industries were left to pollute unbridled by regulations, often dumping their toxic waste straight into the waterways.

1

Today most of these toxic industries have either relocated or vanished completely, but their presence is still felt in the form of the pollution they left behind. It is no coincidence that Brooklyn’s two most polluted sites are also its two only navigable channels on the industrial waterfront. Both the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek are on the National Priorities List, a federal list of the nation’s most hazardous toxic sites that pose an

2

immediate threat to the population.

During Brooklyn’s industrial heyday these two water bodies were bustling with industrial activities, and got polluted almost beyond redemption in the process. Some of the biggest historical polluters were the so called manufactured gas facilities, mainly run by a company called Brooklyn Union Gas. The factories produced

1

162

greener choices | Polluted Brooklyn

1952 Gowanus Canal

2

1921 Newtown Creek

3

2012 Gowanus Canal

4

2012 Newtown Creek

methane gas through the gasification of coal, producing noxious byproducts such as ammonia, sulfur and tar, which were often discharged directly into the water bodies. Other important contaminants include heavy metals and PCBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

Some of these, like the coal tars, are heavier than water. This has caused them to sink to the bottom and form a toxic sludge lining the bottom of both channels. Not only is this 3

sludge difficult to clean up, requiring it to be moved in its entirety, during floods it also gets washed out into nearby streets, creating a permanent threat to the inhabitants of adjacent neighborhoods.

The use of thick concrete bulkheads and the implementation of a sewer system have caused the flow of fresh water into these channels to cease.

The resulting stagnant waters and a constant stream of combined sewage

4

overflows make passive remediation of these streams impossible.

163

Recovering Brooklyn In recent years New York City has made an effort to identify and remediate its polluted lands. Gowanus canal for example is set to be cleaned under the federal Superfund law, for which both Gowanus and Newtown Creek are eligible. This law was established in 1980 after a series of environmental disasters, and allowed authorities to force the potentially responsible party (PRP) to clean up the pollution they caused. A tax was also instated on polluting companies, the revenue of which went into a fund called the superfund. This fund was to be used for remediation in the case that the

1

companies responsible or liable for

1980

the cleanup had gone out of business or could not be traced. The tax on

Tax on petroleum & chemical industries

polluting companies was discontinued

Fine on PRP’s

in 1995 by Congress however, and the Environmental Protection Agency

70%

has been struggling to get funds for

30%

the program ever since.

As part of New York’s PlaNYC the

Super Fund

city has become the first municipality to create its own brownfield program.

$6 Billion

1996

Generally speaking cities are not very keen on proactively seeking out

Government

brownfields or releasing information

Tax on petroleum & chemical industries

about them when there is no specific

Fine on PRP’s

interest for redevelopment. Although Pla

’s chapter on brownfields

states identification as one if its main goals, the cities role in this remains to be seen. A mapping of Brooklyn’s

Super Fund 2003

known brownfields does point out that much work remains to be done

2

in identifying the supposed thousands of contaminated sites throughout the borough.

164

greener choices | Recovering Brooklyn

1 2

P A

Brownfield ogo Super Fund Scheme

Map

brownfield superfund national priorities list brownfield superfund national priorities list Poverty > 36.5 pct.

Poverty > 65.4 pct.

Manufactering since 1961

brownfield superfund

brownfield superfund nown Brownfield

brownfield brownfield superfund Class two hazardous waste remediations site City Superfund Site superfund national prioritie national prioritie Brown Field Map 165 national priorities list site on National Priorities List

NYC’s garbage problem With the 2001 closure of Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island,

ew

ork

abandoned its last in-state landfill and the elaborate system of barge based garbage transportation that went with it. Today 10 out of the 15 million tons of waste produced by New York each year are disposed outside of the city.

Most of this waste, about seventy percent, is transported to landfills in

1

Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Although municipal and private waste get collected independently, both get trucked to the same transfer stations that are often concentrated in industrial and socially disadvantaged neighborhoods. In fact, 38 percent of New York’s waste gets transferred in facilities along Newtown Creek, creating

serious

environmental

concerns in the South Bronx and Greenpoint.

Most transfer stations are privately run, and the city has seen the cost

2

of its waste disposal soar since the closure of Fresh

ills landfill.

n top

of this, out-of-state landfill capacity is diminishing, and other states are looking

to

implement

legislative

measures to keep New York’s garbage out of their landfills. All this adds up to an impending waste crisis for the city.

Although efforts to increase recycling and reuse solid waste are being made by the city itself and through incentives for the private sector, no

3

significant changes are underway.

166

greener choices | NYC’s garbage problem

1

Port Elizabeth, New Jersey arond 1965

2

Ship growth and bridge heights

3

Greenpoint metal recycling

Map

Waste Facilities Poverty > 36.5 pct.

Poverty > 65.4 pct.

Solid waste facilities Map

167

NYC’s solid waste management Under

the

Mayor

Bloomberg

Administration, a new solid waste management

program

is

taking

place. The main objective is to reduce the impact of heavy traffic on the access roads to New York City.

A total daily amount of about 2000 long-haul trucking trips are moving 22 thousand tons of garbage from waste transfer stations (WTS) to landfills outside of the

1

ity exerting

a tremendous pressure on the roads and communities. In particular the neighborhoods

surrounding

South

Bronx, Newtown Creek (Brooklyn) and Jamaica (Queens) are responsible for nearly 65 percent of NYC’s waste handling. By stimulating WTS by barge (1barge= 28 tractor-trailer trucks) instead of WTS to long-haul trucks, the impact on these communities can be reduced and distributed more evenly. However any major change in the waste management program is difficult politically because it is bound

2

to alienate some constituency or other.

The city’s waste management plan also incentivizes recycling. In the fall of 2013 a state of the art facility in Sunset Park will be fully operational, capable of handling 600 tons of waste every day. The goal is to double New York’s recycling capacity by 2017.

In

this

way,

the

Bloomberg

Administration is able to cut the amount of solid waste truck traffic

3

by 60 percent, leading to improved accessibility and air quality in

ew

York City.

168

greener choices | NYC’s solid waste management

1

Truck Waste Transfer Station

2

Barge Waste Transfer Station

3

Sunset Park Recycling Facility

Map

1150 long-haul truck trips/day 1150 long-haul truck trips/day 1150 long-haul truck trips/day 1150 long-haul truck trips/day

450 long-haul truck trips/day 450 long-haul truck trips/day 450 long-haul truck trips/day 450 long-haul truck trips/day

200 long-haul truck trips/day 200 long-haul truck trips/day 200 long-haul truck trips/day district district district district 200 long-haul truck trips/day

District WTS toWTS long-haul to truck long-haul truck WTSWTS to long-haul truck to long-haul truck WTS to long-haul truck to barge WTSWTS to barge WTS to barge WTS to barge WTS to barge WTSWTS to train to train

WTS to train WTS to train

1150 1150 long-haul long-haul truck truck trips/day trips/day

1150 long-haul truck trips/day 450 long-haul long-haul truck truck trips/day trips/day 450

450 long-haul truck trips/day

200 long-haul long-haul truck truck trips/day trips/day 200

200 long-haul truck trips/day

district district

WTS to train WTS WTS to to long-haul long-haul truck truck WTS WTS to to barge barge

Waste Transfer Stations Map WTS to to train train WTS

169

NYC: electrical load pocket New York City’s electricity consumption is similar to that of countries like Portugal or Switzerland, with a peak load demand of 11505 MW. Although this may seem like a huge number, New Yorkers actually do very well when compared to the rest of the country. In fact, New York is second only to Rhode Island when it comes to energy usage per capita. This low consumption is a consequence of the city’s sheer density and its widely used mass transportation system.

New York City is known in electrical terms as a ‘load pocket’, which means that transmission lines cannot carry

1

<5000 MW <5000 MW MW < 5000 <5000 MW <5000 MW <2500 MW <5000 MW MW <2500 MW < 2500 <2500 MW <2500 MW <1000 MW <1000 MW <2500 MW MW <1000 MW < 1000 <1000 MW <500 MW <500 MW <500 MW <1000 MW <100 MW <500 MW MW < 500 MW <100 <100 <500MW MW <100 MW 100 MW <100 < MW

enough electricity into the city to meet its peak load demands.

onsequently

New York has to generate 80% of its electricity within the city, with the remaining 0 percent to be acquired through

the

transmission

grid.

Transmission lines connect the city to upstate New York, New Jersey and Long Island, providing a maximum theoretical capacity of about 5000

80 %

2

1

170

Map of powerstations

2

NYC load pocket

3

Gowanus Canal power barges

greener choices | NYC: electrical load pocket

MW. This capacity is generally not reached on

because

local

of

transmission

constraints lines

and

production facilities.

For its in-city power plants New York relies mainly on natural gas (23%), residual fuel oil (5%) or a combination of the two (72%). Although natural gas is by far the cleanest of the two, generating almost no sulfur and low emissions of nitrogen oxides,

3

most plants still use heavily polluting residual fuel oils for their power generation.

During peak usage times both in summer and in winter the city relies on a series of smaller, more polluting facilities that can be used flexibly during peak load times. A particular example of this are the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power barges, a series of floating generating stations throughout the harbor. These bargesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; combustion turbines run on both natural gas and fuel oil, and serve mainly to offer system-peaking capacity.

