The Southwest Brooklyn Bulletin | | SBIDC creates equal opportunity for the people, businesses and community of Southwest Brooklyn’s working waterfront. | | |
We have a one-year extension — and a fight still in front of us. The amended RFP that came with it cuts dedicated industrial funding by 75%. The IBSP, the financial backbone behind our free services to industrial businesses across the city, is not protected. Not yet.
The Mamdani administration has yet to affirm any commitment to industrial policy. No housing is affordable without the jobs that make it possible to pay for it — and those jobs don't survive without employers who can stay in the city. We're working on all fronts to make that case, including pushing for the Mayor to take a clear position on the future of industrial support in New York.
We need your stories. Do you have employees whose lives have been shaped by the work they do in the industrial sector? We want to hear from them — what this job has meant for their families, their futures, their ability to stay in this city. Contact Micaela Skoknic at mskoknic@sbidc.org or 718-965-3100 ext. 106.
Thank you for continuing to stand with us.
| | Sunset Swing Honoree Spotlight: NYES Protect | | Pictured above: Michelle Feinberg, Owner. Credit: NYES Protect | | |
NYES Protect, the PPE and apparel manufacturing arm of New York Embroidery Studio reflects the enduring creativity of New York City’s Garment District and the evolving future of domestic production. Originally founded in Manhattan as a premier fashion and embroidery studio, NYES built its reputation on craftsmanship and precision.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, NYES expanded by launching NYES Protect and establishing a second manufacturing facility in Sunset Park at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. The company rapidly adapted its operations to produce critical personal protective equipment (PPE), becoming an essential domestic manufacturer during a moment of urgent national need.
SBIDC has been proud to support NYES Protect throughout this evolution, working alongside their team to navigate government processes, secure procurement opportunities, provide recruitment and business training services, and strengthen connections to public-sector contracting. Through this partnership, NYES Protect has grown as both a local employer and a national supplier.
We are honored to recognize NYES Protect for carrying forward New York’s manufacturing legacy while helping to define its future, right here in Sunset Park.
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Stay tuned for the Honoree feature on Vestas, a company whose work in Sunset Park puts our neighborhood at the center of New York City's clean energy future.
🎉Join us at Sunset Swing on Tuesday, May 19th as we celebrate their leadership at SBIDC's 48th annual fundraiser — an evening of cocktails, dinner, live music, and community at Five Two A @ Industry City.
With uncertainty in some of our funding sources, this year's Sunset Swing is more important than ever. Your ticket purchase or sponsorship directly supports SBIDC's free services to the businesses and workers of Southwest Brooklyn's working waterfront.
| | Tour Sunset Park Manufacturers During Made in NYC Week Factory Tours on May 5th | | |
Mark your calendars for the 8th annual Made in NYC Week, happening May 1st-7th! This citywide celebration spotlights the craftsmanship and talent within New York City’s vibrant manufacturing and maker community through pop-up markets, retail collections, factory tours, and maker demos and experiences.
Next Tuesday May 5th, SBIDC is excited to co-host an informative factory tour of three manufacturing facilities in Sunset Park at the Brooklyn Army Terminal:
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Norwegian Baked (3pm to 3:45pm): Crafting organic, plant-based knekkebrød (crispbread) inspired by Norwegian tradition and baked for a modern, wholesome lifestyle.
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NYES Protect (4pm to 4:45pm): An advanced garment manufacturing facility in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, specializing in large-scale production of personal protective equipment and apparel, proudly made by a woman-owned small business in the USA.
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Makerspace NYC (5pm to 5:45pm): NYC’S largest and best equipped makerspace helping creative entrepreneurs get their start.
| | SBIDC's Miquela Craytor, Panelist at Symposium - Making More: Industry’s Role in an Affordable, Livable City on May 5th | | |
As part of Made in NYC Week 2026, the Office of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso will host a symposium on May 5th from 9:30am-3pm to launch their newest policy paper, “Making More: Industry’s Role in an Affordable, Livable City” at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The day will include presentatons and discussions about the evolving and critical role of the manufacturing sector in Brooklyn.
