Sunset Park small business owners urge City Council to approve Industry City rezoning
Noting that they are in a struggle for survival and that the livelihood of thousands of Sunset Park residents depends on it, small businesses in Sunset Park today called on Speaker Corey Johnson to approve the plan to reactivate Industry City.
Since the reactivation of Industry City began in 2013, the number of businesses at the industrial complex has grown from 150 to 550 and jobs have increased from 1,900 to 8,000. Nearly 40 percent of the people who work at Industry City are residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Sunset Park small business owners pointed to the positive impact Industry City already has had on their businesses through the more than $400 million in private investment it has injected into the local economy – more than $100 million of which directly targeted neighborhood businesses. They also highlighted Industry City’s unprecedented private-sector-initiated workforce development initiative, which has served 5,000 individuals with job placement, training and small business services.
This demonstration of public support from the Sunset Park small business community comes less than a week after the City Planning Commission approved the rezoning application.