20 %

171

Energy crossroads For its in-city power generation New York relies heavily on natural gas that is imported through pipelines or shipped in by boat. 95% of New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural gas is extracted in Canada and the Gulf Coast Region and the remaining 5% comes from in-state sources. The dependence on extra-national energy sources is a nationwide problem, and the US is trying to push for energy independence by tapping in to its own natural resources that are often located in ecologically vulnerable areas. Upstate New York is home to a large reservoir of natural gas that is trapped in shale rock. This gas can be extracted by a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, but the chemicals used in this process threaten to pollute New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clean water supply. Currently a statewide moratorium on fracking is in place, but the public debate is ongoing.

Simultaneously

New

York

is

at

the forefront of the green energy movement.

172

Verdant

Power

greener choices | Energy crossroads

1

is

1

NYC subway anti-fracking poster

2

Natural gas storage in Greenpoint

3

Verdant Power tidal turbine

currently building the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first gridconnected tidal turbines in the East River, after a series of successful on-site tests. At 1MW of production capacity this power station will not be a game changer, yet it could set an example for future exploitment of the east riverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong tidal force. The city is also partnering with the private sector to retrofit wastewater treatment plants into waste-to-gas facilities by 2

capturing the methane gas released during water treatment and injecting it into the natural gas distribution system.

Mayor Bloombergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PlaNYC also incentivizes distributed generation, enabling property owners to generate their own energy and encouraging the installation of solar cells. These strategies

of

diversification

and

decentralization will be key if the city wishes to keep a resilient power supply in the face of global economic and climatological changes.

3

173

Brooklyn based LEED buildings In 2001, the U.S. Green Building

L

EADERSHIP IN

Council (USGBC) introduced a rating

E

NERGY AND

E

NVIRONMENTAL

D

ESIGN

Global certification

system for designing green energy buildings. The so called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

R LEED CE TIFIED

LEED SILVER

LEED GOLD

LEED PLATINUM

40-49

50-59

60-79

80+

(LEED) system is a voluntary, market based

strategy

into

encouraging

Local Incentives

companies to construct environmental friendly

buildings.

recognized

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

a

Structural

globally

certification.

expedited review/ permitting process

Density (FAR) and height bonusses

Financial

Tax Credits

Free Reduction/ Waiver

Other

Grants

Revolving Loan Funds

Technical Assistance Marketing Assistance

The

incentives however, differ from one

1

jurisdiction to another.

The vulnerability of the system is inherent to its root: a points based system leads to implementing the cheapest

most

effective

LEED

rewarding points, regardless of the effectiveness of the implementation. In this way the

certification is used

as a marketing tool, falsely promoting the building as energy efficient.

Although

the

certification

system is a rather recent phenomena, the current (as of December 2012) LEED

buildings

are

remarkably

2

located at the north west of Brooklyn in the vicinity of Manhattan, indicating where current investments are taking place.

It is hard to draw conclusions out of the location of the current LEED buildings in Brooklyn (as of December 2012) due to the rather recent introduction of the system. It, however, clearly reveals where current investments are taking place: in the near vicinity of Manhattan.

174

greener choices | LEED in Brooklyn

3 1

LEED diagram

2

Brooklyn LEED Buildings (12/2012)

3

LEED PLATINUM at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Cleaning up Brooklyn’s act With the launch of PlaNYC in 2007 New York City has undertaken an ambitious effort to become “a greener, greater city”1. The plan proposes 127 initiatives, addressing topics from housing and neighborhood parks all the way to global climate change.

All-encompassing though this plan may be, it is not exempt from criticism. The emphasis on business incentives for its implementation seems to aggravate existing gentrification and social inequity, while the top-down nature of the plan alienates some of the local citizens’ organizations that could mediate such effects.

Still, the mere fact that the plan exists and that it has put sustainability on the agenda could be enough to justify its existence. The rise in green consciousness is creating a movement from the bottom up that is illustrated by packed greenways and booming community gardens. Some challenges however, do need to be addressed through a healthy dose of top-down planning, and this is where a synergy with communitybased organizations could really mean the onset of a green revolution.

The re(dis)covery of a territory

With the implementation of PlaNYC

The

2030,

decline

of

Brooklyn’s

the

city

has

established

manufacturing base has allowed the

a

borough to rediscover its industrial

created the city’s own brownfield

territories. In recent years there

office, the Office of Environmental

has been tremendous pressure to

Remediation, the first of its kind.

redevelop some of these zones,

This effort, and various other grants

as they often occupy prime real

on both state and national level,

estate at the borough’s waterfront.

have changed developers’ attitude

Questions

usurpation

towards brownfields. They no longer

of productive zones by residential

shy away from them, and sometimes

uses

before,

even actively seek out polluted sites

but the act itself induces some

because they have become more

challenges of its own. Many of the

advantageous

sites left in the wake of vanishing

This kind of market-based policy,

industries

where

about

have

this

been

are

raised

contaminated

and

new

brownfield

for

program

and

redevelopment2.

government cleanups

incentivizes

require cleanup before they can

brownfield

be reused. The future use of a

some criticism. Since contaminated

does

raise

site

to

sites only get mitigated through

which it needs to be cleaned, so

private initiative, brownfield cleanup

the

determines

the

degree

residential

becomes a real estate operation

conversions of industrial sites also

and these efforts get concentrated in

entails very high cleaning costs.

neighborhoods were developers can

current

focus

on

1.

”PlaNYC”, City of New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://nytelecom.vo.llnwd.net/o15/agencies/planyc2030/pdf/planyc_2011_planyc_full_report.pdf.

2.

Alan Berger, “Drosscape: wasting land in urban America”, Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006

Cleaning up Brooklyn’s act

177

gain the largest profit margins. Such

because for them, affordable housing

policies lead to a big environmental

is a priority over living in a clean

injustice for socially disadvantaged

environment. With the remediation

neighborhoods,

brownfields

of local pollution it becomes possible

are often clustered. These areas, like

that other, wealthier, social groups

the ones around Newtown Creek,

that value a clean environment move

are also burdened with an unfair

to these neighborhoods, displacing

share of the city’s waste transfer

the

station and wastewater treatment

polluted territories . Although it would

plants. Deprived communities are

be rather cynical to dispel the city’s

left to fend for themselves and

brownfield program on the ground

they

so.

that it may have some unexpected

are

where

increasingly

doing

local

residents

further

into

4

Greenpoint/Williamsburg

effects, this problem should be taken

area for instance, local community

into account and local communities

organization El Puente reacted to

should be actively involved during

an asthma epidemic by organizing

cleanup processes.

In

the

a health survey with the aid of a local high school science class. By combining

the

obtained

scientific

data with input from local residents through community meetings and house visits, a much more specific image

of

the

asthma

problem

emerged than would otherwise have

“We do not need heavy industrial expansion next to a park. That will undermine one of the few bright spots in the community.”

5

(John McGettrick)

been gained from raw numeric data .

3

This information can then be used to

A similar conflict to this contestation

combat disease in a more effective

over polluted lands between different

way and give a personal dimension

social groups can be found between

to the city’s general health programs.

different types of land users. The

Even

sites

impending $500 million cleanup of

when

contaminated

neighborhoods

Gowanus Canal under the Superfund

do get cleaned up, the issue of

program which includes the dredging

environmental

in

low-income

is

and stabilization of sediments along

raised. Oftentimes the less wealthy

the entire canal is the stage for one

are drawn to these neighborhoods

such battle6. In an attempt to attract

gentrification

3.

Natalie Robiou, “Environmental Justice and Street Science: A Fusion of Community Knowledge and Environmental Health Justice to Address the Asthma Epidemic in Urban Communities”, Environmental Tutorial Professor John Van Buren, April 30, 2008

4.

H. Spencer Banzhaf and Eleanor McCormick, “Moving Beyond Cleanup: Identifying the Crucibles of Environmental Gentrification”, NCEE Working Paper Series, Working Paper # 07-02, January, 2007

5.

John McGettrick, co-chairman of the Red Hook Civic Association in “Gowanus sludge could be made into concrete”, Natalie Musumeci, Last Modified February 18, 2013, http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/36/8/dtg_sludgetoconcrete_2013_02_22_bk.html

6.

”A Price Tag for the Gowanus Cleanup”, Mireya Navarro, Last Modified December 27, 2012, http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/

178

greener choices | Cleaning up Brooklyn’s act

essay

new

ships

land, and another 10000 m² is set

to the park’s marine terminal, the

business

and

larger

to be built next year in Sunset Park.

shore-side Gowanus Industrial Park

Although a city like New York will

has proposed creating a disposal

never become self-sufficient, these

facility on 33 acres of its underwater

food sources can play a major role

property7. This proposal was not

in diversifying and supplementing

received well by the Red Hook

our supply chain to make it more

community,

because

resilient7. On top of this, urban farms

the proposed site is close to the

help to raise awareness about issues

neighborhood ball fields and park.

of sustainability and physical health.

Instead of attracting more maritime

Another token of this increasing

business

local

green mentality is the enormous

especially

to

their

vicinity,

would

increase in bike use throughout the

prefer to see a new park along the

city, especially in Brooklyn, where it

waterfront.

quadrupled over the last 20 years.

community

organizations

This significant increase, and the From

polluted

grounds

to

fact that bike-users are often part of

productive soils

Brooklyn’s more vocal communities,

With the ongoing battle for Brooklyn’s

has led to the implementation of a

polluted areas, these same grounds

network

are the arena for the emergence of

by PlaNYC. The newest addition

new bottom-up green movements.

to this network is the Brooklyn

Community

gardens

are

of

greenways

supported

popping

Waterfront Greenway, a bicycle path

up throughout the borough, often

running next to the former industrial

on vacant city-owned lots. These

waterfront effectively cutting it off

gardens provide communities with

from the rest of the borough and

a modest source of fresh food, but

further increasing the pressure for

are mainly a social and educational

redevelopment. This new flow of

agent.

commuters

Simultaneously

however,

also

passes

through

Brooklyn is witnessing the dawn of

communities

its first commercially viable urban

pleased by their presence, but do

farms.

not have the same influence on city

Farms

run

by

Brooklyn

Grange and Gotham Greens in the

that

are

less

than

governance.

