Boxed In: The precarious future of New York's Garment District

BOXED

The precarious future of New York's Garment District

BY DEWI COOKE & TAHIAT MAHBOOB

O

n a rain-soaked December night in the LIEVX SJ 2I[ =SVO 'MX]´W +EVQIRX (MWXVMGX E LERHJYP of young designers are gathered inside a sparse VSSQ ½ZI ¾SSVW EFSZI ;IWX XL 7XVIIX 8LI]´VI WXEOMRK SYX XLIMV TEXGLIW SJ ¾SSV space with racks of clothes and neat displays, heads down and quietly focused. The doors to this sale of prototype and limited-edition designs at fashion hothouse Showroom New York are about to open, but many here are WXMPP FYW] LERKMRK XLIMV XEMPSVIH NEGOIXW ERH KSPH WIUYMRIH WLVYKW EW XLI ½VWX WLSTTIVW trickle in.

designers to hawk their wares, Showroom New York, paid for in part by the New York City Economic Development Corporation ERH XLI RSX JSV TVS½X +EVQIRX -RHYWXV] (IZIPSTQIRX -RMXMEXMZI XVMIW XS LSSO XLIQ up with the manufacturing community—the people who can produce their clothes in the very neighborhood where the showroom sits.

The young women (and one man) showing their designs are like many trying to make E WXEVX MR XLI MRHYWXV] 8LI]´VI SRI TIVWSR shows, acting as merchandisers, sales reps and creative forces all at once, and hoping that one day fashion will be their ticket to some kind of JEQI ¯ SV EX PIEWX QSHIWX JSVXYRI -R E GMX] where the fashion industry contributes $1.7 billion in tax revenues annually, clothes are FMK FYWMRIWW ERH XLIVI´W RS WLSVXEKI SJ XLSWI willing to test their talent, and their luck.

-R GSRXVEWX XS XLI FYWXPI EFSZI XLI WXVIIX below Showroom New York is slowing down, as the fabric, trim and bead stores shut their HSSVW JSV XLI RMKLX -R XLI FYMPHMRKW FIX[IIR 34th and 40th streets, seamstresses, pleaters and other garment workers are stepping away from their sewing machines and hanging up XLIMV TEXXIVRW NYWX EW [SVOIVW LEZI HSRI LIVI for decades. Their faces may be different, and there are far fewer of them, but otherwise the scene has changed little since the early XL GIRXYV] [LIR XLI +EVQIRX (MWXVMGX [EW at its zenith. Soon the multi-colored window WMKRW [MPP ¾EWL SR ERH FYVR MRXS XLI RMKLX neon reminders to the occasional passer-by that, Yes! We Carry Felt!—and that yes, these businesses still exist.

±)ZIV]SRI´W HSMRK MX ² WE]W 'EXLIVMRI Chiara, a 24-year-old Pennsylvania native [LS´W FVSYKLX LIV ITSR]QSYW PEFIP SJ ¾MVX] cocktail wear to sell at the Showroom tonight. ±)ZIV]SRI [ERXW XS WXEVX E JEWLMSR PMRI 7S MX´W ZIV] HMJ½GYPX XS WXERH SYX MR E PEVKI GVS[H +IXXMRK TVIWW MW E TVMSVMX] ]SY RIIH XS LEZI ² &YX XSRMKLX MWR´X NYWX EFSYX GSRRIGXMRK [MXL XLI QIHME -R EHHMXMSR XS TVSZMHMRK WTEGI JSV

±-X´W NYWX E WYF[E] VMHI E[E] ² WE]W ]IEV SPH Dinna Soliman, who manufactures her Donuts PMRI SJ VIXVS X WLMVXW ERH ¾S[MRK ORMXXIH XSTW LIVI MR XLI +EVQIRX (MWXVMGX ±&IMRK EFPI XS check on all the production and working with ]SYV TEXXIVRQEOIV JVSQ WXEVX XS ½RMWL ¯ XLEX´W EP[E]W E TPYW ²

-X QE] RSX EP[E]W FI XLI GEWI

“ ³,I] PSSO [I´VI RSX XIPPMRK ]SY XLEX [I HSR´X [ERX manufacturing in New York City, but why does it have to FI MR XLMW PMXXPI FS\#´

”

“The question

is, do you hold back a whole neighborhood and 20 million square feet of space for one million square feet of users?

”

“Once these

GSQTERMIW KS XLI]´VI never coming back.

