Brooklyn business gets leg up

Real Estate Weekly, March 23, 2005

The Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation in partnership with the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), recently launched an aggressive economic development program to increase the competitiveness of Brooklyn businesses and create more jobs for Brooklyn residents.

Brooklyn's transformation over the past 10 to 15 years has been impressive, with growing pockets of affluent neighborhoods emerging, and office towers, retailers and art lofts replacing dilapidated buildings and abandoned factories.

Designed to grow Brooklyn's business base and increase jobs and income for Brooklyn residents, The Initiative for a Competitive Brooklyn (ICB) is the next chapter in this ongoing resurgence.

"Everyone now knows that Brooklyn is a great place to live, but we want them to know it's a great place for business as well," said Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President and co-chair of ICB.

In choosing Brooklyn, ICIC clearly understood our boundless potential. The ICB planning process has stimulated Brooklyn leaders to conceive many non-traditional types of opportunities for growth and development.

Making this plan a reality will further enhance our quality of life, create jobs, and make Brooklyn an even more vibrant place to live and work in the decades to come."

ICB is the culmination of an 18-month long project that engaged over 200 private, public and civic leaders to analyze Brooklyn's economic landscape.

ICB uses an innovative approach to improving economic conditions in inner cities, addressing distinct issues such as Brooklyn's critical nursing shortage and the desire to increase tourism.

Rather than rely solely On social programs to meet the needs of low-income residents, ICB focuses on private sector competitiveness and investment as the surest way toward