Brooklyn Navy Yard and Greenpoint cultivate more than 7500 m² of farm

7.

“Gowanus sludge could be made into concrete”, Natalie Musumeci, Last Modified February 18, 2013, http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/36/8/dtg_sludgetoconcrete_2013_02_22_bk.html

8.

Urban Farm Gotham Greens Gives Us Brooklyn Lettuce”, Will Halsey, Last Modified January 10, 2013 http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-10/urban-farm-gotham-greens-gives-us-brooklyn-lettuce

Cleaning up Brooklyn’s act

179

“by using the word plan and implying that PlaNYC is akin to a comprehensive sustainability plan, the Mayor and his allies have in many ways alienated potential allies“ 9

(Donovan Finn)

Government regulations and a new widespread have take

ecological

produced into

awareness

businesses

account

that

environmental

and social consequences of their activities. ‘Green’ is slowly becoming an industry in and of itself, with companies using recycled materials such as glass or cooking oil as the basis for their products. On top of this, the increasing cost of energy

Much like the conflicts that arise

and transportation, and the new

with brownfield redevelopment, this

idea that manufacturers are not

tension is illustrative of a broader

only responsible for the creation of

criticism on PlaNYC that is being

a product, but also for the recycling

raised.

document

of its parts, are pushing the point

calls itself a plan, its roots have

of production back towards local

been traced back to an economic

markets11. Regardless of the recent

development strategy10, and at times

stream of rezonings, there is a

it seems to be just that. Market-

definite demand from industries trying

based

and

to get back into the city and New York

environmental injustice, and when

would do well to investigate ways to

local communities do get involved,

reconcile industrial and other users.

it is often the least vocal ones that

The need for reconciliation is the

ought to be protected the most.

central theme that emerges from

Although

policy

the

causes

social

all of the above evolutions and problems. If New York’s goal of

A green productivity Brooklyn’s

industry

significantly

since

heyday.

Although

changed

becoming a greener city is to be

productive

taken seriously it is necessary to

has its

some

of

the

abandon

the

dichotomy

between

big-scale

real estate, greenness, social and

are

still

environmental justice and industry in

present in the form of brownfields

order to create a synergy from which

and

unused

the ‘green’ will emerge as a logical

today’s

manufacturing

traces and

of

its

polluting

former industries

infrastructures, businesses

consequence.

are small and far less noxious.

9.

Donovan Finn in “PlaNYC2030: Does Greener Really Mean Greater?”, ACSP/AESOP conference, July 2008

10.

Donovan Finn, “PlaNYC2030: Does Greener Really Mean Greater?”, ACSP/AESOP conference, July 2008

11.

Adam Friedman, “Transforming the city’s manufacturing landscape”, in From disaster to diversity: What’s next for New York City’s economy?, ed. Jonathan P. Hicks, Dan Morris, 21-37. Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, 2009.

180

greener choices | Cleaning up Brooklyn’s up

Epilogue

The sixth chapter on a productive borough has touched upon several issues that are illustrative of the rejuvenating post-industrial city. As Brooklyn is on the long way back from both the hard times of the 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and the latest recession, different problematic topics and their intervention opportunities have arisen.

The snapshot of topics portrayed in this volume shows a redeveloping city which has regained its interest in neglected industrial territories. Vacant or still productive, these spaces appeal to entrepreneurial Brooklynites looking to enhance their lifestyle or expand their economic operation. Recurrent examples are loft conversions, galleries, public parks, creative and tech industries entrepreneurs in search of the authentic Brooklyn industrial image, and new places of physical production returning to an improving business climate. The ambitions these potential operators portray regarding the built environment, deserve attention in order to ensure a sustainable development beneficial to an urban vibrancy.

The organizational framework regulating NYCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic life, supports a wide variety of such developments offering financial incentives on several scales, attracting entrepreneurs to specified locations within the city. However policies set up for the long run donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always coincide with mayoral policies at the time, resulting in unclear spatial manifestations, further burdening productivity along the heavily contested waterfront. The fickleness of the IBZ structure and ambiguities of mixed use zoning are both prime examples of how policy can be used either in support of or against productivity.

183

Epilogue

Polluted territories and abandoned infrastructures along the waterfront take up large and valuable spaces. Capital investment on these prime sites emerges when a viable financial opportunity is present, for example a high-end real estate development, occupying large parts of these sought after places and leaving their industrial past behind. The effort to find a balance between work, live and play is overshadowed by the possible short term gains of the latter two. Competing uses are often displaced unless protected by regulation, and forced to fullfill their goals in other ways. An absence of capital in less valued areas however, provides for a changing mindset. Adapting to a fragmented productive environment, these are the places where a bottom-up approach can fill in the temporary blanks, albeit marginal. Problematic vacant or landbanked territory once again serves as a testground for new means and modes of being productive, be it an ecological mindset or creative entrepreneurship.

These

new samples can grow into viable operations and help shape the image of a productive and resilient city can be In unveiling and structuring a set of thematic tendencies, insights in Brooklynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s complex operations can now serve as a base for further individual discourses.

The research on the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the second volume of this series portrays an in-depth study of the issues on a more local scale. The research will crystalize in individual design theses, approaching a range of challenges on the theme of industry and production in and around the Navy Yard.

184

References

BROOKLYN MADE & CHANGED BOOKS p 30-33

Stiles, Henry Reed. A History of the City Of Brooklyn. Including the Old Town and Village of Brooklyn, the Town of Bushwick, and the Village and City of Williamsburgh, Volume 2. Brooklyn: Published by subscription, 1867

p 30-39

Snyder-Grenier, Ellen. Brooklyn! An Illustrated History. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996

p 38

Freeman, Joshua. Working-Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II. New York: The New Press, 2001.

p 52

Harris, C. D., Ullman, E. L., “The Nature of Cities”, source: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol.

242, November 1945, p. 7 – 17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1026055?origin=JSTOR-pdf.

p 66

Tiefenbrun, S., Tax Free Trade Zones in the p.1-57.

orld and the United States,

heltenham, dward lgar Publishing imited, 01 ,

JOURNALS, ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS p 52-55

Batelaan, M., “Think global, act local and fail”, Management Site, April 11, 2006, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.managementsite.nl/554/strategie-bestuur/think-global-act-local-and-fail.html.

Rowthorn, R., Ramaswamy, R., “Deindustrialization, Its Causes and Implications”, Economic Issues, September 1997, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues10/issue10.pdf.

Anon., “What Is the Locavore Movement?”, Planet Matters and More, Internet, April 24, 2012, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.planetmattersandmore.com/food-and-the-environment/what-is-the-locavore-movement/.

Gallardo, L., “Why Think Global, Act Local is no longer enough”, Deloitte, March 15, 2011, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://globalblogs.deloitte.com/deloitteperspectives/2011/03/why-think-global-act-local-is-no-longer-enough.html.

Urban Made, “The initiative”, AEDC, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://urban-made.org/#/initiative/present/.

Davidson, A., “A Revival In American Manufacturing, Led By Brooklyn Foodies”, NPR, February 24, 2012, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/02/24/147291416/a-revival-in-american-manufacturing-led-by-brooklyn-foodiesa.

p 56

Anderson, M., Bram, J. “Declining Manufacturing Employment in the New York–New Jersey Region: 1969-99.“ Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Second District Highlights Vol.7, Number 1 January (2001). Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.newyorkfed. org/research/current_issues/ci7-1.pdf Manufacturing Institute, The, Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, National Association of Manufacturers, “Facts about Manufacturing“ The Manufacturing Institute. November 2012. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.themanufacturinginstitute. org/Research/Facts-About-Manufacturing/~/media/A9EEE900EAF04B2892177207D9FF23C9.ashx

p 57

Adapted from: Deitz, Richard. “Restructuring in the Manufacturing Workforce: New York State and the Nation.” The Regional Economy of Upstate New York, Winter Volume (2004): 2 Bureau of labor Statistics Information ffice. ew ork Area mployment - ovember 01 . Bureau of abor Statistics news release, January 3, 2013. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.bls.gov/ro2/9490.pdf Gardner, Jennifer et al. “Wallabout Bay. New York City’s First Industrial Business Improvement District.“ Pratt Programs for Sustainable Plannig and Development. April 28, 2012. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://cargocollective.com/jennifergardner/WallaboutIndustrial-BID

p 56-58

Buckly, Cara. “That Cheap, Roomy Loft Can Now Be a Legal One, Too.“ The New York Times, July 25, 2010. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/nyregion/26loft.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& Ferraldo. ulian . Zoning for xchange reative-Industrial Incubators in orth Brooklyn and the Formalization of Innovation.

