Spotlight on Brooklyn 2019

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS stores like Saks and Bloomingdales would react to her says the other headline is a mixed bag: Prices have finally Brooklyn real estate: company’s move. dropped, leading to more transactions on spaces. the cachet of cool at “But we had zero issues,” says Quinn, who now lives across “I don’t know how happy the landlords are about having to re- the street. “When people come here for meetings, they love it.” duce prices by 15 to 20 percent,” she says, “but they are being lower prices more realistic, and from the tenant side that’s a healthy thing.” Quinn’s story symbolizes commercial real estate’s growth in Brooklyn. Bigger spaces and rents that remain cheaper When it comes to retail, Flexer says, tenants are moving than in Manhattan are drawing businesses, part of a trans- into new neighborhoods, being “more adventurous.” formation that stretches over a decade. “They are in North Williamsburg and Greenpoint saying, “You can see the changes in Brooklyn just by looking at the ‘We want to be in that market,’” she says. skyline,” says Samara Karasyk, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s interim president. “But the growth is not just Flexer points to retail successes in Boerum and Cobble Hill. in Downtown Brooklyn. It’s in the Navy Yard and Industry “There are more international tenants, like Bonobos and City, but also in central and even south Brooklyn.” Benefit Cosmetics,” she says. “It’s very encouraging that they are not just focused on the more established neigh- The borough is seen as the capital of creative talent in the de- borhoods.” sign, media and tech fields, says Ofer Cohen, founder and CEO of the Brooklyn-focused commercial real estate firm TerraCRG. Cohen and Myer say much of the growth in retail has been in restaurants, bars, gyms and day care operations rather than in “This is where people live now, and they want to walk or high-end retail, but they stress those businesses are vital. bike to work,” Cohen says. “Companies are expanding from fter 23 years in SoHo, Deirdre Quinn and her fashion or moving from Manhattan, and Brooklyn companies are “They fill holes in the quality of life and add to a richer company, Lafayette 148, left the Manhattan neigh- growing a bigger footprint.” downtown,” Myer says, while Cohen adds there is growth Aborhood in August for more space at a better price. throughout Brooklyn, from Gowanus to Bedford-Stuyve- Even with its growth, the borough is at a “real turning point,” sant to Greenpoint to East Flatbush. She moved Lafayette 148 and her own home to Brooklyn. says Regina Myer, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Part- nership. Myer points to projects like Tishman Speyer’s 10-sto- “As people move to more affordable neighborhoods,” Co- “I saved two-thirds of my rent, and we have all our employ- ry building the Wheeler as one of three major Class A projects hen says, “the amenities follow—first a pioneer, then a clus- ees on one floor with 70,000 square feet, which was a game and renovations at buildings like 41 Flatbush Ave. ter and then a whole corridor.” changer for the culture of the company,” Quinn says of the new Brooklyn Navy Yard location. She has another half floor Tech and other startups have brought new energy to an Cohen is optimistic that Brooklyn’s growth in retail and of- in the building and keeps one floor for retail in Manhattan. area dominated by civic and court uses, Myer says. fice space is far from its peak. “We also have four balconies with views you could die for.” “That is the big headline,” she explains. “We’re at the beginning of our trajectory,” he says. “It has Quinn’s employees were initially concerned about the com- been great, and it’s about to get even better.” SPOTLIGHT ON mute and local food options while she fretted over how Mitzi Flexer, director of brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield, BROOKLYN That renaissance extends well beyond basketball. Just look Two people are coming at the borough’s jobs and construction gains, new restaurants, range of live theater and music venues. Brooklyn has to Brooklyn this fall. been the capital of cool for so long now, it’s almost impos- WHAT’S sible to remember when people from Manhattan wouldn’t Okay, okay. The borough is constantly welcoming new ar- visit it, much less live there. rivals, whether they’re poor, working class, wealthy or even famous. “Brooklyn is a brand recognized around the world,” says Ana Oliveira, board chair of the Brooklyn Chamber of Com- But these two are different. merce. “Brooklyn is a national leader in job growth and economic opportunity, especially in industries connected to NEXT “ Brooklyn is a brand recognized Kevin Durant and Kyrie Ir- the innovation economy—creative companies, tech start- around the world. Brooklyn is ving are NBA superstars ups and firms in research, design and