Brooklyn's Progress
July 2004

On June 30, Randolph Peers, Brooklyn Chamber Vice President of Economic Development, testified on behalf of Chamber President Kenneth Adams, at Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s Public Hearing regarding IKEA.  Following is his testimony in support of the project.

On behalf of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, I respectfully ask the Borough President to approve the actions requested by IKEA Property Inc., that are required to facilitate the development of a new IKEA store at Beard Street in Red Hook. 

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce supports the development of the IKEA Red Hook store for three reasons:

• A majority of our members surveyed in and around the project area approve of this project.  I stand before you to express their point of view.
• If approved, the proposed zoning changes will enable the applicant to invest over $100 million in the development of a major retail complex in Brooklyn that will provide 600 desperately needed jobs with good wages and benefits, new tax revenue, and other improvements to the project site.
• It is helpful to note that retail remains a highly productive, competitive and vital sector of the Brooklyn economy.  In our view, it is important to support retail development projects, such as IKEA Red Hook, (as well as Fairway, Target and others) because retail is an area of economic growth for Brooklyn, in which private sector investments are driven by pent-up consumer demand. 

According to a recent study by the Fiscal Policy Institute, Brooklyn is severely under-retailed and under-represented in terms of retail employment.  While Brooklyn is home to 31% of NYC’s population, retail sector employment in the borough stands at only 19%. 

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in its recent Brooklyn Labor Market Review, identified retail as one of the borough’s three current growth sectors along with healthcare and social services.

However, of these three current growth sectors, only retail represents exclusively private sector investment, whereas healthcare and social services are largely dependent on government subsidies.  Retail, of course, through the sales tax, is also a key source of tax revenue for the city and the state.

IKEA Red Hook meets the test, therefore, of meaningful – if not vital – economic development for Brooklyn.

As Borough President, we understand that you must also make important judgments regarding the location of the development and the zoning changes needed to accommodate it.   The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce believes that the proposed IKEA at Beard Street is in the best interests of Brooklyn because it will provide jobs and economic activity that will greatly benefit the residents of Red Hook.  We strongly the urge the Borough President to vote in favor of the project.