ReportGARMENT CENTER

STEERING COMMITTEE

&Recommendations
GARMENT CENTER STEERING COMMITTEE

Elected Officials

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer

City Council Member Corey Johnson
City Council Member Dan Garodnick
Congress Member Jerrold Nadler
Congress Member Carolyn Maloney
Assembly Member Richard Gottfried
State Senator Marisol Alcantara
State Senator Brad Hoylman

Organization Representative(s)

Community Board 4 Joe Restuccia, Brian Weber

Community Board 5 Vikki Barbero, John Murray
Council of Fashion Designers of America Steven Kolb, Andrew Rosen
Design Trust for Public Space Susan Chin
Garment Center Supplier Association Joe Ferrara
Garment District Alliance Barbara Blair
Pratt Center for Community Development Adam Friedman
Real Estate Board of New York Mike Slattery
Theatrical Wardrobe Union, Local 764 of the I.A.T.S.E. Steven Epstein
Workers United Edgar Romney
YEOHLEE Inc. Yeohlee Teng
Garment Center Steering Committee
Principles and Recommendations

On May 25, 2017, members of the Garment Center Steering Committee (GCSC) convened for the
first time to engage in a multi-stakeholder dialogue that focused on how to
1) support garment manufacturers and the larger garment industrys long-term presence in
mid-Manhattan;
2) celebrate the industrys past and future; and
3) support the Garment District in its transition to a successful mixed-used neighborhood
that continues to include the garment industry.

The Garment Center has been a center of garment creationthe combination of design with
physical productionand of the fashion ecosystem around the world, for more than a century.
Garment production is instrumental to the health of the fashion industry in NYC, equally bene-
fitting emerging designers with small sample needs and small runs, and more established de-
signers for higher-end goods and prototyping. Garment production also includes other related
uses such as theatrical costume production, which is likewise instrumental to the health of the
entertainment industry, including Broadway, Lincoln Center, and film and television produc-
tion both here in New York City and across the country. There are a variety of businesses from
the fashion production chain that are located within the Garment Center and represent about
half of all businesses within the neighborhood. The Garment Center is home to both large-scale
and smaller manufacturers operating in spaces that may combine showrooms, design office, or
warehousing with production space. Reflecting the hybrid nature of the industry and the varied
building stock in the Garment Center, lease terms and rents among these manufacturers vary
widely, with many manufacturers on short-term leases. The Steering Committees recommen-
dations aim to support the Garment Center in mid-Manhattan, defined as the area between
West 28th and West 42nd Streets and between Fifth and Tenth Avenues, which includes the
Preservation Areas, P-1 and P-2. (See map inside back cover.)

The GCSC was formed by Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, Council Member Co-
rey Johnson, and Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, to engage
stakeholders in the Garment District and New Yorks fashion and garment industries. Chaired
by Borough President Brewer, the GCSC participated in six Steering Committee meetings over
a three-month period, during which committee members discussed, developed and debated a
set of guiding principles and recommendations to inform the Citys strategy. The NYC Econom-
ic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) provid-
ed technical support to the Steering Committee and attended every meeting. The GCSC was
formed to deliberate and develop recommendations focused on and for the garment industry in
the Garment Center in Manhattan and purposefully did not discuss recommendations pertain-
ing to the industry at large or other areas outside of the Garment Center.

The GCSC also reflects an effort to improve the existing Uniform Land Use Review Process
(ULURP) with its relatively rigid timetable and scope which can both undermine a compre-
hensive approach to planning for land use changes and foster conflict between the stakehold-
ers. The new model seeks to have a more robust exploration of the issues before the beginning

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of ULURP and to develop strategies and programs to address those issues in a more timely
manner and outside of a confrontational setting with the expectation that the actual ULURP
will be quicker and more effective.

