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Q&A
Council Member Restler and President Kimball discuss Downtown Brooklyn office market concerns
0:58:04
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3 min
Council Member Lincoln Restler expresses concerns about the weak office market in Downtown Brooklyn, including high vacancy rates and the potential loss of job opportunities due to residential conversions. President Andrew Kimball acknowledges the issue and agrees on the need for a robust commercial scene in the area.
- They discuss the possibility of partial building conversions while maintaining a commercial core strategy.
- Both agree on the potential for Metro Tech to become more of a college hub, leveraging assets like NYU and City Tech.
- Restler highlights the disconnect between the original vision for Downtown Brooklyn as a major economic hub and the current reality of primarily residential development.
Lincoln Restler
0:58:04
Firstly, I'm very concerned about Downtown Brooklyn and the weakness of our office market.
0:58:13
I looked at a report recently that showed Downtown Brooklyn rents, office rents are higher than Lower Manhattan which I found perplexing.
0:58:25
But I have some guesses on why that may be but still found it bizarre.
0:58:31
And while I am generally supportive of conversions to residential where it makes sense, I'm worried that we're going to if we convert all of the office space away in Downtown Brooklyn, we're gonna lose an opportunity for really good jobs that we should have in our community.
0:58:50
And with the higher educational institutions like NYU, City Tech, there should this should be a hub for entrepreneurship and yet we see fifty, sixty, 70, 80 percent vacancy rates in the key Downtown Brooklyn office buildings.
0:59:04
So is this on your radar?
0:59:06
How can we work together to try to develop some smart economic opportunity and economic development strategies for Downtown Brooklyn that leverages the assets we have and maximizes the space that's available to us.
Andrew Kimball
0:59:20
It's 100% on my radar screen and I think we're very aligned and wanting to make sure that we build a robust commercial scene in Downtown Brooklyn.
0:59:31
We absolutely have to.
0:59:33
There may be some instances with some buildings and we should go through a list together where you know you can convert partially in order to jump start the other part of the building going, but there should be commercial at its core of the strategy.
0:59:48
I know you've been speaking with Regina Meyer about this, I have as well, and I'd be happy to meet with the two of you together to figure out how we can do more.
0:59:57
You know, Metro Tech should be much more of a college hub.
1:00:03
I'm optimistic about the new leadership at NYU, particularly at Tandem with coming up with creative strategies.
1:00:11
You can just imagine, you know, that plaza filled with both, you know, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and college students, and really creating a special ecosystem.
1:00:21
So I'd love to work with you on that.
Lincoln Restler
1:00:22
Right.
1:00:23
You know, it's I'm old enough to remember.
1:00:26
You're old enough to remember.
1:00:27
You work did you work on the rezoning in Downtown Brooklyn?
1:00:31
You did.
Andrew Kimball
1:00:31
Years ago.
Lincoln Restler
1:00:34
You know, that rezoning was sold to our community as primarily being the third major economic hub for New York City.
1:00:41
The very first building opened last year, was a commercial building since the rezoning in twenty years.
1:00:48
Everything that's been built has been residential, and already those guys have come to me to talk about conversion, right, to residential.
1:00:53
So that's where I I just I'm just frustrated, and so I would love to work with you to actually find some positive paths forward.
1:01:03
It's been a long, long road.
1:01:05
EDC was involved in finally opening the first park in Downtown Brooklyn 20 Years after the rezoning.
1:01:10
We just opened the first school in Downtown Brooklyn 20 Years after the rezoning this September.