�

“The question is, do you hold back a whole neighborhood and 20 million square feet of WTEGI JSV SRI QMPPMSR WUYEVI JIIX SJ YWIVW#² EWOW &EVFEVE 6ERHEPP XLI I\IGYXMZI HMVIGXSV SJ XLI GMX]´W *EWLMSR 'IRXIV &YWMRIWW -QTVSZIQIRX (MWXVMGX SV &-( *VSQ LIV SJ½GI NYWX E LEPJ E FPSGO JVSQ 7LS[VSSQ 2I[ =SVO 6ERHEPP VITVIWIRXW E particularly frustrated group of Manhattanites: building owners hamstrung by decadesold zoning regulations that preserve the HMWXVMGX´W WMHI WXVIIXW JSV GPSXLMRK ERH SXLIV light manufacturing. The laws, enacted in MR ER EXXIQTX XS TVIWIVZI TVIGMSYW real estate for an industry once estimated to LEZI IQTPS]IH E JYPP TIVGIRX SJ XLI GMX]´W workforce, prevent the owners from charging GSQQIVGMEP SJ½GI VEXIW JSV XLIMV TVSTIVXMIW ERH F] 6ERHEPP´W VIGOSRMRK KMZI XLIQ PMXXPI MRGIRXMZI XS QEMRXEMR XLIQ Âą8LIVI´W RSX E PSX SJ VIMRZIWXQIRX SGGYVVMRK MR XLIWI FYMPHMRKW ² WE]W 6ERHEPP [LSWI SVKERM^EXMSR MW VIWTSRWMFPI JSV XLI KVIIR ERH KSPH Âą*EWLMSR (MWXVMGX² banners hanging from the street lamps nearby and for the oversized needle-and-button sculpture at the corner of 39th Street and 7th Avenue. “The problem is the production.

8LI TVSHYGXMSR GER´X TE] 1MHXS[R 1ERLEXXER VIRXW ² 6ERHEPP LEW FIIR [SVOMRK [MXL FYMPHMRK owners, the city and industry groups for the TEWX JSYV ]IEVW XS ½RH E WSPYXMSR XLEX WEXMW½IW both the estimated 21,500 garment workers ERH EJ½PMEXIH FYWMRIWWIW WXMPP STIVEXMRK MR Midtown and the owners who collectively own the nine million square feet of space still zoned for manufacturing, within the some 20 million square feet that makes up the district.

8LI XEWO LEWR´X FIIR IEW] 4EVX SJ XLI TVSFPIQ MW XLEX HIWTMXI XLI EVIE´W MHIRXMX] EW E ²JEWLMSR GIRXIV ² RS SRI GER IRWYVI that the space protected for manufacturing is actually being used for that purpose. The JEWLMSR MRHYWXV] ERH 6ERHEPP´W &-( EVI MR agreement that garment manufacturing likely accounts for no more than the 1.5 million WUYEVI JIIX SJ XLI WTEGI XLEX MX´W IRXMXPIH XS &YX MR XLI JEGI SJ TSSVP] IRJSVGIH ^SRMRK restrictions, the rest has slowly been taken over for other commercial purposes, most of them unrelated to fashion, and many of them illegal.

Few understand the tension better than )VMG +YVEP JSV [LSQ XLI HMWXVMGX VITVIWIRXW both family history and business opportunity. +YVEP´W KVERHJEXLIV VIEP IWXEXI KMERX %EVSR +YVEP QEHI LMW GEVIIV EGGYQYPEXMRK TVSTIVXMIW EGVSWW XLI HMWXVMGX ERH FI]SRH -R XLI W XLI IPHIV +YVEP NSMRIH XLI ½VQ 2I[QEVO

Company, helping build it into the now-global real estate powerhouse Newmark Knight *VERO )VMG´W JEXLIV .IJJ +YVEP VIQEMRW GLEMVQER and Eric serves as executive managing director, overseeing the same kind of garment-district properties his granddad once did. % FSEVH QIQFIV SJ &-( [LS LEW [SVOIH closely with the city on fashion-related ventures (including providing space, in the WEQI FYMPHMRK EW &-( LIEHUYEVXIVW JSV E ¹JEWLMSR MRGYFEXSV² XLEX LSYWIW IQIVKMRK HIWMKRIVW EX WYFWMHM^IH VIRXW +YVEP WE]W XLEX owners are losing out by not being able to charge commercial rates for their properties.

While the cost of renovating a building in compliance with regulations would run into the millions, he says, the potential return on

investment is very strong. Manufacturing like that anymore. You go to the corner of properties in the district currently bring in XL ERH XL XSHE] ERH XLIVI´W SRP] XLVII XS TIV WUYEVI JSSX FYX VIRSZEXIH KY]W XLIVI ² and leased for commercial uses, the same properties could pull in as much as $25. ostalgia for what was tends +MZIR RYQFIVW PMOI XLEX MW MX ER] [SRHIV to permeate any discussion owners are itching for a change? of what should happen to the ¹3RI SJ XLI EVKYQIRXW [I´ZI QEHI ² WE]W +EVQIRX (MWXVMGX QSZMRK JSV[EVH 8LMW MW +YVEP ¹MW WE]MRK ³,I] PSSO [I´VI RSX XIPPMRK largely because the district, and garment ]SY XLEX [I HSR´X [ERX QERYJEGXYVMRK MR manufacturing in general, have come to New York City, but why does it have to be MR XLMW PMXXPI FS\#´²