manufacturing.” who were coveted by teams IN BROOKLYN from coast to coast, most While Downtown Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Cultural Dis- a national leader in job growth notably the other basket- trict get most of the attention, the chamber also focuses on Cushman & Wakefi eld’s Brooklyn team is a force for action. ball team in New York. growth in other parts of the borough, says Samara Kara- and economic opportunity, syk, the chamber’s interim president. With local knowledge of the Brooklyn market, and the especially in industries When Durant and Irving power of a global platform that encompasses the full-spectrum chose the Brooklyn Nets it The chamber strives to help all Brooklynites, Karasyk says, connected to the innovation was a seismic shift—Man- advocating for mom-and-pop businesses and providing of leasing and capital markets services, our professionals are hattan may not yet be con- opportunities in oft-overlooked neighborhoods like East shaping the future of Brooklyn real estate. Unifi ed by a relentless economy—creative companies, sidered an outer borough New York and Brownsville. In those communities, she to Brooklyn, but the new notes, the chamber runs a metalworking apprentice pro- commitment to developing solutions for our clients, and a fresh tech startups and firms in kings of Kings County are a gram linked to the borough’s new design and manufactur- symbol of changing times. ing businesses. approach to commercial real estate, our next generation team is research, design and defi ning What’s Next for Cushman & Wakefi eld. “Their signing transcends Participation, she says, often leads to jobs. manufacturing.” the team,” says Brett Yor- —Ana Oliveira, board chair, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce mark, CEO of BSE Global, Many real estate developers and new businesses have tak- Joseph Caridi which manages the Nets en a “thoughtful approach to maintaining neighborhoods and the Barclays Center. and communities that make it special here,” Karasyk says, Direct: 212 841 7700 “It’s a statement heard adding: [email protected] worldwide about Brooklyn. It validates the growth of Brooklyn during this incredible renaissance of the last 10 “We are working to keep what makes Brooklyn, Brooklyn.” cushwakenytristate.com or 15 years.” 99 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | %DAY_OF_WEEK_DATE% %DAY_OF_WEEK_DATE% | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 100 COPY EDITOR______ COLD READER______ WRITER______ SENIOR EDITOR______ FINAL______ COPY EDITOR______ COLD READER______ WRITER______ SENIOR EDITOR______ FINAL______ SPOTLIGHT ON BROOKLYN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS “We aspired to be global when we opened and we tasted How it,” Yormark says, “but now we are going to realize it.” The arena is still relentlessly local, he notes, with 80 percent of the staff hailing from Brooklyn. “There’s a pride here in how you are treated. It’s our collective home.” Tomlin takes the same approach at the Kings. Most of its employees live in Flatbush or nearby. “We offer something for everyone,” Tomlin says, referring not just to the healthy mix of music and comedy in the main 3,000-seat theater but to programming aimed at making the Kings “accessible for everyone, for that whole community.” That means free open-mic comedy, a fitness series (part- nered with Crunch) in the courtyard, and a new series with a lower price point that will debut July 19 called the Kings Comedy Lounge. At Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA), Horowitz says, the New Deal program provides affordable tickets to theater- ls goers under 30, and the Brooklyn Pass program provides l free and heavily discounted tickets to those in the commu- R lls For theater, music and basketball, bridge and nity who might otherwise be left out. Educational programs tunnel traffic now flows toward Brooklyn are offered in the borough’s schools, he notes. “We’re bringing people in through economic access,” he hen the impresario Harvey Lichtenstein trans- formed the forlorn Brooklyn Academy of Music Winto the popular and influential BAM in the 1980s, it was—and long remained—an outlier in a cultural desert for live entertainment. Brooklyn had few live music or comedy venues and little in the way of prestige theater. The borough didn’t even have profes- sional baseball. The Dodgers left following the 1957 season, and the minor league Cyclones didn’t arrive until 2001. These days, BAM remains a centerpiece—Madonna kicks off her Madame X tour this fall with 17 shows there—but the borough hosts a dazzling array of music, theater and comedy offerings. BAM is the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District, which in- cludes Theatre for a New Audience, the Mark Morris Dance “I love that you can go a mile in a different direction, and it says.

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