Brooklyn's Progress
March 2004

Several letters to the editor that have appeared recently in local newspapers about the Downtown Brooklyn Plan have not addressed Brooklyn’s high unemployment rate, 9.7 percent compared to 7.2 percent Statewide and 5.6 percent in the Nation.  Randolph Peers, Executive Director for Workforce Development at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce recently submitted the following op-ed:

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is in the process of completing a comprehensive analysis of the current labor market in Brooklyn.  When looking at current employment opportunities in the borough, it is clear that Brooklyn’s economy is still characterized by mainly small and mid-sized companies, each employing between two and 200 workers.  Brooklyn’s 27,000 businesses contribute approximately 420,000 jobs to New York City’s economy, placing us third behind Manhattan and Queens in terms of overall job creation.  What many people don’t know, however, is that employment in Brooklyn is overwhelmingly reliant on three relatively low-wage industries – healthcare, social services and retail.  Coming in fourth on the list is manufacturing which has lost the most jobs of any sector during the last five years.  Based on these statistics, every Brooklynite should be concerned about the borough’s long-term capacity to create jobs.

If Brooklyn were to be picked up and moved to any other part of the country, our 2.5 million residents would comprise the fourth largest city in the country.  What other metropolis of our size can sustain itself on 420,000 relatively low-wage jobs?  The Downtown Brooklyn Plan is a real attempt to diversify the borough’s economy by bringing in higher wage jobs in industries that present career ladder opportunities for local residents.  The 15,000 – 18,000 jobs that will be developed as a result of the plan, coupled with projects like Steiner Studios, IKEA, Fairway and the passenger ship terminal, will put Brooklyn’s economy on a path to greater self-sufficiency.  Those who oppose the plan fail to acknowledge the critical need for job growth and diversification.  In the process, they deprive many low-wage or unemployed Brooklyn residents, of the opportunity to successfully move out of poverty.

Opponents of the Plan prefer to cite how past developments have failed at benefiting local residents.  Perhaps they should consider the steps being taken by the Downtown Brooklyn Council to ensure that any planned development will benefit Brooklyn residents.  For example, the Council, in conjunction with the business community, local job training organizations, government and respected educational institutions, has already begun to develop a collaborative process to ensure that employment opportunities specifically benefit Brooklynites.     

I do not want to give the impression that all will be smooth sailing with respect to the employment opportunities that will result from the Plan.  Many of the initial jobs that come to the borough will be transfers from other locations.  But over time, however, through attrition and business expansion, more and more jobs will go to Brooklyn residents.  This occurs because long-term, many people do not want to commute from New Jersey, Westchester County or even from the Bronx to Downtown Brooklyn. 

More importantly, the public workforce system and the public education system will need to come together in ways that effectively prepare Brooklyn residents for the types of job opportunities that will exist downtown.  Disparate government funding streams will need to be better coordinated in a way that leverages the maximum amount of workforce development and training services available to residents.  And local residents must be encouraged to take advantage of all the resources available to help them prepare for newly created opportunities.

And that’s what this is all about: the business community, the educational community, government and residents working cooperatively to promote economic growth in a way that enriches the borough for many years to come.  I, for one, have a great deal of confidence in Brooklyn’s workforce and its ability to take advantage of the job opportunities that the Downtown Brooklyn Plan will promote.  One thing is for sure, if we don’t create the conditions to attract higher wage jobs to the borough, then I can guarantee you many Brooklynites will remain trapped in a low-wage local economy.