Use your Influence

What is the needed change?

Ensure stronger protections for Industrial Business Zones are in place. Request a moratorium on rezoning industrial land and stronger restrictions on non-industrial uses in M zones.

Why is it important?

Industrial rezoning is the main source of business instability. Infiltration from non-industrial uses (self storage, hotels, residences, entertainment uses, etc.) and a lack of certainty on future land use designation has led to a lack of available and affordable industrial land. Over 4.2 million square feet of industrial space has been lost as a result of MX zoning since 1997. And current trends show the lack of Industrial space is creating shortages for business growth. Use conflicts can disrupt industrial operations. Use conflicts can also inflate costs, since the tax valuation of an industrial property increases when a higher priced use has been sited close by, and because the market can speculate that remaining industrial will soon be converted to Commercial or Residential. If prices get too high, it’s no longer possible for the industrial business to remain. As a result, when businesses need to expand, they wind up either leaving the city or holding off on growth.

What’s the needed change?

Support development of grant and financial programs to facilitate low-emission retrofits and compliance with Local Law 97.

Why is it important?

Many industrial businesses are part of the supply chain for green and resiliency technologies, and are excited to do their part to transition to a greener economy.

To ensure that the costs of complying with LL97's building emissions reduction requirements do not compound with broader tax burden and operational costs of doing business in New York City and force industrial businesses to shutter, make available the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Funding from the US Department of Energy to facilitate the upfront costs of industrial building upgrades.

What is the needed change?

Provide deeper financial incentives and tax credits for building owners in M Zones to convert roofs to solar, green, or blue roofs.

Why is it important?

Industrial real estate in New York represents a large surface area that can support solar electricity generation, or green or blue roofs to support stormwater retention that would benefit the entire city. But without a major redevelopment or renovation, it is difficult for industrial businesses in particular to undertake the costs of installing solar, green, or blue roofs—unlike commercial or residential buildings that can expand upward, there would be minimal opportunity for an industrial property owner to recuperate their investment.

A financial or tax incentive would be vital to specifically utilize industrial rooftop space for solar, green, or blue roofs.

What is the needed change?

Appoint an industrial expert to the City Planning Commission.

Why is it important?

Self-storage units and hotels can be particularly harmful to industrial real estate markets, as they are often used as low-cost investment vehicles, or disrupt the affordability of the neighborhood. These buildings consume scarce land slated for industrial uses, create almost no to low-wage jobs, and exacerbate the rising cost of industrial real estate.

The current IBZ special permit process that allows self-storage and hotels to open in industrial areas does not require any industrial expert to determine if the proposed project jeopardizes the industrial neighborhood the project is contained in.

What is the needed change?

Increase local DOE relationships with industry partners. Leverage Borough leadership role to highlight industrial importance and bring stakeholders together.

Why is it important?

Outside of select Career and Technical Education schools, NYC DOE high school students receive minimal exposure to the industrial sectors. Strengthen connections to industry through internships will open up well-paying career and training opportunities for students and local hiring and expansion opportunities for local businesses.

What is the needed change?

Develop partnerships between school administrators and youth nonprofits, and local industrial businesses to enhance students' understanding of the importance of and career pathways in industrial sectors.

Why is it important?

Young people's environments are influenced by the adults, both parents and teachers, in their lives. Across NYC, students and adults are unaware of the career opportunities and work environments in the industrial sectors. Outdated images of dirty, dark, and low technology facilities dominate perceptions. Parents, teachers, and administrators do not understand the opportunities in the industrial sectors. In order to increase career opportunities for high schoolers, perceptions need to be refreshed.

What is the needed change?

Support industrial property owners' City Planning Commission applications to build higher in order to increase supply of industrial space, facilitate business expansion, and upgrade old industrial facilities.

Why is it important?

Today most Manufacturing zones are capped at a Floor Area Ratio of 1 or 2. Many businesses would like to stay and grow-in-place, rather than relocate to NJ or close down. But because they’re capped at their FAR of 1, they are effectively land-locked; they can't expand upward, and there is minimal industrial space in the city where they can affordably expand.

The lack of additional FAR is a main disincentive to industrial investment today---the costs for even upgrading an existing facility don't pan out if industrial property owners are unable to expand capacity upward. That is why most industrial businesses have not updated their building design or energy usage in decades, leaving them with old and subpar facilities.

What is the needed change?

Use your approval in the ULURP process to factor in the impact of a zoning proposal to the industrial character of the M zones.

Why is it important?

It is rare that land use impacts on industrial businesses are contemplated when residential rezonings are considered. These rezonings can impact businesses by introducing new conflicts in the operations of the neighborhood, thereby causing a transition away from Industry.

What is the needed change?

Nominate industrial business experts to the board of the Industrial Development Agency, to ensure that industry experts can provide critical and real world feedback to projects.

Why is it important?

IDA was established to support Industrial businesses, it determines city tax incentive and abatement, grant, and other financial support policy and implementation. Board members should have an understanding of the challenges businesses face in accessing these support, and work to improve them and make them more targeted.

What is the needed change?

Nominate industrial business experts to the board of the Economic Development Corporation, to ensure that industry experts can provide critical and real world feedback to projects.

Why is it important?

EDC has a wide role in managing industrial assets, improving industrial infrastructure, and supporting industrial business and zone development. EDC Board appointees should understand the needs of the industrial sector and it's critical role in maintaining the supply chain of goods.

What is the needed change?

Nominate an industrial business expert to the City Planning Commission.

Why is it important?

CPC plays a critical role in considering applicant developers who seek to circumvent the city’s zoning code. Your nomination can play a critical role in appointing industrial advocates that understand the importance of retaining, protecting, and strengthening industrial land usage.