As part of the engagement process and to provide the group with the most up-to-date data to
anchor the conversations, the Garment District Alliance (GDA) and the Garment Center Sup-
plier Association (GCSA) agreed to conduct simultaneous surveys of garment manufacturers,
and related industries, in the larger Garment Center (GDA efforts focused on the Preservation
Areas; GCSA efforts focused on the larger Garment Center area, inclusive of the Preserva-
tion Areas), using a shared definition of manufacturing as part of their methodology to allow
for both sets of data to be analyzed and discussed side by side. The two organizations shared
survey results, which informed the GCSCs recommendations, with the committee on July 13,
2017. A summary of the results are presented in the appendix. In addition, presentations were
made by Kei Hayashi, who has particular expertise in real estate financing and was previ-
ously President of the Industrial Development Agency, Jeffrey Lee, current President of the
Industrial Development Agency, and Adam Friedman, Director of the Pratt Center and past
President of the Garment Industry Development Corporation and who has particular exper-
tise in nonprofit real estate development.

The GCSC, facilitated by Celeste Frye of Public Works Partners with independent consultant
Ben Margolis, established a strong commitment, expressed by all committee members, to sup-
port the garment industry and specifically garment manufacturers to maintain a core presence
in mid-Manhattan. This coredefined as a critical mass of garment-related businesses serving
as a hub for the industry citywidewill serve as a vital part of the garment and fashion ecosys-
tem, which is needed for garment-related businesses to produce garments from concept through
to design and ultimately finished product in New York City.

Following the release of this report, DCP and the NYCEDC will begin the formal review process
for updating the Special Garment Center District zoning regulations at the August 21, 2017 City
Planning Commission Review Session.

Guiding Principles

The GCSC developed and agreed upon several guiding principles that serve as a framework
for the recommendations. The GCSC intends for the recommendations to inform the Citys
strategy to support the continued presence of garment manufacturing in the
Garment Center and the garment manufacturing industry.
n The Garment Center is a unique, close-knit, vital and world-class ecosystem of
garment and garment-related businesses;
n Preserving a core of garment manufacturing in the Garment Center is a priority for the
Committee and central to future decision-making or interventions in the area;
n Garment manufacturing serves as a foundation for the Garment Center and citywide
garment industry;
n Real estate stability is essential to the operation and prospering of garment manufac-
turing in the Garment Center;

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 n Programs providing support and preparation for future innovations throughout the gar-
ment industry are essential and complementary to real estate solutions; and
n Recommendations should be crafted for industry-wide and district-wide support, not for
any one individual manufacturer, garment-related business, or site, and not only for existing
businesses but for future generations.

Recommendations

This report articulates eleven recommendations, and two areas for further exploration, that
have been identified by the members of the GCSC to inform the Citys strategy in supporting the
garment industry in mid-Manhattan. In the first Steering Committee Meeting, GCSC members
agreed to strive for consensus when discussing proposed recommendations. Consensus was
defined as broad agreement, which may not consist of 100% unanimity among Committee mem-
bers. The level of consensus and specific areas of dissent are noted within the recommendations
to reflect an accurate picture of the Steering Committees nuanced discussions, including when
unanimity was not achieved as the GCSC evaluated recommendations.

While there was consensus that there needs to be a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the
garment industry, not all components of that strategy are equally critical to implementation.
The vast majority of the committee felt that real estate stability was the decisive condition for
a stronger industry. This was the most complex issue and the committee altered its work plan
to focus on it. Marketing assistance to expand markets and create jobs, technology to improve
competitiveness, and training for workers to assure both the highest quality fashion and highest
quality jobs are important, both as goals in themselves and to support the real estate strategy
and assure that there would be sufficient demand for protected space. But without stable afford-
able space these other programs cannot be impactful.