Master Thesis, GSAPP Columbia University, 2012. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ ac:147459 Haughney, Christine. “New Law Expands Rights of Some Loft Residents“ The New York Times, June 22, 2010. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/new-law-expands-rights-of-some-loft-residents/ Hills, R.M., Schleicher, . The Steep osts of Using oncumulative Zoning to Preserve and for Urban Manufacturing. eorge Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 10-02; University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 77, Number 1 (2010). Accessed April 8, 01 . http lawreview.uchicago.edu sites lawreview.uchicago.edu files uploads .1 -1- oncumulativeZoning-Hills 0- 0 Schleicher.pdf Spagnuolo, Peter. “City Begins to legalize Brooklyn Lofts.“ Metropolitan Council on Housing, January 2011. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://metcouncilonhousing.org/news_and_issues/tenant_newspaper/2011/january/city_begins_to_legalize_brooklyn_lofts

187

References | Brooklyn made and changed

References

Van Steenbrugge, Miguel. “Greenpoint-Williamsburg Waterfront Redevelopment.“ In Case Studies: Twelve cases on a city life, edited by Studio Brooklyn 2011-2012, 174-183. Master Thesis, Kuleuven, 2012. p 58

New York State Dep. of Labor. “NYS Decade in Review - Appendix C - NYC.“ Department of Labor. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.labor.ny.gov/stats/PDFs/NYS-Decade-in-Review-Appendix-C-New-York-City.pdf

p 62

Small Business Services, “starting a Business Improvement District, a step-by-step guide”, 2002, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/downloads/pdf/bid_guide_complete.pdf.

p 63

Linderman, J., “Life in the Triangle, Part 4: EWVIDCO”, Greenpoint Gazette, August 20, 2009, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.greenpointnews.com/news/1680/life-in-the-triangle-part-4-ewvidco.

p 65

Crean, S., “Did City’s Industrial Policy Manufacture Defeat?”, City Limits, January 2011, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.citylimits.org/conversations/125/industrial-policy-in-new-york.

New York City, “Protecting and Growing New York City’s Industrial Job Base”, New York City Industrial Policy, January 2005, Accessed April 7, 2013, http www.nycedc.com system files files industry ew 0 ork 0 ity 0Industrial 0Policy 0 8 00 .pdf.

p 66

New York State, “Excelsior Job Program”, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.esd.ny.gov/BusinessPrograms/Data/Excelsior/101411_ExcelsiorJobsProgramOverview.pdf.

Empire State Development, “Empire State Development”, Empire zones explained, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://esd.ny.gov/resources/072010_esdroadshow.pdf. mpire State evelopment, mpire Zone Program Sunset FA , Accessed April , 01 , http://esd.ny.gov/businessprograms/data/empirezones/empirezoneprogramsunsetfaqs.pdf. ynam, ., Pels, T., It’s Time to nd ew ork State’s mpire Zones Program , Accessed April , 01 , http www.cbcny.org sites default files report ez 1 01 00 .pdf. ew ork State, Assessing the mpire Zone Program, Reforms eeded to Improve Program valuation and ffectiveness , 00 , Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.osc.state.ny.us/reports/empirezone3-2005.pdf.

Empire State Development, “New York State Directory of Small Business Programs”, March 2012, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.esd.ny.gov/SmallBusiness/Data/NYSDirectorySmallBusinessProgram.pdf

p 68- 0

Bowles, ., laro, M., Forman, A. ew ork’s ew Business Boom, early twice as many new businesses were started in the five boroughs in 2011 than in 1991, and the lion’s share were started outside of Manhattan. “ Center For An Urban Future. March 2013.

Accessed April 8, 2013. http://nycfuture.org/pdf/New-Yorks-New-Business-Boom.pdf Croghan, Lore. ”Biz startups booming in Brooklyn: Even during recession entrepreneurs surged.” New York Daily News, March 13, 2013. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/bizstartups-booming-brooklyn-recession-entrepreneurs-surged-article-1.1287558

IMAGES p 30

Anon, “[Early Brooklyn Farm]”, Photograph. ca 1880, Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection; Brooklyn Historical Society. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.brooklynhistory.org/exhibitions/lefferts/early-brooklyn-farm/ Anon, “Old Stone House”, Artist Rendering. 200?. OldStoneHouse.org.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://theoldstonehouse.org/images/hp-slide-f-2.jpg Schenck, P. ., r., Zabriskie Homestead in 18 , Print. 18 , igitally Published in 00 . New York Public Library Digital Gallery.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?800660

p 31

Anon, “Old Brooklyn Farm Lands around 1800”, Map. 1896. Brooklyn Eagle, July 19, 1896 p20.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Map/1846.BklynFarmLands.html Stiles, Samuel E., “Plan of the town of Brooklyn and Part of Long Island Surveyed in the Years 1766 & 1767“, Map. 1867.

Geographicus Antique Maps. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/BrooklynTwn-stiles-1867

p

Anon illegible,

iew of Havemeyers

lders Sugar Refinery,

illiamsburgh,

ew ork. , ine ngraving. 18 6. Granger, Fine Art

Brooklyn made and changed

188

America. Accessed April , 01 . http fineartamerica.com featured brooklyn-sugar-refinery-granger.html Anon, “Wallabout Bay Navy Yard“, Artist Rendering.

1851.

Fine Print Accessed April , 01 . http fineprintnyc.com images blog old-new-york part-1 18 1- allabout-Bay-Brooklyn.jpg

NYC

Blog.

Guy, Francis“Winter Scene in Brooklyn“, Oil On Canvas. ca 1819-1820. Brooklyn Museum. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francis_Guy_-_Winter_Scene_in_Brooklyn_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg p 33

Adapted from: Anon, “View of Brooklyn, from the foot of Wall Street”, Period Tinting. 1855. Whitman’s Brooklyn. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.whitmans-brooklyn.org/2010/05/view-of-brooklyn-1855/ Currier & Ives. “The City Of Brooklyn“, Litograph. 1879. Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Collection. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.00663/

p

Anon, omen at work in an unidentified laundry , Photographic Print. ca 1 0 . Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004673394/ Anon, “U.S. Navy Fleet Supply Base, Brooklyn, N.Y.”, Photograph in A Record of Wartime Activities, by Turner Construction, 42-43. s.l.: s.n., 1919. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://members.trainweb.com/bedt/milrr/ndfsbp3.gif Blair, A., “Industrial Newtown Creek in Queens toward Manhattan with wooden boats and barges . New York. 1915”, Photograph.

1915. Flickr.com. Accessed April , 01 . http www.flickr.com photos wavz1 6 8160 06

p 35

Adapted from: Merchants’ Association of New York, “Industrial map of New York City : showing manufacturing industries, concentration, distribution, character“, Map mounted on cloth. 1922. New York Public Library Digital Gallery. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1691410 George Philip & Son “[New York]“ Map. 1920.

Accessed April 6, 2013. http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120916212459/boardwalkempire/images/d/df/1920_NYC.jpg

p 36

Anon, “Female factory workers preparing wood for pencil manufacturing in the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company factory”.

Photograph. 1920. Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory photography collection.

Accessed April 6, 2013. http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/2011/05/18/brooklyn-history-photo-of-the-week-2/ Thomson, Edgar, “Brooklyn Bridge and Elevated Road to Fulton Ferry”, Glass Plate Negative. 1896. Brooklyn Museum Brooklyn Collection.

Accessed April 7, 2013. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/170288/Brooklyn_Bridge_and_ Elevated_Road_to_Fulton_Ferry

p 37

Blair, A., “Gowanus Parkway 1940”, Photograph. 2011. Flickr.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http www.flickr.com photos wavz1 6 0 8

p 38

Anon, “Workers Picket at Ternstedt with the strike against GM more than 100 days old“, Photograph. 1946. The Associated Press.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.freep.com/article/20080831/BUSINESS01/808310378/GM-UAW-crossroads WPA, “Brooklyn Surplus Clothing Warehouse“ Photograph. 1938. FDRL Accessed April 8, 2013. http://newdeal.feri.org/library/ac25.htm

p 39

NYC “[NYCityMap]“ Aerial Photograph. 1950. NYCityMap Accessed November 24, 2012. http://gis.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/

p 40

Anon, “Ford to city: Drop dead, Daily News cover“ Newspaper. New York Daily News. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_to_City.PNG Anon, “[Heavily damaged Storefronts and Homes]“, 1977. Brooklyn Historical Society 1977 Blackout Slide Collection.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://brooklynhistory.pastperfect-online.com/35872cgi/mweb.exe?request=image&hex=v200704272-2.JPG

p 41

NYC “[NYCityMap]“ Aerial Photograph. 1996. NYCityMap Accessed November 24, 2012. http://gis.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/

p 40

Nara, ”[Machine Shop building 128]”, 193?. National Archives & Records Administration. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://s1.ibtimes. com sites www.ibtimes.com files styles picture this public 011 11 10 18868 - brooklyn-navy-yard.jpg Anon, “New Lab Section Perspective“, Rendering. 2012. Macro Sea Development. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.macro-sea. com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Navy-Yard-Section-Perspective1.jpg

p 41

189

NYC “[NYCityMap]“ Aerial Photograph. 1996. NYCityMap Accessed November 24, 2012. http://gis.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/

References | Brooklyn made and changed

References

p 55

Somethingstartedcrazy, “[Comparison between 2 coca-cola bottles]”, photograph, Accessed April http://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-management/management/business-studies/taking-your-business-abroad.