What is the needed change?

Provide the Mayor industrial workforce expert recommendations for the Workforce Development Board.

Why is it important?

The Workforce Development Board ensures that investments of federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) dollars in adult and youth workforce development services are effective and efficient. It's important that some of the board appointees understand industrial hiring and talent needs.

What is the needed change?

Engage with DOT Borough office to ensure local freight matters get routed to the correct DOT freight division contacts.

Why is it important?

There are nuances on freight zones that can be misunderstood if the right division does not receive the notice. It's critical that any freight matters get directed to the central office freight team.

What is the needed change?

Call on the Mayor, DOT, and State to increase eligibility of Clean Trucks and Make-Ready program grants to facilitate widespread adoption of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.

Why is it important?

Electrification of freight is a vital goal to improve air quality and reduce and carbon emissions. The CTP program currently targets only the oldest trucks, which are no longer as pervasive in New York. The program can help more fleets make the conversion if eligibility is expanded to include more trucks and fleets.

What is the needed change?

Call for the creation of a standard, transparent means of making changes to the built environment and communicating about them.

Why is it important?

New traffic flow measures, parcel or area-wide rezonings, and other changes to the city's physical streetscape infrastructure can disrupt business operations, particularly if there is no forewarning. More coherent, transparent, and reliable methods of receiving updates, information, and opportunities to share feedback about them would stabilize business operations and strategic planning.

What is the needed change?

Call for an effort to harmonize regulations and enforcement across DEP, FDNY, DOB, and others.

Why is it important?

Inspectors from differing regulatory agencies often provide direction that conflicts with another agency. The burden on the reconciliation between agency's lies with the business resulting in fractured implementation, delays and unnecessary costs.

What is the needed change?

Support the creation of an onboarding program for City agency inspectors, featuring industrial business leaders, to increase inspectors' understanding of Industrial business operations and standard practices.

Why is it important?

Many Industrial business educate inspectors on what their operations, equipment and other standard activities entail when they are visited for new permits or annual permit reviews. The lack of familiarity of the industrial operations impacts the speed of the inspection. Additionally, many agencies are unaware of the operational needs and challenges faced by industrial businesses when new policies, initiatives or city infrastructure work impact locations that Industrial businesses reside in.

What is the needed change?

Use oversight power to conduct a study of local industrial businesses' capacity to provide critical services, supplies, and emergency functions.

Why is it important?

NYC's recent challenges to supply chains, as experienced in Covid-19 and Superstorm Sandy, has shown that when industrial operations became constricted there can be harmful impacts to NYC. Until the city has a better understanding of the fragility of these systems and their specific vulnerabilities, any negative impact to the industry could further reduce the number of businesses that can supply the city when future disasters hit.

What is the needed change?

Conduct biannual evaluations of the supply, cost, and quality industrial real estate in Manufacturing Zones and across the city to assess the affordability and viability of the sector.

Why is it important?

Industrial rezoning is the main source of business instability. Infiltration from non-industrial uses (self storage, hotels, entertainment uses, residences, etc.) and a lack of certainty on future land use designation has led to a lack of available and affordable industrial land. Over 4.2 million square feet of industrial space has been lost as a result of MX zoning since 1997. And current trends show the lack of Industrial space is creating shortages for business growth. In order to ensure affordability of low supply of Industrial land, Council members can use their oversight and legislative powers to ensure protection of the industrial zones, and can use these to additionally support the transition to greener and improved industrial infrastructure.

What is the needed change?

Work with industry to introduce legislation that develops local business capacity to supply technologies and services needed to attain the city's environmental goals.

Why is it important?

Industrial businesses provide the brasstacks of responses to climate change. Ensuring that local businesses are able to supply technologies and services for both emissions reductions and resiliency will allow climate requirements to translate into local economic development and green collar jobs.

What is the needed change?

Use oversight power to track, evaluate, and improve how the NYC Business Dashboard integrates business interactions with and across all city agencies.

Why is it important?

The NYC Business Dashboard has been a way for businesses to access all of their permits from different agencies in one place. To reduce business frictions, all city agencies should be able to use the same Dashboard to see their sister agencies' interactions with a single business. A single point of contact between the City and a business will ensure that conflicting regulations, permits, inspections, compliance, contracts, and paperwork from different agencies are harmonized before business operations are disrupted.

What is the needed change?

Use oversight power to uncover how the city currently communicates its projects to the surrounding business community, and propose legislation to streamline direct communications.

Why is it important?

New traffic flow measures, parcel or area-wide rezonings, and other changes to the city's physical streetscape infrastructure can disrupt business operations, particularly if there is no forewarning. More coherent, transparent, and reliable methods of receiving updates, information, and opportunities to share feedback about them would stabilize business operations and strategic planning.

What is the needed change?

Use oversight power to uncover and improve any contradictions in the city's regulatory, inspection, and enforcement agencies, including DEP, FDNY, DOB, DOHMH.

Why is it important?

Inspectors from differing regulatory agencies often provide direction that conflicts with another agency. The burden on the reconciliation between agency's lies with the business resulting in fractured implementation, delays and unnecessary costs.

What is the needed change?

Legislate the creation of an onboarding program for City agency inspectors, featuring industrial business leaders, to increase inspectors' understanding of Industrial business operations and standard practices.

Why is it important?

Many Industrial business educate inspectors on what their operations, equipment and other standard activities entail when they are visited for new permits or annual permit reviews. The lack of familiarity of the industrial operations impacts the speed, quality, efficiency, and fairness of the inspection. Additionally, many agencies are unaware of the operational needs and challenges faced by industrial businesses when new policies, initiatives or city infrastructure work impact locations that Industrial businesses reside in.