The recommendations are organized topically as follows:

Section I. Real Estate

1. Create a custom NYCIDA program to retain long-term garment production space in the
Garment Center;
2. Advance a framework for a public-private building purchase for dedicated garment pro-
duction space in mid-Manhattan;
3. Create a mechanism in the zoning text to phase out the Preservation Requirements in
sub-areas P-1 and P-2 of the Special Garment Center District with the condition that some
space continues to be preserved for garment manufacturing;
4. Institute hotel restrictions in the Garment Center as part of the Special Garment
Center District zoning changes;
5. Support the role of nonprofit partner(s) in efforts to preserve a core of garment manufac-
turers in mid-Manhattan;

Section II. Workforce Development and Business Support

6. Support and develop new and existing talent pipelines for the garment-related workforce
in mid-Manhattan;

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 7. Support business planning and marketing among garment manufacturers;
8. Develop communications platform to elevate garment manufacturers;

Section III. Placemaking

9. Enhance neighborhood and commercial circulation and streetscape in the Garment Center;
10. Strengthen visibility of garment businesses and their workforce in the Garment Center;
11. Preserve the Garment Centers unique identity;

Section IV. Further Areas to Explore

12. Develop a multilingual approach across programs to preserve a core of garment production
and support the larger garment ecosystem in mid-Manhattan; and
13. Support the garment-related retail presence in the Garment Center.

Section I. Real Estate

Recommendations support the long-term stability of garment manufacturers in mid-Manhattan.

Real estate stability for garment manufacturers was identified early on by the Steering Com-
mittee as the most critical component of its recommendations. This echoes the sentiment from
attendees of the NYC Urban Manufacturing Symposium, a public event sponsored by the Man-
hattan Borough Presidents Office on April 24, 2017, prior to the commencement of the GCSC.
Stability in location allows garment manufacturers to make long-term business decisions, such
as capital investments, and helps preserve the historic garment ecosystem. Garment manufac-
turers were considered to be the most vulnerable part of the fashion ecosystem, and as result
were prioritized in order to retain a vibrant garment industry in mid-Manhattan and citywide.
Achieving this stability and predictability for garment manufacturers in the Manhattan core
was the primary objective for the GCSC, and Committee members recommend a package of
options for achieving this goal.

Recommendation 1: Create a custom NYC Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA)

program to retain long-term garment production space in the Garment Center. The
development and implementation of a custom program designed by the NYCIDA to benefit
garment manufacturers in the Garment Center is the primary real estate strategy discussed
across multiple Steering Committee meetings. A custom NYCIDA program, which would abate
property taxes for Garment Center landlords to incentivize long-term affordable leases for gar-
ment manufacturers, presents a strong opportunity to achieve effective preservation of garment
production in the Garment Center. NYCIDA programs have traditionally served lower density,
manufacturing areas outside of Manhattan and the potential customized application of the
NYCIDA in the Garment Center was seen as the creative use of a well-tested municipal tool for a
high density, high value and mixed-use neighborhood. In addition, the GCSC also recommended
leveraging the Industrial Developer Fund (IDF) with NYCIDA to close potential financing gaps
and facilitate capital investments in manufacturing spaces and buildings. The recommended
NYCIDA framework is the outcome of many conversations and study by Steering Committee
members, as well as conversations with property owners in the Garment Center who expressed
interest in participating in such a program. This recommendation had unanimous support from
the committee.

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This custom NYCIDA program, developed by New York City Economic Development
Corporation staff, would:
n Prioritize buildings with production tenants;
n Ensure that affordable production space is retained on a long-term basis;
n Support buildings in an area generally defined between West 28th and West 42nd Streets
and between 5th and 10th Avenues, as appropriate;
n Require property owners receiving NYCIDA benefits to offer renewable leases that will
provide stability to tenants;
n Be flexible enough to support buildings with a range of rents affordable for production
tenants;
n Offer tiered levels of benefits to owners, based on their building profile and the amount of
production space their building maintains;
n Offer deeper benefits to property owners participating early in the program;
n Make support other than tax abatements available, including but not limited to, capital
support including through the IDF; and
n Develop an effective enforcement mechanism to ensure the availability of affordable
space for production both in the short and long terms, perhaps in collaboration with a
non-profit organization discussed below.