7,

2013,

Brown., J. M., “How Good is McDonalds? They’re Selling Burgers in India”, picture, Accessed April 25, 2013, http://www.thereformedbroker.com/2009/05/26/how-good-is-mcdonalds-theyre-selling-burgers-in-india. p 62

Anon., “First meeting for Convey St. / Kearny Mesa area BID”, photograph, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://wesleyquach.com/page/2.

p 63

EWVIDCO, “annual meeting to strengthen the relationships”, poster, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.electrofork.com/marketing/06ewvidco.html.

p 64

New York City, “Challenges of doing business in NYC”, graphics, Accessed April 7, 2013, http www.nycedc.com system files files industry ew 0 ork 0 ity 0Industrial 0Policy

0

8 00

.pdf.

p 65

Anon., “programs of New York State”, collage, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.shovelready.com/incentives.asp.

p 66

Hondros., ., illiamsburg Pfizer Building to Become Massive ulinary enter , photograph, Accessed April http www.grubstreet.com 01 0 williamsburg-pfizer-building-culinary-center.html

p6

H RZ , H., Poster promoting the first Free Trade Zone , Poster, Accessed April , 01 , http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harry_Herzog_First_foreign_trade_zone,_WPA_poster,_1937.jpg.

p 71

Anon, “[Raaka Chocolate logo]“, Digital Design. Raaka. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.raakachocolate.com/

p 75

Byron, J., Conte, E., “Transportation Equity Maps: Type of employment by residence; Job Centers of the NYC region“, Digital Maps.

2009. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://prattcenter.net/transportation-equity-atlas

p 77

Adapted from: Byron, J., Conte, E., “Transportation Equity Maps: Type of employment by residence; Job Centers of the NYC region“, tDigital Maps.2009. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://prattcenter.net/transportation-equity-atlas

, 01 ,

INTERNET WEBSITE p 30-40

Brooklyn Historical Society, “A brief History of Brooklyn, an Interactive Timeline.“ Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.brooklynhistory. org/default/timeline.html Fink, Micah. “History Of Brooklyn.” Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.thirteen.org/brooklyn/history/history1.html

p 30-38

Goode, Kristen. “Brooklyn History - An Overview. From Breuckelen to Brooklyn.” Accessed April 8, 2013. http://brooklyn.about.com/ od/historicbrooklyn/a/History.htm

p 32-40

Fons, Hannah. “Back to Brooklyn, A Quick History of the Borough“. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://cooperator.com/articles/1205/1/ Back-to-Brooklyn/Page1.html

p 38

Freudeneheim, Ellen. “December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day Had A Huge Impact on Brooklyn“. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://brooklyn.about.com/od/historicbrooklyn/a/December-7th-Pearl-Harbor-Day-Had-A-Huge-Impact-On-Brooklyn-Nyc-Ww-Ii-His tory.htm

p 38

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “NY-NJ Economy at a Glance.“ Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ny_newyork_ md.htm

p 52-53

Anon., “Bretton Woods Convention http://econreview.com/events/bw1944b.htm.

p 54-55

Anon., “Foodshed for thoughts”, Internet, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.locavores.com/.

Reorganizes

World

Economy”,

Accessed

April

7,

2013,

Russo, J., “What Does “Think Globally, Act Locally” Mean?”, August 3, 2011, Accessed, April 7, 2013, http://voices.yahoo.com/what-does-think-globally-act-locally-mean-8908513.html?cat=57.

Scope, “The Changing Meaning of Locavorism”, December 2012, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://locavoreinthecity.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/the-changing-meaning-of-locavorism/.

Anon., “Glocalisation”, Internet, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://rija-rasoava.weebly.com/glocalisation.html. p

Anon.

Manufacturing in ecline. ast modified March 1 , uncertainindustry/content/nyc-manufacturing-in-decline/

00 . Accessed April 8,

01 . http www.thirteen.org

Brooklyn made and changed

190

p 58

Center For an Urban Future. “Is Manufacturing back in Brooklyn?“ Accessed April 8, 2013. http://nycfuture.org/data/info/ismanufacturing-back-in-brooklyn

p 60

ew ork

ity, Financing

Incentives , Accessed April , 01 , http www.nycedc.com service financing-incentives.

New York City, “Incubator & Workspaces”, April 7, 2013, http://www.nycedc.com/service/incubators-workspaces?category=727.

New York City, “Programs”, April 7, 2013, http://www.nycedc.com/nycida/programs. p 6 -66

Z

A, map , April , 01 , http gis.nyc.gov doitt nycitymap template application ame Z

p 62

New York City, “BID Directory”, April 7, 2013, http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/html/neighborhood_development/bid_directory.shtml?show=boro.

A.

NYCBID Association, “What is a BID?”, April 7, 2013, http://www.nycbidassociation.org/. p 63

New York City, “NYCEDS Selects Four Organizations to Strengthen City’s Industrial Sector by Establishing New Industrial BIDs”, April 7, 2013, http://www.nycedc.com/press-release/nycedc-selects-four-organizations-strengthen-citys-industrial-sector-establishing-new.

p 64

New York City, “Industrial”, April 7, 2013, http://www.nycedc.com/industry/industrial.

Lyne, J., “New York Bulks Up Aid for Big Apple Manufacturers”, 2005, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.siteselection.com/ssinsider/incentive/ti0502.htm. ew ork ity, Industrial Business Zone Relocation redit , Accessed April , 01 , http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/businessexpress/template.PAGE/menuitem.e45713187803834f9e0e30106cd2f9a0?javax.portlet.tp st=bb9344828243f44f4772add001c789a0&javax.portlet.prp_bb9344828243f44f4772add001c789a0_returnRender=searchRen der&javax.portlet.prp_bb9344828243f44f4772add001c789a0_request_type=permitInfoRender&javax.portlet.prp_bb9344828243f 44f4772add001c789a0_indexPermitId=68FA22C8-21FC-11DD-AB2A-DB6594E29C31&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette. cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken.

p 65

New York State, ”Empire State Development”, April 7, 2013, http://esd.ny.gov/AboutUs.html.

Anon., “Business Incentives”, 2011, Accessed April 7, 2013, http://www.shovelready.com/incentives.asp.

p 75-77

Byron, J., Conte, E., “Transportation Equity Atlas. “ Accessed April 8, 2013. http://prattcenter.net/transportation-equity-atlas

OTHER MEDIA p 40

191

Lee, Spike. Crooklyn, Video. Hollywood: Universal Pictures, 1994

References | Brooklyn made and changed

CREATIVE IMPULSE BOOKS p. 98

Florida, Richard. The rise of the creative class: revisited. New York: Basic Books, 2012.

p. 100

Hasemann, Olivier; et al.. Second hand spaces. Berlin: Jovis, 2012.

p. 104

Florida, Richard. The rise of the creative class: revisited. New York: Basic Books, 2012.

JOURNALS, ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS p. 104

Peck, Jamie, “Struggling with the Creative Class” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 29 nr 4 (2005):740-770

p. 105

Hymowitz, Kay S. “How Brooklyn Got Its Groove Back” City Journal 21 nr 4 (2011)

p. 108

Kaysen, Ronda “Brooklyn’s Industrial Space Retools for a New Era.” New York Times (2012)

IMAGES p. 98

Anon, “Blue, white, black collar worker”, image. 2012. pre.cloudfront.goodinc.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://pre.cloudfront. goodinc.com/posts/1331489780Shirts2.jpg

p. 98

National Archives and Records Administration, “smokers lunch hours Brooklyn Navy Yard”, photograph. 2012. the desk set.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://thedeskset.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Smokers-crop-1024x802.jpg

p. 8

Reuters agadeesh , office workers , image. 01 . storage canalblog. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://p6.storage.canalblog. com/66/61/131196/53234836_p.jpg

p. 98

Anon, “3d printing”, photograph. 2012. malinos. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.malinos.com.br/uploads/tecnologia/061a65efa5f 0c912c6ca4c9992e38a5a.jpg

p. 99

Florida, Richard. “Class Structure from 1800 to 2010 (percentage in workforce)”, chart. 2012. The rise of the creative class: revisited. New York: Basic Books

p. 100

Anon, “Brooklyn Brine Pickles”, photograph. 2010. the greenpointer. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zTpg6u YLGjs/S9cx1q4ucfI/AAAAAAAAABA/AfMcjzcVsqU/s1600/jars.jpg

p. 100

Anon, “Scott jordan furniture”, photograph. 2011. apartment therapy. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/ images/uploads/11-7-jordan4.jpg

p. 100

Anon, “Brooklyn cruiser bikes”, photograph. 2011. inhabitat.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/ blogs.dir files 011 0 Brooklyn- ruiser-Bikes- .jpg

p. 100

Anon, “K Hansen earrings”, photograph. 2012. brooklynmakers.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://brooklynmakers.com/wp-con tent/uploads/2012/10/khansen-earrings.jpg

p. 101

Anon, “Ikea catalogue 2012”, photograph. 2011. alisverislik.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.alisverislik.com/wp-content/ uploads 011 08 A- 01 - ATA .jpg

p. 101

Chambard, François, “brooklyn-made furniture built from sandy’s scraps”, photograph. 2012. foerstel.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.foerstel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/14-3.jpg

p. 10

Anon, Brooklyn Flea logo , logo. 00 . brooklynflea.com. Accessed April , 01 . http www.brooklynflea.com wp-content uploads historical/2009/09/21/Logo.jpg

p. 102

Anon, “Smorgasburg Williamsburg”, photograph. 2010. smorgasburg.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.smorgasburg.com/ wp-content/uploads/Smorg-Aerial.jpg

p. 102

Anon, “Etsy Logo”, logo. 2012. workathomenoscams.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.workathomenoscams.com/wp-con tent/uploads/Big_The_Etsy_Logo.jpg

p. 103

Kings county jerky, “Kings county jerky website”, website. 2013. kingscountyjerky.com. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.kingscountyjerky.com

p. 10

Sirchio, eith, heartwalk , photograph. 01 . flickr.com. Accessed April 8, 01 . http www.flickr.com photos dumbonyc /8550961244/

p. 104

Anon, “Williamsburg Walks”, photograph. 2012. dnainfo.com. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/ photo/2012/06/1339175459.jpg/image640x480.jpg

p. 104

Urban75, “Bedford Avenue street scene Williamsburg.”, photograph. 2006. www.urban75.org. Accessed April 8, 2013.