Miquela Craytor, SBIDC's Senior Advisor, will serve as a panelist during the 11am panel on Challenges and Opportunities in Brooklyn's Industrial Business Zones, alongside fellow industrial partners Evergreen Exchange, LDC of East New York, and BOC Network.
| | New York's Industrial Ecosystem Isn't Optional. Reflections from Freight Planning 101 Event | | Pictured above with microphone at event: Miquela Craytor, SBIDC Senior Advisor | | Freight is the invisible backbone of urban life. As speakers at Resilient Red Hook's recent freight event made clear, if New York's rail, water, and truck systems shut down simultaneously, the city would run out of food in three days. That's not a hypothetical — it's a reminder that industrial infrastructure functions like a utility, and should be treated as one. Real examples drive the point home: when East Peak Trading lost its lease at Industry City, those weren't just business disruptions — they were permanent losses to the city's multi-modal supply chain. | | |
As SBIDC's Senior Advisor Miquela Craytor put it, once industrial and maritime infrastructure is gone, it doesn't come back. With regional freight volume projected to grow 45% by 2045 and Red Hook standing as one of the last places in the five boroughs where this activity can still happen, the window to protect this ecosystem is closing — and there is no Plan B.
📩Questions? Contact Miquela Craytor at mcraytor@sbidc.org and Micaela Skoknic at mskoknic@sbidc.org.
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Wind Connections Spotlight: Ionic Order | At the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, cranes load Ionic Order’s finished product onto barges to be delivered. Credit: Ionic Order. | |
Wind Connections is the essential guide for small businesses seeking opportunities in New York City's offshore wind supply chain.
Check out the recent newsletter spotlight on Ionic Order, a manufacturer of precast concrete and aggregate-based products for marine, civil, and energy infrastructure at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Managing Director Alexios Shaw discusses how this relatively young start-up, founded in February 2025, runs a sophisticated shore-side operation while prioritizing local hiring, its successful entry into offshore wind through the direct support of the We Source NYC program and the teams at SBIDC and BOC, and how it leverages the working waterfront for marine transport.
Read the latest edition here. If you enjoyed the read, subscribe to stay updated on NYC’s offshore wind scene:
| 📩Questions? Contact Erin Johnson at ejohnson@sbidc.org, 718-965-3100 x102. | Thanks for Attending the Gowanus Small Business Mixer! | |
Thank you to everyone who joined us at Principles GI Coffee House for the Gowanus Small Business Mixer. Nearly 30 local businesses attended, enjoying coffee, bagels, and connections. The energy in the room was electric.
Special thanks to co-hosts, Principles and the Gowanus Oversight Task Force, along with our City partners at NYC SBS, for the good vibes and helpful resources.
We look forward to hosting and welcoming you to more community events!
| Policy Watch: Local Law 75 and IEEPA Tariff Refunds | |
1️⃣This summer, the first compliance deadlines arrive for Local Law 75 of 2009.
LL75 requires that no later than July 1, 2026, all existing and new security grilles installed on buildings that are classified in Occupancy Groups B (Business) or M (Mercantile) must have visibility from the sidewalk of at least 70%. This does not apply to security grilles on buildings classified in Occupancy Group S (Storage) or a building designated as a landmark.
👉Does this law apply to your business? See here for definitions and examples of Group B and M businesses that will need to comply with LL75.
Failure to comply will result in violations and fines, unless the owner corrects the conditions within 90 days of a violation and files a Certificate of Correction with DOB's Administrative Enforcement Unit.
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2️⃣Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) launched the tariff refund site as well as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal for importers with valid refund requests for duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
To receive a refund, U.S. importers of record who directly paid tariffs directly must submit a CAPE declaration, create an account through the CBP's online portal, and file claims for duties paid. Duties should be refunded within 60-90 days of application.
