A coalition dedicated to the growth of Brooklyn’s technology sector is seeking proposals to help solve transportation and infrastructure challenges in the area known as the borough’s Tech Triangle. The area is bounded by Downtown Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Dumbo areas, where technology tenants have proliferated of late.
The Brooklyn Tech Triangle coalition issued a request for proposal for the creation of a “master plan,” a statement from the group today said. The coalition — which consists of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the Dumbo Improvement District and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation — seeks a planning team to work on physical improvements, land use, transportation, and real estate and economic policy, the statement said.
“Whether it’s computer operated machinery, film post-production, or high-end design, 21st century manufacturing at the Navy Yard is being driven by technology innovation,” Andrew Kimball, CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, said in the statement. “Our growth is only confined by the lack of space and access to mass transit.”
However, as previous reporting from The Real Deal shows, office space in the Downtown Brooklyn area had some of the highest vacancy rates in the nation late last year. But with the arrival of New York University’s Center for Urban Science and Progress, the tide is turning in an area that traditionally housed mostly the back offices for large financial services firms.
“Dumbo has become the destination for the tech industry in New York City and the master plan will be important to ensuring Brooklyn can keep growing its tech scene,” Alexandria Sica, executive director of the Dumbo Improvement District, said in the statement. “We are looking for creative, tangible actions that we can take to meet the high demand for office space in Dumbo and ways we can grow these companies throughout the area.” — Guelda Voien