Creative impuls

192

p. 105

http://www.urban75.org/photos/newyork/images/williamsburg-032.jpg Anon, “Dumbo bid logo”, logo. 2013. dumbo.is. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://dumbo.is/images/DUMBO0BID-logo-texture. png?1332474010

p. 106

lobal , The new (and boring ) Starbucks , photograph. 010. flickr.com. Accessed April , 01 . http www.flickr.com photos globalx/5118161063/

p. 106

Deskmag, “Metropolitan Exchange, oder MEx, in New York”, image. 2012. deskwanted.de. Accessed April 7, 2013. https://www.deskwanted.de/images/about_coworking1.jpg

p. 106

Anon, “third ward Brooklyn”, photograph. 2010. jacksonclarkpartners.wordpress.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http jacksonclarkpartners.files.wordpress.com 010 1 bha w 0 8 .jpg

p. 108

Harkin, Brian, “The atrium of the Brooklyn Army Terminal”, photograph. 2012. nytimes.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/26/business/BROOKLYN/BROOKLYN-articleLarge.jpg

p. 108

Anon, “industry city”, photograph. 2013. bushterminal.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.bushterminal.com/sites/all/themes/industrycity/slideshow/data1/images/homepageindustrycity1.jpg

p. 108

Anon, “industry ciy”, photograph. 2012. soniscoop.com. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://t0.gstatic.com/ images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQAmCBxqKk-OyxhTrYft443ap3ezLpOm_qIxX6sF20yr1r6i5mo

INTERNET:

193

p. 98

Wikipedia.com. “Creative class criticisms.” Accessed April 8, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_class#Criticisms

p. 100

Friedman, Adam, Pratt center for community development. “Transforming the city’s manufacturing landscape.”

Accessed April 6, 01 . http www.hunter.cuny.edu ccpd repository files Friedman 0 0Transforming 0the 01 s 0Manufacturing 0 andscape.pdf

0 ity

p. 102

Wikipedia.com. “Etsy.” Accessed April 8, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etsy

p. 102

Wikipedia.com. “Brooklyn Flea.” Accessed April 8, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Flea#cite_note-MAS_Announces_ Winners_of_2009_Awards_at_Annual_Meeting-7

p. 104

Wikipedia.com. “Etsy.” Accessed April 8, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_class#Places_of_high_Creative_Class_popula tions

p. 106

3rdward.com. “3rdward about.” Accessed April 8, 2013 https://www.3rdward.com/about

p. 107

trulia.com. “Brooklyn heat map.” Accessed April 8, 2013 http://www.trulia.com/home_prices/New_York/Brooklyn-heat_map/

References | Creative Impulse

References

TRANSPORT IN NEED BOOKS p.129

Ascher, Kate. The Works, Anatomy of a City. USA: Penguin Books, 2005, 56-89

JOURNALS, ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS p. 126 Roy G., Finch, “The Story of the New York State Canals.” New York State Engineer and Surveyor (republished by New York State anal orporation), 1 . Accessed April , 01 . http www.canals.ny.gov history finch history.pdf. p. 130

Robbins, Liz, “Road Work Ahead, Forever.” New York Times, January 4, 2012. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/01/05/nyregion/on-the-bqe-road-work-ahead-forever.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

p. 132

Anon, “NYU Approved, Freight Rail Revived, Bronx Rail Proposed, Tunnels Bored, Manhattan Waste Managed, Hive Installed, and the Olympic Games through Urbanist-colored Glasses” Urban Omnibus, July 27, 2012. Accessed April 7, 2013. http:// urbanomnibus.net/2012/07/the-omnibus-roundup-163/

p. 130

Buiso, Gary, “Highway robbery! State is mulling taking Heights homes for BQE repair.” Brooklyn Paper, January 12, 2010. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/25/all_gb_bqework_2010_06_18_bk.html

p. 130

Hoffer, Jim, “State cancels plans to rebuild BQE.” ABC Local New York, Februari 02, 2012. Accessed April 7, 2013.http://abclocal. go.com/wabc/story?section=news/investigators&id=8529471

p. 130

Kabak, Benjamin, “BQE reconstruction shelved, but is it a loss?” 2nd Ave. Sagas, November 30, 2011. Accessed April 7, 2013http:// secondavenuesagas.com/2011/11/30/bqe-reconstruction-shelved-but-is-it-a-loss/

p. 132

Nelson, Joshua, “Supply Chain Spotlight: Freight Rail” Urban Omnibus, October 19, 2011. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://urbanomni bus.net/2011/10/supply-chain-spotlight-freight-rail/

p. 132

Hu, Winnie, “Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use” New York Times, July 19, 2012. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/nyregion/65th-street-rail-yard-reopens-in-brooklyn.html?pagewant ed=all&_r=0

p. 132

Eller, Sandy, “Sunset Park Rail Yard Reopens as Freight Train Use Experiences Resurgence July 20, 2012. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.vosizneias.com/110311/2012/07/20/brooklyn-ny-sunset-park-rail-yard-reopens-as-freight-trainuse-experiences-resurgence/

p. 133

Sun, Chirstina, “From Trucks to Tugs: Short Sea Shipping” Urban Omnibus, May 15, 2011. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://urbanom nibus.net/2011/05/from-trucks-to-tugs-short-sea-shipping/

p. 133

Weisbrod, Roberte E., “Freight Ferries in New York-New Jersey Harbor” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transpor tation Research Board 1763 (2001): 106

p. 138

Freemark, Yonah, “Streetcars for Brooklyn: A New Life?” Urban Omnibus, May 7, 2009. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.thetrans portpolitic.com/2009/05/07/streetcars-for-brooklyn-a-new-life/

p. 138

Dunlap, David W., “Going Downtown, Downstream; Ferry at Riverfront Park Seen as Gateway to Wall St.” New York Times, December 10, 2001. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/10/nyregion/going-downtown-downstream-ferry-atriverfront-park-seen-as-gateway-to-wall-st.html

p. 140

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, “Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway: design principles” Regional Plan Association, Fall 2008. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.brooklyngreenway.org/greenpr/wp-content/uploads/Brooklyn-Greenway-Design-Principles.pdf

p. 140

RBA Studio, “The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.” New York City Dot, Fall 2008. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.brooklyngreen way.org/greenpr/wp-content/uploads/Brooklyn-Greenway-Design-Principles.pdf.

p. 145

Department of City Planning City of New York, “Expand Public Access.”, In VISION 2020: New York Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, March 2011, 24-33. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/cwp/cwp_2.shtml.

IMAGES p. 126

Anon, “East river waterfront incuding the London Line pier”, Drawing. 1856. Doug Sinclair’s Archives. Accessed April 7, 2013. http:// dougsinclairsarchives.com/gooch/horacegoochinv.htm

p. 126

Anon, “The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad”, Engraving. 1877. New York Central timetable.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.iridetheharlemline.com/tag/1800s/

p. 128

Anon, “Port Newark/Port Elizabeth, New Jersey“, Photograph. 1980. America on the Move Collection. Accessed April 7, 2013. http:// amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_465.html

p. 130

Blair, Andy, “Uncompleted BQE, 1952”, Photograph. 2011. ic wavz13/6556470097/

Accessed April , 01 .http www.flickr.com photos

Transport in need

194

p. 1 0

Muniz, Ivan, B

p. 130

Iudici, Anon, “Charred wreckage litters BQE after fatal smashup on Thursday”, Photograph. 2008. Daily News. Accessed April 7, 01 . http www.nydailynews.com new-york bqe-crash-kills-trucker-spurs-traffic-nightmare-article-1. 18

p. 131

Anon, “BQE Trench: Reconnection Strategies for Brownstone Brooklyn“, Drawing. 2007. dlanstudio project. Accessed April 7, 2013.

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, “Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway: design principles” Regional Plan Association, Fall 2008. Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.dlandstudio.com/projects_bqe.html

p. 1 1

Abelman, Ben, Siedle, ulia, Zheng, ingning, Highways to Trains (Urban April 7, 2013. http://www.msaudcolumbia.org/summer/?p=398

p. 132

Nelson, Joshua, “A double-stack intermodal train prepares to depart the Arlington Rail Yard on the Staten Island Railroad ”, Photograph. 2011. Urban Omnibus. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://urbanomnibus.net/2011/10/supply-chain-spotlight-freight-rail/

p. 132

Washington, Ruby, “The 65th Street Railyard in Brooklyn, with facilities for loading barges”, Photograph. 2004. New York Times Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/nyregion/14freight.html?_r=0

p. 1

elson, oshua, A carfloat approaches the 1th ST Float Bridge in Sunset Park, Brooklyn , Photograph. 011. Urban Omnibus.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://urbanomnibus.net/2011/10/supply-chain-spotlight-freight-rail/

p. 136

Jones, Jeffrey , “Dollar Van”, Photograph. 2012. The Rumpus. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://therumpus.net/2012/02/hailing-inflatbush

p. 136

Anon, “East River Ferry”, Photograph. 2011. Inhabitat. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://inhabitat.com/nyc/new-east-river-ferry-servicecoming-to-nyc/east-river-ferry/

p. 138

Dobkin, Jake, “Streetcars of Red Hook“, Photograph. 2006. Gothamist photo essay. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://gothamist. com/2006/01/22/streetcars_of_r.php

p. 145

Anon, “Pier 86: Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum und Skyline”, Photograph. 2010. ic com/photos/sauerpower/4339324314/

INTERNET p. 130

Rush Hour Traffic , Photograph. 00 . Jpgmag. Accessed April 7, 2013. http://jpgmag.com/photos/1940063

esign Studio,

olumbia University, 008). Accessed

Accessed April , 01 . http www.flickr.

