Brooklyn's Progress
December 2003

By Mack Tham

With the help of Chris Havens, Two Trees Management and Elizabeth Daly, Division for International Business – Office of the Mayor, I organized a site visit to DUMBO for Shiemitsu Hosoe, Mayor of Gifu City, Japan and his delegation on Oct 22, 2003.

According to Mayor Hosoe, Gifu City aims to become “Japan’s Most Energetic Prefectural Capital.”  He is promoting an open municipal government and planning for a model city, which will welcome citizen participation.  

“We are pouring our energy into such measures as revitalizing industry, promoting information technology on the local level, improving welfare and medical services, promoting education, developing approaches towards environmental problems and improving urban infrastructure,” the Mayor said.

Mayor Hosoe’s delegation consisted of: Toshiyasu Kurimoto, Director of Secretarial Division for the Office of the Mayor; Jun Hayata, Chairperson for the Gifu City Assembly; Shin Takano, Senior Officer of International Affairs Division for Gifu City Hall; and Atsuko Asada, Interpreter.  The Mayor chose to visit DUMBO because he heard about its successful transformation in Brooklyn.  While the team was here, they visited fellow Japanese tea supplier – Ito En (NA) Inc. at 45 Main Street. 

At the end of the visit, Mayor Hosoe and his delegation were impressed with the sweeping view of the East River and the adaptive reuse that transformed DUMBO.

Mack Tham is the Manager of Real Estate Services for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.