Carlo Scissura, 8.31.20
Having spent most of my career working to promote small business growth, job creation and thoughtful economic development across New York, I have been watching the Industry City discussion extremely closely. While it’s encouraging to hear a growing chorus of civic, business and labor voices in favor of this important project, there is a critical issue that has yet to be brought to the forefront of the conversation: the benefits the Industry City rezoning will have for minority and women-owned businesses.
As we strive to recover from one of the most severe disasters in New York’s history, assisting and growing MWBEs must be a priority now more than ever before. The New York Building Congress is committed to aiding these companies in every way possible, and we urge the City Council to join us in supporting them by approving Industry City’s thoughtful rezoning plan.
Industry City’s positive impacts on minority- and women-owned business and their community are not just promises. Over the past six years, they have spent more than $100 million on local businesses as part of the redevelopment and renovation of their Sunset Park campus, and this has included numerous MWBE contractors and vendors from Sunset Park and across Brooklyn. Their stories are instructive.
Henry Villegas has been working in and around Industry City for nearly 30 years and now employs 20 local residents at his contracting company, Guayacos Corp. Not only did Industry City contract with Guayacos to rebuild the vast network of sidewalks and loading docks throughout the property, but staff at the IC Innovation Lab (the free on-site business support and training facility) assisted Henry with the challenging process of securing his MWBE certification.
“Industry City supports me and my family and that of the other men I employ. Not only that, but I use suppliers mostly from the neighborhood and we all rely on Industry City’s continual growth,” he told Brooklyn's Community Board 7 last December.
This type of supportive ecosystem for neighborhood-based minority and women businesses is exactly what our city needs, especially in the wake of historic health and economic crises that have disproportionately affected minority-owned small businesses. Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr., Chair of the City Council’s MWBE Commission, recently referred in an opinion piece to the impacts on businesses in communities of color and voiced his strong support for Industry City, calling the rezoning “an absolute necessity.”
For small businesses in Sunset Park and across the borough, especially minority and women-owned companies, Industry City’s future growth and success have become truly essential. Now, the City Council must make the right choice for them, for Brooklyn and for all of New York City and approve Industry City’s rezoning plan.
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/op-ed/vote-industry-city-rezoning-vote-minority-and-women-owned-businesses
