GARMENT DISTRICT — A newly-formed committee will bring city officials and Garment District “stakeholders” together to revamp a proposed zoning plan that critics have argued could “devastate” the industry.
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Councilman Corey Johnson and the city’s Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen have formed a “Garment Industry Steering Committee” that will devise a plan to “ensure sufficient long-term space” for manufacturers, the three said in a release.
Brewer plans to chair the committee, the release noted.
“Our committee will gather experts and representatives from all major stakeholders — manufacturers, labor, designers, and more — to examine the data, hear from everyone and achieve consensus,” Brewer said in a statement.
“The bottom line is that we already agree on a lot, and there’s a little more homework we need to do,” she added.
The committee will operate much like the East Midtown Steering Committee, a spokesman for Brewer wrote in an email.
Though its meetings won’t be public, the recommendations it comes up with will be, he added.
In March, the city publicly introduced plans to eliminate a rule that requires building owners to preserve space for manufacturing in the Special Garment Center District and provide incentives for manufacturers willing to relocate to Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
Critics of the proposal have argued it would dismantle an industry that’s already “on the brink of collapse.”
The committee will spend three months addressing stakeholder concerns, Brewer’s release said.
The Department of City Planning plans to kick of its zoning change review process on Aug. 21, after it has heard the committee’s recommendations, the release added.
