REMARKS
Council Member Amanda Farías introduces hearing on industrial business service providers
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3 min
Council Member Amanda Farías opens the New York City Council hearing of the Committee on Economic Development, focusing on industrial business service providers. She highlights the importance of the industrial sector to NYC's economy and outlines the challenges faced by industrial businesses. Farías emphasizes the need to examine the effectiveness of industrial business service providers and potential improvements to city support programs.
- Farías notes the recent launch of NYC's first comprehensive industrial development strategic plan
- She expresses interest in reforming incentive programs to better serve smaller industrial businesses
- The council member calls for addressing challenges in areas like regulatory compliance and workforce development
Amanda Farías
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Good morning, and welcome to today's New York City Council hearing of the Committee on Economic Development.
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Today is December 16, 2024, and it's 1 PM.
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So good afternoon.
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My name is Amanda Farias, and I have the privilege of chairing this committee.
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I would like to thank the administration for joining us today and this for this important hearing on industrial business administration for joining us today, and this for this important hearing on industrial business service providers.
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New York City's industrial sector provides over half a 1000000 public and private sector jobs, and represents a crucial pathway to the middle class, particularly for New Yorkers without a college degree.
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Manufacturing positions pay an average annual wage of over $71,000, significantly higher than retail sector jobs.
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However, these businesses face significant challenges, including real estate pressure, complex regulatory requirements, and difficulty assessing city incentive programs.
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The purpose of today's hearing is to examine how effectively our industrial business service providers are working to address these challenges and what additional support they need to better serve this vital sector.
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This hearing comes at a critical moment.
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In September, the city took an important step by launching its first comprehensive industrial development strategic plan, as mandated by Local Law 172 of 2023.
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This initiative creates an opportunity to address long standing challenges we've heard about from industrial businesses and IBSPs regarding access to city resources and incentives.
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Program requirements that may work well for larger businesses, like minimum investment thresholds and extensive documentation requirements, often create significant barriers for smaller manufacturers trying to access city support services.
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The industrial business provider service provider network has proven to be an invaluable resource, helping hundreds of businesses each year navigate complex regulations, access financing, and connect with workforce development programs.
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However, to fully realize their potential, we need to ensure IBSP's However, to fully realize their potential, we need to ensure IBSPs have sufficient resources and support to carry out their mission effectively.
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We want to understand how SBS is working to strengthen these partnerships, improve coordination between IBSPs and other city agencies, like EDC and city planning, and expand their capacity to support both business retention and growth.
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We are particularly interested in examining how current incentive programs could be reformed to better serve smaller industrial businesses.
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The IBZ relocation tax credit, for instance, is a great incentive for businesses looking to move to or within the city, but there is no sim similar support for existing businesses trying to remain in place.
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Financial customized training program requires at least 10 employees, thresholds that exclude many small manufacturers.
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We've heard from IBSPs that We've heard from IBSPs that these requirements, combined with complex application processes and reimbursement based funding, create significant barriers for the businesses they serve.
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Furthermore, we want to understand how SBS is building on successful programs like the Energy Cost Savings Program, while addressing critical challenges in areas like regulatory compliance and workforce development.
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With industrial businesses facing rising operational costs, a reduction in M zone to land, and strong recruitment efforts from neighboring jurisdictions, it's essential that New York City support programs are responsive to our industrial and manufacturing sectors' businesses needs.
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Before we begin, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the Economic Development Committee staff, senior counsel Alex Polinoff, senior policy analyst William Hongatch, and finance analyst Glenn Marcellone for their hard work in preparing for this hearing.