The Steering Committee strongly requests that the City present a financial term sheet for the
custom NYCIDA program early in the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP process)
and no later than September 6, 2017. Some Committee members voiced objection to an August
21, 2017, certification date without a financial term sheet being presented.

Recommendation 2: Advance a framework for public-private building purchase for

dedicated garment production space in mid-Manhattan. The city partners (MBPO, Coun-
cilmember, and NYCEDC) agree to make best efforts to facilitate and support the purchase of a
property with a combination of public and private funds that would maintain dedicated space
for garment manufacturers in mid-Manhattan. Potential operators could include a nonprofit
manager, a manufacturing cooperative, or a condo association.

Funding from the Citys IDF and from MBPO and Council capital funds should be explored to
support purchase of a property with significant and dedicated manufacturing square footage.
The City could explore crafting a custom IDF program for the Garment Center, which could
include a loan guarantee component and provide additional stability for small and/or emerging
garment manufacturers beyond the benefits created by Recommendation 1. This recommen-
dation is meant to complement the custom NYCIDA program as another means to preserve
garment production. However, the Steering Committee members acknowledged the significant
complexity, length of time, and cost associated with purchasing a building in Mid-Manhattan,
and that building purchase alone may not preserve sufficient garment production. This recom-
mendation had unanimous support from the committee.

Recommendation 3: Create a mechanism in the zoning text to phase out the Preserva-
tion Requirements in sub-areas P-1 and P-2 of the Special Garment Center District.
The proposal would tie the lifting of the Preservation Requirements to achieving a goal of

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square footage of retention of garment production space in the Garment Center. Under this
framework, the Chair of the City Planning Commission would certify that the target amount of
space has been achieved for permanent lifting of the restriction.

To respond to many committee members concerns that lifting the zoning requirements with-
out prior implementation of other support mechanisms, such as NYCIDA, could put garment
manufacturers real estate stability at risk, some members proposed to phase out the lifting of
the zoning restrictions. The main goal of the proposal is to ensure predictability and the suc-
cess of the non-zoning preservation efforts. While the proposal runs contrary to some mem-
bers belief that zoning has been irrelevant to the real estate stability of the garment district, all
garment industry representatives and government officials supported this recommendation,
while those representing property owners did not. The dissenting members noted that half of
the production presence in the area is not reliant on the current zoning restrictions.

However, the members in support of this recommendation consider it an essential component

that in many ways serves as the foundation of the work of the Steering Committee. For them, ty-
ing the lifting of the Preservation Requirements to a square footage goal would be the only way
to ensure that a critical mass of production space necessary for the survival and success of the
garment industry will be retained. Many members, including Steering Committee Chair Man-
hattan Borough President Gale Brewer, made it clear that it would be difficult if not impossible
to support any attempt to lift the current zoning restrictions without a commitment to tie it to a
square footage goal.

As part of this approach, GCSC members debated how to define a critical mass target of pre-
served garment manufacturing space. The majority of Steering Committee members agreed to
a minimum preservation goal defined between 500,000 and 750,000 square feet for manufac-
turing space in the Garment Center. Some Steering Committee members dissented with this
opinion. Members representing property owners objected to the square footage approach, citing
concerns over predictability and feasibility of achieving such a goal. They maintained that lift-
ing of the current zoning should instead be tied to a specific date in the future. Other members
recommended a goal of 1 million square feet as the target instead.

The recommendation to tie the lifting of the restriction to attainment of a square footage goal
also includes the following components: encouraging early participation in the NYCIDA program,
implementing specific mechanisms for lifting restrictions, monetizing the retained square foot-
age, and establishing a process to re-evaluate the retention goal if the initial approach were to
fail. The following details the proposed mechanism.

