On Demand
Bye Bye Brewery?
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
When Steve Hindy, co-founder of the Brooklyn Brewery began scouting the borough for locations to expand, he kept coming up short. The search begged the question, is there no future left for light manufacturing in Brooklyn? Also in conversation, Adam Friedman, executive director of the New York Industrial Retention Network.
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The answer to the question is a resounding: NO! Or is it yes? Yes, there is no future for light manufacturing in Brooklyn. But there's plenty of room for ugly, overpriced condos, "big box" hardware and/or furniture stores and, of course, yoga studios. By 2011 there will be at least one yoga studio for every man, woman and child in Brooklyn.
why can't Steve move into the navy yards? It seems like a perfect fit.
brooklyn beer is brewed in utica ny at matt brewery co. so what do they need more room for?
Agreed all around, manufacturing has been priced out of nyc, maybe the Navy yard or what about Redhook, well Utica....oh well, forget it then.
Please ask Mr. Friedman about the future of light manufacturing for the region. Sun Chemical just closed on Staten Island. This was the last of an era for Staten Island which had breweries, Wrigley gum, P & G soap plant and garment manufacturing. This was replaced by minimum wage retail jobs and minimum wage work in doctors/dental offices.
Brooklyn Lager in bottles has never been brewed in Brooklyn. What is Steve talking about?
Is Steve interested in coming to Queens for brewing, I have some sights in Queens that he may be interested in!
Come on. Brewing beer is the only thing Utica can do right. You can at least say it's name on the air.
I'd actually like to know which Brooklyn Brewery products are considered "high end" and which are not. They all seem to be the same price.
This is now like asking if there's room for manufacturing in Manhattan. There's none.
NYC is a service and consumer economy centered around serving the people who work in the finance, advertising and publishing industries.
The best use of the land is therfore building condos for the people in the service industries who serve the financiers, and creating the shops that provide whatever high-end consumer trend is prevailing at the moment.
Well you guys keep in mind that the hipsters need more room to live, have parties, goto art gallerys / shows, paint, write screenplays/poems/shortstories/novels, blog/complain, have fleamarkets to resell junk at 100x the value, install trendy new bars, build other trustafarian light service businesses such as gyms, coffee shops, organic markets, and just.. be.. hip!
Move over local residents and businesses the hipsters have arrived!
This whole re-zoning is, like many aspects of public policy, typically short-sighted. Even the mayor is looking for cost-cutting measures, because we are essentially tied to the success of Wall Street. As any Wall Streeter knows, a diversified portfolio is the most desirable. There has been virtually no effort to preserve manufacturing in the city for decades, and now we're paying the price - we won't get it back.
What about Willets Point Queens? Is that considered for Industrial use?
Maybe they should consider converting the brewery into a yoga studio.
The Bloomberg's is also the administration of the failed and badly constructed Olympic bid, the west side stadium, Atlantic Yards, etc.
Meanwhile, what about infrastructure. The transit system is getting worse. Roads and bridges are getting worse.
And the creative workers your guests laud are not well paid.
So what is the Bloomberg administration really doing?
#14 John
ROFL!!!!!!!! That's awesome.
Stuff White People Like:
- Turning old business spaces into expensive yoga studios.
I looooovvvee it!
Factory workers are not blue collar workers, factory workers are industrial workers not trades people.
Well if they can't afford to be in NYC I guess tough because I can't either.
the (brooklyn) brewery is in essence another retail shop with a stage show.
There's a building in the east williamsburgh industrial park that was originally rennovated to be sold as commercial lofts last year, but i suspect due to lack of interest, it was converted to function as a hostel. Seems like a sneaky way to rent living space out. Does this feel like a threat?
gentrification brought hipsters which brought a new cache to Brooklyn the borough that surely contributed greatly to the success of Brooklyn the beer.
On behalf of the Sunset Park community, we would welcome the Brooklyn Brewery here in Sunset Park -- the Bush Army Terminal and other manufacturing buildings along the waterfront are waiting for you!
Dreaming of fresh beer in the neighborhood...
bush terminal and the army terminal are two different spaces
The Hostel is like the advance scouting party of the white hipster invasion host.
* Initially the brave will scout out an 'edgy' yet 'affordable' place to communally live (and breed) via 'hostels' and 'loft buildings';
* Then they call in the advance guard to begin colonizing the area with the young and adventurous;
* Next coffee shops / vegatarian restaurants will begin appearing to prepare the services for the following wave of white mid-westerners recently graduated from graduate level art school who need a 'cool' but 'safe (read pacified)' neighborhood to purvey their genius level masters educated art/music/film/pop culture knowledge and ability and all encompassing love of David Sedaris;
* Finally, the Europeans and East Asians will being visiting the area as its on a NYC Zagat guide as 'hip and trendy' consequently spending their euros on price inflated water color art sold from the street.
Neighborhood rents increase at each stage proportionally to the income level of the young hipster's parents who will foot the gentrifying bill.
Other points in favor of Sunset Park for the Brooklyn Brewery:
Waterfront access. Easy shipping across the region! Build a riverside brewpub and banquet facility and you'll have a steady stream of business.
Quick transportation. The 36th Street N station is just 4 express stops from Union Square. Brewery visitors and customers can pop in from Manhattan.
Labor and customer density. Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Windsor Terrace and Park Slope are all minutes away.
You are all a bit tough on the hipsters. They are young and bring a lot of potential, don't look so down on them.
That's how you all looked in the 80's in the East Village; when you thought you were the cat's meow.
Dave
Where's the Brooklyn Brewery located?
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