City Agencies, Garment District Businesses Spar Over Rezoning Plan

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Members of the Garment District's fashion industry grilled representative of the city Economic Development Corporation and Department of City Planning during a Wednesday night Community Board 5 meeting to discuss a planned rezoning of the district.

Both members of Community Board 5's land use, housing and zoning committee and local business owners argued that the city's plan — which would remove protections for garment manufacturing in the special zoning district spanning several blocks from West 35th to West 40th streets west of Broadway — would allow landlords free reign to convert manufacturing space into offices and force businesses to relocate.

Business owners also accused the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of not understanding the complex nature of garment manufacturing, especially the requirement for different types of manufacturers to be located within close proximity. Many business owners stated that investments being made to create fashion manufacturing hubs in areas like Sunset Park, Brooklyn will decentralize the industry and will create problems for garment workers commuting from Queens, the Bronx and New Jersey.

But EDC representatives insisted that their plan — still in the early stages of the public hearing process — is part of a larger initiative to modernize and strengthen the city's fashion industry. Part of that initiative includes the $136 million ‘Made In New York’ manufacturing campus in Sunset Park and other packages to aid businesses that struggle to cope with the Garment District's current rents.

The city EDC representatives cited the fact that manufacturing jobs in the Garment District have plummeted since the 1980s as justification for removing the manufacturing requirement for the district. Because the requirement hadn't succeeded in saving jobs, it is no longer effective, EDC representatives argued.

The agency also took issue with the assertion that garment workers would be inconvenienced by manufacturing moving to Sunset Park. The EDC cited U.S. Census Bureau data from 2011-2015 to argue that almost 35 percent of the city's garment workers live in Brooklyn.

Elected officials representing the Garment District had submitted a letter to the Mayor's Office, the city Planning Commission and the city EDC to express "deep concern" regarding the rezoning plan. The officials panned the plan's removal of manufacturing requirements in the district and urged the city agencies to delay any action on the rezoning plan until consulting with Garment District stakeholders.

The EDC claims it has consulted more than 100 companies, individuals and organizations when coming up with its rezoning plan.

The Garment District — a special-purpose zoning district covering several blocks from West 35th to West 40th streets located west of Broadway — was created to protect New York City's status as a leader in the fashion industry.

This article will be updated with more detail.

Photo by Mike Licht via Flickr/Creative Commons