Incentives and zoning mechanisms would be offered to owners to expedite the achievement of
the target amount of space. These incentives could include:
n Incentives structured to encourage early participation. A time limit on the availability
of NYCIDA and IDF/other capital funding incentives, and/or incentives that decrease over
time, should be set, so that property owners are encouraged to enter into agreements early
and provide more predictability for all parties.
n Zoning mechanism for an early release option to the current preservation requirements.

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 A zoning text provision should be created to permanently release space early from the pres-
ervation requirements if a property owner reserves a certain number of square feet for gar-
ment manufacturing retention. Under this framework, the owner would receive the right
to be exempted from the preservation requirements for some greater number of square feet
(under a ratio to be determined). The rights derived from this action could be used on site or
off site. With this provision, a property owner can preserve a portion of a building or portfolio
and free up the balance of space for conversion to commercial uses.
n Monetizing manufacturing retention rights. Zoning could allow property owners to mon-
etize and transfer those release rights by selling them to other property owners in the SGCD.
This ability is especially valuable for those owners who cannot fully make use of their release
rights for their own property or holdings. Manufacturing retention rights could also be creat-
ed in a proposed incentive program area greater than the current SGCD, in order to preserve
production in the wider geographic district, while assisting with the early release option.

All manufacturing retention square footage produced by any of the tax incentives or zoning
mechanisms could count toward the target amount of square footage reserved for garment pro-
duction in the Garment Center in Manhattan. In addition, all signed leases and extensions that
meet the same standards for long-term stability for production tenants could count toward the
target square footage, whether or not they are in the NYCIDA program recommended in Recom-
mendation 1.

After a set period, the target, if not met, should be re-evaluated by the Department of City Planning
in consultation with NYCEDC, the Borough President and Councilmember. This re-evaluation
would include a public hearing and take into account participation in the tax incentive program
and zoning mechanisms, strength of the industry and geographic distribution of the industry city-
wide. It could then consider changing components of the incentive program, including the level of
incentives offered, the kinds of uses being preserved, and the target square footage.

Recommendation 4: Institute hotel restrictions as part of the Special Garment Center

District zoning changes. Create a special permit or other restriction(s) applicable in the Spe-
cial Garment Center District zoning regulations to limit hotel use by development, enlargement
or conversion, as part of a package of real estate solutions. These restrictions will help ensure
a balanced mixed-use district, serve as a deterrent to the practice of warehousing vacant pro-
duction space that could be used for other uses, and remove development pressure on predomi-
nantly garment production buildings that are outside of the P-1 and P-2 sub-areas. This land use
framework to restrict as-of-right hotel development was seen as critical and should be part of
the land use application referred out on August 21, 2017. This recommendation had unanimous
support from the committee except for the two representatives of property owners, who would
support this upon the lifting of the Preservation Requirements.

Representatives of Community Board 4 and Community Board 5 are united in supporting a

special permit for new hotels east of Eighth Avenue in Community District 5, and no new hotels
west of Eighth Avenue in Community District 4.

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Recommendation 5: Support the role of nonprofit partners in efforts to preserve a core
of garment manufacturers in mid-Manhattan. As Recommendations 1 and/or 2 are im-
plemented, the City should work to engage with and provide funding assistance to a nonprofit
partner to facilitate implementation and/or ongoing operations. The precise role of the nonprofit
could take one of several forms including:
n Serving as an intermediary of an NYCIDA program to support production tenants in the
Garment Center, identifying new tenants as needed in buildings receiving NYCIDA benefits,
enforcing compliance, or supporting NYCIDA compliance efforts in those buildings. Under
this model, primary fiscal and legal responsibility to identify qualified tenants would still rest
with the landlord, but the nonprofit would provide building owners with support; or
n Acting as leaseholder under NYCIDA agreements, subleasing to new tenants as needed in
buildings receiving NYCIDA benefits and ensuring compliance in those buildings. In this sce-
nario, decision making authority around new tenants would rest with a nonprofit dedicated to
the garment industry; and/or
n Serving individually or with a consortium of partners as a property owner and/or manager
of a building with dedicated garment manufacturing space.