NYC Roads by Eastern Roads. “Brooklyn-Queens Expressway” Accessed April 7, 2013. http://www.nycroads.com/roads/brook lyn-queens/

p. 1 6

Find the

p. 1

The Future Subway ast modified May, 011. Accessed April , 01 . http www.vanshnookenraggen.com index 011 0 the-futurenycsubway-the-vanshnookenraggen-plan/

195

ata. Urban Mobility Accessed April , 01 . http traffic.findthedata.org

References | Transport in need

References

GREENER CHOICES BOOKS p 164-165

Berger, Alan. Drosscape: wasting land in urban America. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006.

p 170-171

Ascher, Kate. The Works: Anatomy of a City. Penguin Books, 2007.

JOURNALS, ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS p 162-163

Liggett, Britt. “Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal Gets Superfund Status.” Inhabitat.org, April 3, 2010.

Accessed April 9, 2013. http://inhabitat.com/brooklyns-gowanus-canal-gets-superfund-status/.

p 16 -16

Zeller, Tom. The ation The Future of Superfund More Taxing, ess Simple. The New York Times, March 24, 2002.

Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/24/weekinreview/the-nation-the-future-of-superfund-more-taxing-lesssimple.html.

Sapien, Joaquin; Mullins, Richard. “Superfund Today”, The Center for Public Integrity, April 26, 2007. ast Modified September 6, 011. http www.publicintegrity.org 00 0 6 6 1 superfund-today ity of ew ork Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Brownfields , Pla , April 011.

Accessed February 27, 2013. http://nytelecom.vo.llnwd.net/o15/agencies/planyc2030/pdf/planyc_2011_planyc_full_report.pdf Navarro, Mireya. “A Price Tag for the Gowanus Cleanup”, The New York Times Green Blog, December 27, 2012.

Accessed February 27, 2013. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/a-price-tag-for-the-gowanus-cleanup/

p 166-167

William C. Thompson Jr, Comptroller. “New York City’s Impending Solid Waste Crisis”, Gotham Gazette, October 2004.

Accessed April 7, 2013. http://old.gothamgazette.com/comptrollertrash.pdf City of New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; Department of Sanitation John J. Doherty Commisioner. “Comprehensive solid waste management plan, Executive summary”, Gotham Gazette, October 2004.

Accesed April 7, 2013. http://old.gothamgazette.com/mayortrash.pdf Miller, Benjamin. “The Waste Management Plan: Approve It, But Improve It”, Gotham Gazette, October 18, 2004.

Accesed April 7, 2013. http://old.gothamgazette.com/article/issueoftheweek/20041018/200/1153

p 168-169

City of New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Solid Waste.”, In PLANYC: A Greener, Greater New York, April 2011, 132-145.

Accessed April 9, 2013. http://nytelecom.vo.llnwd.net/o15/agencies/planyc2030/pdf/planyc_2011_planyc_full_report.pdf.

Fung, Katherine. “Feature> The Art of Moving Thrash.” The Architects Newspaper, August 2, 2012.

Accessed April 9, 2013. http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5881.

p 170-171

The New York Independent System Operator, “2011 Load and Capacity Data”, 2011, Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.nyiso.com/public/webdocs/markets_operations/services/planning/Documents_and_Resources/ Planning_Data_and_Reference_Docs/Data_and_Reference_Docs/2011_GoldBook_Public_Final.pdf The New York Independent System Operator, “Power trends 2012: State of the Grid”, 2012, Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.nyiso.com/public/webdocs/media_room/publications_presentations/Power_Trends/Power_ Trends power trends 01 final.pdf

p 172-173

Furchtgott-Roth, Diana, “The case for fracking in New York”, The Wall Street Journal Marketwatch, 2013, ast modified May , 01 . http www.marketwatch.com story the-case-for-fracking-in-new-york- 01 -0 -0 Koerth-Baker, Maggie, “What We Talk About When We Talk About the Decentralization of Energy”, The Atlantic, 2012, ast modified April 16, 01 . http www.theatlantic.com technology archive 01 0 what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-thedecentralization-of-energy/255873/ Koerth-Baker, Maggie, “What We Talk About When We Talk About the Decentralization of Energy”, The Atlantic, 2012, ast modified April 16, 01 . http www.theatlantic.com technology archive 01 0 what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-thedecentralization-of-energy/255873/ City of New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Energy.”, In PLANYC: A Greener, Greater New York, April 2011, 104-117.

Accessed April 9, 2013. http://nytelecom.vo.llnwd.net/o15/agencies/planyc2030/pdf/planyc_2011_planyc_full_report.pdf.

p 174

Frank, Thomas. “In U.S. building industry, is it to easy to be green?” USA Today, October 24, 2012.

Accessed April 8, 01 . http www.usatoday.com story news nation 01 10 green-building-leed-certification 16 0 1 .

United States Green Building Council. “Green Building Incentive Strategies.” usgbc.org, May 2011, Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6248.

Greener choices

196

IMAGES p 162-163

Anon, “Vital waterway.”, Photographic Print: b & w, gelatin silver, 8 x 10. 1952. Brooklyn Eagle in Brooklyn Public Library.

Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.bklynpubliclibrary.org/slideshows/gowanus_canal/.

Merchants Association of New York, “The Newtown Creek industrial district of New York City.”, Photograph. 1921. Google Books.

Accessed April 8, 2013. http://newtownpentacle.com/2011/02/07/.

p 168-169

Anton, Michael, “Paper Recycling in Staten Island.” Photograph. October 2012. Flickr.com.

Accessed April , 01 . http farm .staticflickr.com 8 0 0 16 a1 0bf8 8f z.jpg.

Bengiveno, Nicole, “Waste Transfer Station Truck to Barge.” Photograph. July 20, 2006. The New York Times.

Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/nyregion/20garbage.html.

Gordon, Chatt, “[Lincoln Avenue waste transfer station.]” Photograph. April 9, 2012. New York Daily News.

Accessed April 8, 2013. http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1056913.1333910407!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/ derivatives/landscape_635/trash9k-2-web.jpg.

Selldorf Architects LCC, “Sunset Park Recycling Facility.” Rendered Image. 2011. Selldorf.com.

Accessed February 27, 2013. http://www.selldorf.com/projects/featured/sunset-park-materials-recycling-facility/.

p 170-171

US Power Generating Company, “Gowanus Generating Station.” Photograph. 2013. uspowergen.com.

Accessed May 22, 2013. http://www.uspowergen.com/projects/south-pier/pictures/gowanus-generating-station/.

p 172-173

Center For Urban Pedagogy, “Don’t drink and drill” Poster. 2012. damascuscitizensforsustainability.org.

Accessed May 22, 2013. http://www.damascuscitizensforsustainability.org/cup-poster/.

Unger, Kris; Verdant Power, “Free Flow System turbine being installed in East River, New York, NY” Photograph. December 2006.

Accessed May 22, 2013. http://energy.gov/articles/turbines-nyc-east-river-will-provide-power-9500-residents.

INTERNET p 16 -16

PA, national priorities list , ast Modified September 18, 01 . http www.epa.gov superfund sites query queryhtm nplfin.htm PA, gowanus canal cleanup plan , ast Modified May 1 , 01 . http yosemite.epa.gov opa admpress.nsf d0cf6618 b85257359003fb69d/40b44a89e9d3b36885257ae100707518!opendocument

a ef

Newtown Creek Alliance, “About the creek”, Accessed February 25, 2013. http://www.newtowncreekalliance.org/history/ p 164-165

West Harlem Environmental Action, “Existing Marine Waste Transfer And Handling Facilities.” April 2, 2003. GIS Map. Accessed April , 01 . http www.weact.org Portals Map 0 .pdf.

Propertyshark, “New York City map”, Accessed February 25, 2013. http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/ny/New-York-City/Maps U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, “CPD map”, Accessed February 25, 2013. http://egis.hud.gov/cpdmaps/

p 166-167

Propertyshark, “New York City map”, Accessed February 25, 2013. http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/ny/New-York-City/Maps

p 168-169

HabitatMap; Organisation of Waterfront Neighborhoods,“Barge NYC’s Garbage.”, August, 2011. HabitMap.org.

Accessed February 27, 2013. http://www.habitatmap.org/habitatmap_docs/BargeNYC’sGarbage.pdf.

West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc,“Existing Marine Waste Transfer And Handling Facilities.” Map. April 2, 2003. GISMaps.

Accessed April . http www.weact.org Portals Map 0 .pdf.

197

p 172-173

Verdant Power, “The RITE Project”, Accessed May 22, 2013. http://verdantpower.com/what-initiative/

p 174

GbNYC commercial property leasing & sales, “gbNYC Map & List of New York City Green Buildings” February 28, 2013.

Green Buildings NYC, Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.greenbuildingsnyc.com/map/

References | Greener choices

Contributors

Tom Thys is an engineer-architect and the owner of the practice Tom Thys Architecten. He is a design assistant at the K.U.Leuven department of Architecture, Urban Design and Regional Planning since 1997.