👉Please refer to this FAQ from the US Chamber of Commerce to understand qualifications and next steps to ensure proper refunding.
👉RSVP for April 29th webinar on IEEPA Tariff Refunds: What Phase 1 Means for Importers and How to Prepare Without Triggering Risk, hosted by Grassi.
📩Questions? Contact Jake Swinford at jswinford@sbidc.org, 718-965-3100 x108.
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💸Capital Access for Manufacturers💸
Questions or applying? Contact Jake Swinford at jswinford@sbidc.org.
| | Hudson Shipping Co and U.S. Coastal Service | Pictured: (Top-L) USCS Crew & Hudson Shipping Co; (Top-R) Aboard USCS Vessel; (Bottom) Andre Debuisne, Founder of Hudson Shipping Co and Ilana Mayid-Dennis, President of U.S. Coastal Service | |
The waterways are open. Is your business ready?
Two Brooklyn businesses are proof that NYC’s waterways can be a working freight network. U.S. Coastal Service moves goods by boat, and Hudson Shipping Co by electric cargo bike. Together, they’re building a cleaner, faster alternative to trucking, one optimized for local supply chains. And they’re ready to serve businesses like yours.
Hudson Shipping Co is a Gowanus-based logistics company running an all-electric, fleet of cargo bikes for zero-emission, highly reliable local deliveries. Founded by systems engineer Andre Debuisne, the company piloted in South Brooklyn in Fall 2025 / Winter 2026 with local businesses, achieving 99% on-time performance, and is now expanding to serve Brooklyn and Manhattan.
U.S. Coastal Service operates the Blue Highway 1—originally a car ferry from Puerto Rico that later served on the Cross Sound Ferry fleet—berthed at Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Powered by renewable diesel, the fully roll-on/roll-off ship can carry up to 100 tons of cargo per trip. With a wide open deck, shallow draft, and its own ramp, the vessel can directly connect Southwest Brooklyn businesses with Lower Manhattan, the Bronx, and Northern NJ—bypassing the BQE. End-to-end and drop-off services are available.
While the revival of the city’s waterways as freight corridors is a policy goal reflected in the City’s Blue Highways program—initiatives long advocated for by maritime freight experts like Red Hook’s Jim Tampakis, a 2025 SBIDC Sunset Swing Honoree for his advocacy on the matter—it is companies like Hudson Shipping Co and U.S. Coastal Service that are putting it into practice.
What’s next
Both businesses are committed to building a more resilient, multimodal supply chain that reconnects the working waterfront. They’re actively seeking business clients willing to try something new. They’re also navigating real infrastructure gaps — shore power, bulkhead access, onshore refrigeration, ramp improvements — where partnerships with city agencies and community partners will matter. Word of mouth matters too, so tell a friend!
Businesses, get in touch!
🎯Are you a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer looking to move lower-volume, higher-value goods — e.g. food and beverages, baked goods, paper goods, linens, light industrial goods, etc. packaged in parcels, crates, totes or kegs— between Southwest Brooklyn, the Bronx, Lower Manhattan, and Governors Island?
🎯Are you a business that depends on consistent delivery times and are currently absorbing the cost of congestion?
This network is built for you.
👋Hudson Shipping Co: Contact Andre at andre@hudsonshipping.co. See capability statement.
👋U.S. Coastal Service: Contact Ilana at ilana@uscoastalservice.com. See capability statement.
📩 Questions? Contact Micaela Skoknic at mskoknic@sbidc.org and Yujia Hu at yhu@sbidc.org.
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Thanks for reading the newsletter!
At SBIDC we work to create opportunities for the people and industrial businesses of Southwest Brooklyn. Looking for help?
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Get The Help Your Business Needs Today!
Reply to this email if you have any questions or if we can assist your business in any way.
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Jesse Tinen Solomon
SBIDC Executive Director
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