In addition to the support a nonprofit partner could offer to Recommendations 1 and 2, a non-
profit partner could serve as an advocate for the larger garment industry ecosystem in the Gar-
ment Center. This recommendation had unanimous support from the committee.

Section II. Workforce Development and Business Support

Recommendations aim to address the current and future workforce needs of garment manufac-
turers, and to help them to grow their businesses in the Garment Center by enhancing marketing
and communication strategies and improving operational efficiencies.

While real estate stability was identified as critical to the stability of the garment industry in
the area, the GCSC determined that garment manufacturers also needed support with work-
force and business operations to continue to innovate and compete in an increasingly global
industry. Workforce development and business support recommendations build upon existing
City support of the fashion industry, as well as ongoing programs that create opportunities for
skills training and enable New York City to maintain a strong base of small businesses. Recom-
mendations have been crafted to address a multitude of needs: varying skill levels required for
employees of specialty production shops as compared to employees at mass production busi-
nesses; technological advances that could shift worker requirements; and a desire to enhance
opportunities to communicate the value of garment manufacturers and to connect them to each
other and other parts of the ecosystem.

Recommendation 6: Support and develop new and existing talent pipelines for the gar-
ment-related workforce in mid-Manhattan. Develop long-term training programs that sup-
ply the industry with skilled workers through employer-driven training and apprenticeships.
These programs should be customized to the industry through close coordination with garment
industry experts, and should strengthen the pipeline of skilled workers across a wide spectrum
of roles and skills in the garment manufacturing supply chain. Training programs may:
n Help employees develop a career pathway to pursue quality jobs including
supervisory positions;
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 n Offer new entry points to the industry in design, manufacturing, and technological
innovation; and
n Enhance both existing technological skillsets such as CAD training and future
emerging technologies.

NYCEDC, in consultation with the NYC Dept. of Small Business Services (SBS), should lead the
development of programs that leverage and complement existing training programs. This rec-
ommendation had unanimous support from the committee.

Recommendation 7: Support business planning and marketing among garment manu-

facturers. Leverage existing NYC Business Solutions Center and Industrial Business Service
Provider programs offered through SBS, tailoring them where needed, to offer business plan-
ning assistance that will position garment manufacturers to proactively enhance their efficien-
cy and competitiveness. Types of assistance could include general consulting services, process
implementation, operational support, and marketing support. Marketing tools should provide
garment manufacturers with 21st century marketing support such as:
n New clientele and sales channel development;
n Digital, user-friendly tools to increase visibility to target clientele, such as website devel-
opment support for individual manufacturing businesses; and
n B2B networking opportunities, leveraging existing and new networking opportunities to
help businesses broaden their reach.

NYCEDC, in consultation with SBS, should lead the development of such programs that pro-
mote business launch and growth planning services. Programs should build off or learn from
best practices of successful efforts such as City Source New York, an annual tradeshow con-
necting designers and small businesses with local manufacturers, embroiders, patternmakers,
sample shops, trims, and other garment-related businesses, and Made in NY, a program that
encourages the purchase of locally made products and that provides technical assistance to
build the marketing capacity of individual manufacturers through creation of communications
assets such as digital photography and videos, plus training and networking. This recommen-
dation had unanimous support from the committee.

Recommendation 8: Develop a communications platform to better connect garment

manufacturers to the community of designers, start-ups, students and suppliers.
Develop a communications platform and strategy, coordinated by the City with industry lead-
ers and program partners, to promote production activities from garments to costumes, as well
as associated retail in the Garment Center, to audiences within New York City, the country and
across the world. This platform could create additional tourism opportunities, as well as align
with the marketing support for individual garment manufacturers outlined in recommendation
6. Partners could include the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Made in NY, NYDesigns,
the Garment District Alliance (GDA), and garment-related labor unions, including Workers Unit-
ed and IATSE. This recommendation had unanimous support from the committee.

