Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation

As we have since 1978, SBIDC worked tirelessly to ensure that the industrial core of Southwest Brooklyn remains strong, and that it remains as a center for opportunity for workers throughout the area. Our unique combination of direct business services, workforce development, entrepreneurship training, community planning and revitalization, and advocacy helped businesses throughout Southwest Brooklyn thrive in a market, and a city, that can be challenging for manufacturers and other industrial businesses. The past nine months have illustrated how critical our working waterfront is to the resiliency of the City, the region and beyond. Yet the pandemic also brought heartbreaking and unprecedented challenges for Southwest Brooklyns small businesses and workers. Since mid-March, SBIDC provided support to over 600 industrial employers desperately seeking help with complex assistance programs, new business opportunities, safety regulations, and large-scale rezoning proposals in Sunset Park and Gowanus. Working remotely, our Workforce 1 Center helped approximately 100 job-seekers find employment and provided career services to over 1,000 New Yorkers.We also felt compelled to advance programs that respond to growing community needs. Our Equitable Industrial Development program helps owners sell their business to employees, preserving legacy along with critical jobs. In Red Hook, we are helping to clean-up properties and create quality work opportunities for unemployed residents. And in 2021, we look forward to launching a training program that prepares young adults for careers in industries critical to a sustainable and equitable recovery.