Closing Bell: Brooklyn Is King of Growth

The Mayor, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and a bunch of other pols gathered at Brooklyn Brewery for a press conference this morning about the economic success of Brooklyn. The borough leads New York City in economic growth, according to a report out today from the office of the comptroller. Since 2003, the number of businesses in the borough has grown by 21 percent, a much faster pace than in the rest of New York City.

While health care and social assistance employ the most, accounting for one-third of all Brooklyn jobs in 2012, leisure and hospitality are growing the most quickly, increasing 36 percent between 2008 and 2012 — or nearly 10,000 jobs, most of them in restaurants and bars.

“Educated young people have been pouring into Brooklyn for the past two decades, and they responded to the 2008 recession by starting businesses in the food, beverage, media and tech sectors,” said Brooklyn Brewery cofounder Steve Hindy at the press conference. “There now is a vibrant economy in Brooklyn and an educated workforce finding new opportunities.”

Manufacturing in the borough is on the rebound, thanks mostly to the food business. In 2012, “for the first time in decades,” according to a press release, the number of manufacturing jobs in the borough rose rather than fell. The number increased by 2.5 percent, or 19,910 jobs.

Young people, immigrants and others are flocking here, drawn by “world-class cultural and academic institutions…many restaurants, growing nightlife and diverse neighborhoods,” said the report. Challenges include recovery from Hurricane Sandy, unemployment and the high cost of housing.

The report also singled out four significant developments in the borough: The Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District, the redevelopment of the Domino Sugar factory, the Livonia Commons Project in East New York and the redevelopment of the Loew’s Kings Theater on Flatbush Avenue.