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Section III. Placemaking
Recommendations seek to preserve the garment industrys significance and presence in mid-Man-
hattan while also strengthening the development of a healthy and vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.

Improvements to the public realm provide the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the unique
value of the garment industry to mid-Manhattan while welcoming a diverse mix of businesses
in the neighborhood. Recommendations include mechanisms to both enhance the garment
industrys visibility and support all of the neighborhoods users. Enhancing garment industry
visibility will help to preserve the rich culture and history associated with garment manufacturing
in mid-Manhattan. These proposals seek to promote an inclusive landscape that celebrates the
neighborhoods historical roots, facilitates the continued presence of a vibrant fashion ecosys-
tem, and creates space to integrate new users of the neighborhood. Recommendations have also
been designed to align with ongoing placemaking efforts by the GDA.

Recommendation 9: Enhance neighborhood and commercial circulation and streets-

cape in the Garment Center. Improve circulation and movement within the Garment Center
to enable garment manufacturers to more easily transport goods and for the neighborhood to
better accommodate pedestrians and bike riders. Changes to the local landscape could bolster
the ability of garment manufacturers to conduct business, but should also align with the exist-
ing landscape and needs of other users; analysis of circulation patterns should be completed
prior to implementing any changes to ensure they align with the diverse users of the neighbor-
hood and the existing landscape, including nearby transit hubs and neighborhoods. Potential
mechanisms could include: reserving lanes for foot or bike traffic or moving goods, preserving
adequate space for and access to loading docks and service entrances, and enlarging sidewalks.

As part of this effort, the City should explore opportunities to draw connectivity with adjacent
neighborhoods. This could include creating a pedestrian connection on 37th Street from the
Javits Center to the Garment Center to be a distinguished gateway into the Garment Center, and
other initiatives prioritized by the Garment District Alliances 2017 Public Realm Improvements
report. This recommendation had unanimous support from the committee.

Recommendation 10: Strengthen the visibility of garment businesses and their work-
force in the Garment Center. Enable garment manufacturers, related businesses, and their
clients to interact and find each other through improved signage for businesses, wayfinding, on-
line directories, and/or a mobile application that would serve as a current and historical direc-
tory for the district. Enhanced visibility for these businesses would support a healthy ecosystem
in the Garment District while also contributing to awareness of the neighborhoods identity and
history. Improvements of this kind should build upon and be coordinated with existing strate-
gies led by the Garment District Alliance. This recommendation had unanimous support from
the committee.

Recommendation 11: Preserve the Garment Centers unique identity. The fashion indus-
trys 100-year presence in the Garment Center represents a vital element to the neighborhoods
identity and should be preserved, even as other uses integrate into the area. Strategies to retain
a sense of place and historic context could include: individual landmark designation of select

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significant structures in the district, opportunities to recognize the garment industry work-
force, the exploration of a permanent museum with storefront visibility, and warehouse space
for machinery, costumes, designs, and materials that includes an archive component to serve as
a resource for students, designers, film and video and print editorial. This recommendation had
unanimous support from the committee.

Section IV. Further Areas to Explore

In addition to the recommendations listed in elements of Real Estate, Workforce Development
and Business Support, and Placemaking, the Steering Committee determined the following
actions, which support maintaining a manufacturing core in mid-Manhattan and the larger
garment ecosystem, should be further explored.

Recommendation 12: Develop a multilingual approach across programs to preserve a core

of garment production and supporting the larger garment ecosystem in mid-Manhattan
Any programs and outreach that are implemented as an outgrowth of these recommendations
should be designed and distributed with a multilingual audience in mind, to be accessible to
a diverse constituency - garment manufacturers and their employees. All materials should be
developed in accordance with Executive Order 120, which directs all City agencies that provide
public services to develop and implement agency-specific language access plans for those with
limited English proficiency.

Recommendation 13: Support garment-related retail presence in the Garment Center.

