By Eric Jankiewicz
Manufacturing in New York City isn’t dead. It just needs some nurturing.
Industrial areas like the one in Maspeth provide 342,000 jobs in New York City, according to a 2014 study by the City Council. But advocates and Maspeth business leaders worry that if Mayor Bill de Blasio does not do more to protect industrial areas, many of these jobs could lose out to the more profitable housing market.
“There’s just a shortage of industrial property in New York City,” said Jean Tanler, president of Maspeth’s Industrial Business Zone “It’s detrimental to the economy as a whole.”
Researchers at the Pratt Center for Community Development are concerned that as de Blasio continues to push for new affordable housing development, many manufacturers will be pushed out to make room for housing, taking with them high paying jobs with an average salary of $50,000.
“We support the mayor’s goal for affordable housing,” said Adam Friedman, a co-author of the study “Making Room for Housing and Jobs.” “But we believe saving manufacturing jobs is essential for this goal.”
In the study, researchers argued that these industrial zones should be considered sanctuaries for jobs through a strict zoning code that would prevent real estate predators and hotels. Preventing the development of big-box retail and storage warehouses, which provide fewer jobs than industrial businesses, would strengthen these areas. These steps, they argue, would prevent industrial areas from eroding.
And in Maspeth, signs of erosion are clear.
Last year, the deli manufacturer Hansel N’ Gretel closed after several decades of operation in the area. And Junior’s Cheesecake recently announced it would be moving its factory in Maspeth – where its products were made – to New Jersey.
The owners cited rising real estate prices as one of the reason they decided to move their operations.
Tanler said that as housing and retail commercial stores encroach on industrial zones, the value of designated space for industry will be driven up. And in a City Council study, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) made a similar conclusion.
“In Brooklyn and Queens, where industry is particularly threatened by real estate speculation, the jobs pay almost twice as much as the service sector jobs which often replace them,” she said. “Industrial jobs provide a ladder to the middle class for many first generation immigrants who haven’t had the opportunity to attend college.”
In Queens, according to the City Council’s study, industrial jobs pay an average of $50,934 and retail jobs pay an average of $25, 416. And so, advocates like Friedman and Tanler argue, preserving high paying jobs is an integral part of de Blasio’s plan to shorten the gap of the Two Cities.
“Queens, in particular, is still a blue collar borough,” Friedman said. “And so people over there would really feel the loss of these jobs.”
Reach reporter Eric Jankiewicz by e-mail at ejank
