OPINION: Royalty rules in economic growth

July 13, 2018 By Jack Ryan For Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Photo courtesy of Cagle Cartoons

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If you live or work in Brooklyn or Queens, it will come as no surprise that business is booming in both boroughs.

A recent report by SmartAsset, a financial technology company that provides online financial advice, ranks Kings County as one of the top counties in the state when it comes to the amount invested in the local economy, followed closely by Queens County.

In the past year, Brooklyn gross domestic product growth (in millions of dollars) was $5,357. Queens GDP growth was $4,611. Likewise both Brooklyn and Queens have experienced phenomenal business growth with Brooklyn at 9.4. percent and Queens at 7.6 percent. Both counties have become among the most attractive locations for businesses looking to invest.

According to a report issued by the state comptroller, in terms of private sector job growth since the recession that ended in 2009, Brooklyn has outpaced “the rest of New York City, New York State and the nation.” Brooklyn has gained 172,600 private sector jobs, far more than the 1,400 lost in the recession.

The technology sector in each borough has been particularly fast growing, specifically in Downtown Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Tech Triangle is now home to more than 1,350 innovation companies.

Along with business and job growth, the boroughs are home to world-class cultural and academic institutions, which are integral to quality of life. With its restaurants, active nightlife and diversity, Brooklyn has become New York’s new hot spot attracting young professionals.

Like Brooklyn, the economy in Queens has been booming since the end of the recession. This may come as a surprise to some people in in the White House, the immigrant community shares the credit for much of the economic growth in Queens. Since 1980, said Comptroller DiNapoli, “the population [of Queens] has increased by 25 percent to a record 2.4 million, driven by a doubling in the immigrant population to 1.1 million. Immigrants made up 47 percent of the population …”

The massive remodeling of LaGuardia Airport — currently in progress — will contribute to job growth in a borough with a thriving tourism industry.

Although times are good for both boroughs, there is a sector that continues to miss out on the prosperity. There are still thousands of residents in each borough living below the poverty line. Their needs will have to be addressed in future planning. But for now we congratulate the borough presidents and economic planners on a job well done.

Both boroughs have realized economic growth without sacrificing the character that has earned them a special place in the hearts of New Yorkers from stickball to million-dollar brownstones. From the new parks under the Brooklyn Bridge to the Kosciuszko Bridge and the new LaGuardia Airport, the future looks bright.