Explore opportunities to support garment-related wholesale and retail businesses that provide
the raw materials for garment production to students and emerging designers. These businesses
provide a vital service to the garment ecosystem and contribute to the vibrant mixed use of the
Garment District, creating a sense of place that is unique to the district.

Strategies to be explored include employing non-zoning incentives such as reducing the commer-
cial rent tax* and instituting changes to the special district such as: maximum linear feet for a
storefront use, restrictions on banks and lobby frontages, a minimum number of establishments
rule for larger buildings or zoning lots, and a minimum percentage of frontage for garment-
related uses, including wholesale, retail, showroom and garment museum space. Storefront use
restrictions should be explored for implementation on the side streets rather than the avenues
within the Garment Center.

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*There is legislation pending before the City Council, Proposed Int. No. 799-A, sponsored by Council Member Daniel Garodnick, which
would offer significant commercial rent tax relief to all Manhattan businesses currently subject to it.

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Appendix
The Garment District Alliance (GDA) and the Garment Center Supplier Association (GCSA)
conducted simultaneous surveys that provided a snapshot of the garment industry, specifi-
cally of garment production, in the GDA boundary and in the larger Garment Center vicinity.
The GDA and the GCSA collaborated on a shared definition of manufacturing to identify,
survey, and quantify garment manufacturing tenanted spaces in the area. Manufacturing
is defined as the presence of machines on site with volume production of raw materials
for paying clients. The synthesized data shared by the organizations was presented to the
Steering Committee at the fourth meeting on July 13, 2017 and were part of the Steering
Committees discussions.

According to the surveys conducted by the Garment District Alliance and the Garment
Center Supplier Association, there is 716,442 square feet (209 tenants) of garment manu-
facturing in the Special Garment Center District P-1 and P-2 Preservation Areas, which
were originally designated by a 1987 zoning amendment with a goal to maintain the viabil-
ity of apparel production in the Garment Center by limiting conversion of manufacturing
and warehousing space to office use. The GCSA survey covered a larger area, and found that
there is 1.4 million square feet (413 tenants) in the larger Garment District vicinity (West
35th to West 40th Streets, Fifth to Ninth Avenues), indicating that roughly half of garment
production in mid-Manhattan is located outside of the Preservation Areas.

Within the Preservation Areas, the GDA survey identified 3.9 million square feet of fash-
ion-related uses, including office, showroom, design, manufacturing, warehouse, and retail.
This represents 46% of total square footage in the Preservation Areas, indicating that the
Appendix
fashion ecosystem is alive and thriving in the district.

Uses in the Garment District Preservation Areas

Share of P1 Square Footage Share of P2 Square Footage

(6.4 million square feet) (2.1 million square feet)

12
Fashion in the Garment Center Preservation Areas

Occupancy Type Share in Preservation Areas

Fashion
Non-Fashion
Vacant

Fashion Sub-Industry Share: Square Feet in Preservation

12 Areas

Change in Share of Fashion Square Footage in Preservation Areas

2009
2014
2017

13
Fashion Sub-Industry Share: Tenants in Preservation Areas

Change in Fashion Tenant Share in Preservation Areas

Fashion Sub-Industry Share: Tenants in Preservation Areas

Change in Fashion Tenant Share in Preservation Areas

2009
2014
2017

13
Garment Manufacturers Rent in Larger Garment District Vicinity

Share of Price per Square Foot of Manufacturing Firms (157 firms)

$51 psf $30.95 psf

Garment District market rate Garment manufacturers average rate
Source: Q4 2014 The Real Deal Source: GCSA interviews

14
GARMENT CENTER BOUNDARIES

15
Gale A. Brewer
MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT

1 Centre Street, 19th Floor South

New York, NY 10007
(212) 669-8300

431 West 125th Street

New York, NY 10027
(212) 531-1609

www.manhattanbp.nyc.gov
galeabrewer

August 2017