Ward Verbakel is an engineer-architect and co-founder of plusoffice architects. He taught urban design studio at GSAPP Columbia University and is currently an adjunct professor at K.U.Leuven department of Architecture, Urban Design and Regional planning. From 2006 to 2010 Ward Verbakel worked as adjunct professor for the post graduate urban design studio for the European Master of Urbanism.

He has lectured at schools from Leuven to NYC to Bangladesh and is a regular guest design critic for architecture schools

Mojdeh Baratloo is an architect and an associate professor of architecture at Columbia University Graduate School Architecture Planning and Preservation, leading the design studios in architecture and urban design. For her professional practice she has received numerous awards and recognition for different projects. She is a recipient of several research grants and support by internationally recognized organizations such as National Endowment for the Arts, Australian Research Council and New York State Council on the Arts. She also founded the Urban Research Group in 2004 and helped establish the Store Front for Art and Architecture in 1981.

Heidi Bullinga is an architect and urban designer. She graduated from GSAPP and Rice University and has her own practice in Brooklyn, NY. Joachim Declerck is an architect and urban designer. He is the co-founder and program director of Architecture Workroom Brussels. He graduated from the University of Gent and the Berlage Institute. He has curated several exhibitions at the International Architecture Biennale, B ZAR, and the Berlage Institute. From 2007 till 2010, he was the director of the Centre for Architectural Research and Development at the Berlage Institute, where he also served as an assistant professor beforehand.

Erik De Deyn is an engineer-architect, urban planner and researcher at the K.U.Leuven. His study focusses on regional infrastructure in Flanders. He studied engineer-architect at the K.U.Leuven and landscape design at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya.

Goedele Desmet Goedele Desmet is an engineer-architect and an assistant professor at the Department of Architecture, Urban Design and Regional Planning at the K.U.Leuven since 2006. She co-founded BOB361 Architectes. She is also the president of the editing council of the magazine A+ Belgian Review of Architecture.

Francis Dewolf is an engineer-architect and urban planner and graduated from the K.U.Leuven He has worked with Stefano Boeri and Gruppo A12 in Milan and now works as an urban planner at BRUT. Founded in 2005 Susanne Eliason is an architect and urban planner. She graduated from L’Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Architecture de Versailles and the UIC Chicago school of Architecture. She is a partner at GRAU, founded in 2010, a lecturer at L’Ecole d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville and was a Master tutor at the Brussels International masterclass Lars Fischer is an architect. He is a founding member of the office

ommon Room and also operates an

individual design practice. He is a teacher at the New York Institute of Technology. Lars Fischer previously worked in the berlin office of

aniel iebeskind and in the

ew ork offices of Marble

Fairbanks and Leslie Gill.

Christophe Grafe is trained as an architect and architectural historian at the Tehcnical University of Delft and the Architecture Association School in London. He is founder and director of Heritage consultants Architects. In 2011 he was appointed director of the Flemish Architecture Institute in and in 2013 he received the call for the Chair of Architectural History and Theory at Berg University of Wuppertal.

He also is an editor of Oase Journal for Architecture and the Journal of Architecture

Joseph Haberl Joseph Haberl is an architect and urban designer, trained at Columbia University and the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin. He has been working with Leeser Architecture since 2002.

Dongsei Kim an architect an urban designer. He has studied architecture and urban design at Columbia University and design studies at Harvard. He curently is adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University and teaches urbanism studios at Carleton University, Ottowa. He has taught at yunghee university in

orea and

ictoria University in

ellington,

Z. He is a regular design

critic at several universities.

Kaja Kuhl Kaja Kuhl is an architect and urban planner. She is the founder of youarethecity, a research and design practice in Brooklyn. Before founding youarethecity, she was an Urban Designer at the New York City Department of City Planning. Kaja Kuhl is an adjunct professor of architecture at the New York Institute of Technology and has taught and lectured in New York and internationally.

At Columbia University, Kaja teaches studios and seminars in Urban Design and Urban Planning.

Andre Loeckx is Doctor engineer-architect. He is a professor emeritus at the Department of Architecture, Urban Design and Regional Planning at the K.U.Leuven and was responsible for all the Architecture Theory, Housing and Urban Development, Architectural Aspects of Planning and Cultural Antropology classes at this department. He is a member of the editorial office of the Architectural Yearbook from Flanders and of the Task Force Urban Policy of the Ministry of the Flemish Community.

Jan Mannaerts is an engineer-architect trained at the K.U.Leuven. He is one of the three founders of 360 Architecten bvba, since 00 . His office is in search for design assignments which need a research-oriented design approach. He regurlary visits the K.U.Leuven as a mentor for several master theses.

Justin Moore Justin G. Moore is an urban designer and city planner for the City of New York Department of City Planning. His remit includes involvement in the redevelopment of the city’s waterfront and high-density areas and this for a number of programs containing affordable housing, cultural and commercial centers, mixed-use industrial areas, and parks and open space. He also works as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture at Columbia University in the graduate Urban Design and Urban Planning programs. Justin Moore is a LEED Accredited Professional, but also an active member of the New York Urban League, the SUPEFRONT Advisory Board, and the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s Technical Advisory Committee. He has been awarded with the Department of City Planning’s Barney Rabinow Service Award and the Michael Weil Urban Design Award.

Benoit Moritz is an architect and urban planner. He was trained at ISACF La Cambre and UPC Barcelona. He currently works as an associate at MS-A, office for urbanism and architecture.

Christiaan Nolf Christian Nolf is a PhD researcher at the Research Group Urbanity & Architecture (OSA) and teaching assistant at the Department of Architecture, Urban Design and Regional Planning at the K.U.Leuven since 2008 Nina Rappaport Nina Rappaport is an architectural critic, curator, and educator. She is publications editor at Yale School of Architecture. Her current research and projects focus on the intersection of urban design and infrastructure, innovative engineering, and factory spaces. She recently published ‘Support and Resist: Structural Engineers and Design Innovation’, ‘Connecting The Arts’, exploring Long Island City’s vibrant arts-and-industrial community. Her exhibitions include “The Swiss Section” at the Van Alen Institute, 2003, and “Saving Corporate Modernism,” Yale School of Architecture, 2001, among others. She also is a chair member of Docomomo New York.

Michael Ryckewaert Michael Ryckewaert is an engineer-architect and urban designer. He is a researcher in the Department of Architecture, Urbanism and Planning, K.U.Leuven, since 1998, where he also teaches design studio and seminars on housing. He is a researcher at the Research Group Urbanity & Architecture (OSA) since 2007, also at KULeuven. He has done research on housing, social exclusion, and the position of these phenomena in the urban landscape. In 2008, he was awarded with the three-yearly prize of Science and Technology of the Academic Foundation Leuven.

Giovanni Santamaria Giovanni Santamaria is an architect and urban designer, trained at the I.U.A.V of Venice. He earned a Ph.D at the Polytecnic University of Milan. He is an adjunct professor of architecture at the New York Institute of Technology. Prior to this, he was a contract professor and researcher at the Politecnico de Milano from 2004 until 2008.

Kris Scheerlinck is an architect and urban designer living and working in Antwerp, Barcelona and New York City.

He studied architecture at the Sint Lucas School of Architecture Gent and Urban Planning in the University of Gent. He obtained the title of Master in the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC, ETSAB) in Barcelona, and his doctoral degree at the Universitat Ramon Llull, La Salle Architecture School, under Prof. Manuel de Solà-Morales.

Kelly Shannon is a Doctor professor at the K.U.Leuven. She was trained at the K.U.Leuven, the Berlage Institute and Carnegie Mellon University. She teaches landscape architecture, and her research topics focus on water urbanism. She has published ‘Landscape of contemporary Infrastructure, next to several other publications.

David Graham Shane is adjunct professor of Architecture, Planing and Preservation at GSAPP, Columbia University. He was trained at Architecture Association and earned his Master and Ph.D. at Cornell Univeristy.

He has taught design at the Architectural Association, Rice University, Cornell University and Columbia University, Cooper Union and City College NY, and has given lectures all over the United States, Europe and Asia. He has been pubilshed widely in architectural journals and is the author of ‘Recombinant Urbanism: Conceptual Modeling in Architecture, Urban Design and City Theory’ and ‘Urban design since 1945’ Maarten Van Acker is an engineer-architect and urban planner. Since 2005, he is a lectureron the Urban Design Theory course, part of the Master’s program on Urbanism and Spatial Planning run by the Antwerp University Association at the Artesis Hogeschool Antwerpen. He is conducting a post-doctoral research at Parsons, The New School For Design, on urban (infra) structures. He has been a PhD researcher at the Research Group Urbanity & Architecture (OSA) , K.U.Leuven from 2007 until 2011. He also worked from 2004 until 2007 for the Planning Department of the City of Antwerp. He contributed as an author or (co-) editor to several books and publishes regularly in professional journals.

Kiki Verbeeck is an architect. She co-founded the office URA in 00 . URA consciously works on basis of spheres and programmation. It never starts a project on an aesthetic basis, but creates architectural puzzles out of a deep-going study. She was a teacher at Sint-Lucas Hogeschool in 2006.

Joke Vermeulen Joke Vermeulen is an architect and a design assistant at the Department of Architecture, Urbanism and Planning,

.U. euven. Together with Francis

atteeuw, she founded the office

ompagnie

O in 2008. It is a multidisciplinary design studio for architecture, urbanism and landscape design.