N

&YX MR E WSSR XS FI VIPIEWIH TETIV PSSOMRK at the garment industries in New York and Los Angeles, spatial and urban planning experts Sarah Williams, of Columbia University, and Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, of the University of Southern California, say XLEX WYGL E GPYWXIVMRK SJ FYWMRIWWIW ¯ XLI PMXXPI FS\ ¯ EGXYEPP] HSIW QEXXIV *EWLMSR´W ¹NYWX MR XMQI² W]WXIQ SJ TVSHYGXMSR JSV samples and high-end lines mean that the proximity of designers to manufacturers, suppliers and wholesalers is integral to the process. This is particularly true for New York, they say, which is known as a hub for emerging designers dealing in limited-runs that rely on quick turnarounds.

Williams and Currid-Halkett point out that LA is in the process of expanding its clothing manufacturing sector, including providing a designated home for it downtown, and that the players in the New York drama might consider this, especially given that the West 'SEWX GMX]´W KEVQIRX MRHYWXV] LEW KVS[R JVSQ FYWMRIWWIW MR XS MR Âą-J 0SW %RKIPIW GSRXMRYIW XS I\TERH its share of the fashion industry while New York battles out whether or not to support TVSXIGXMZI ^SRMRK JSV MX ² [VMXI ;MPPMEQW ERH Currid-Halkett, “there is strong reason to believe that Los Angeles will make great WXVMHIW EW E GSQTIXMXSV XS 2I[ =SVO´W TSWMXMSR EW E JEWLMSR GETMXEP ² For people like business owner and third-generation garment-industry worker Paul Cavazza, such a capitulation would be devastating. Cavazza remembers well the clockwork regularity with which men like his dad, who worked as a fabric cutter, could be found lunching at cafĂŠs on the corner of 37th Street and 7th Avenue. “You would go there and all the patternmakers were in SRI GSVRIV ² LI VIGEPPW SRI EJXIVRSSR MR LMW workshop on West 35th Street. “You were a patternmaker, you had your own group.

You were a grader-marker, it was a different VIWXEYVERX ² 8SHE] WE]W 'EZE^^E ¹MX´W RSX

“ Do we want to have a city that HSIWR´X LEZI texture? �

of those were in manufacturing.

-X [EW EKEMRWX XLMW FEGOHVST XLEX %QERHE &YVHIR XLI HMVIGXSV SJ 2I[ =SVO 'MX]´W Department of City Planning, mentioned during a February 2007 breakfast conference that the city had been considering a proposal to rezone the district entirely.

3TTSRIRXW WE[ XLI QSZI EW XLI ½REP FPS[ to an area that had been under attack since the rezoning of Hudson Yards (west 34th and 42nd streets between Eighth Avenue ERH XLI ,YHWSR 6MZIV LEH FIKYR MR

2IMXLIV &YVHIR RSV E VITVIWIRXEXMZI JVSQ the Department of City Planning would be interviewed for this article.)

8LEX WTVMRK TEVXP] MR VIWTSRWI XS &YVHIR´W comment, business owners like Cavazza NSMRIH [MXL HIWMKRIVW ERH MRHYWXV] EHZSGEXIW XS WXEVX 7EZI 8LI +EVQIRX 'IRXIV EMQIH EX FVMRKMRK XSKIXLIV GMX] SJ½GMEPW WIREXSVW unions and business groups to discuss the potential impacts of such a rezoning. The group launched a prominent campaign, backed by the designers Nanette Lepore ERH =ISLPII 8IRK EX XLI 7ITXIQFIV Fashion Week, and though support is still high, an actual solution for the issue remains elusive. Âą-J ]SY LEZI E JVEKQIRXIH MRHYWXV] ERH labor force, a fragmented ownership, you have all of these voices and not a lot SJ GSLIWMSR ² WE]W 6MGLEVH +VIIR[EPH E TVSJIWWSV SJ LMWXSV] EX 2I[ .IVWI]´W (VI[ 9RMZIVWMX] [LS´W [VMXXIR I\XIRWMZIP] EFSYX the garment industry in New York. “So XLIVI´W E PSX SJ WYTTSVX JSV WYTTSVXMRK XLI industry and saving the center itself, but XLIVI´W RSX E PSX SJ GSRZIVWEXMSR EFSYX what you save it for. What does it look like? &IGEYWI IZIV]SRI LEW XLIMV S[R MHIE ²

W]QFSPM^I WS QYGL XLEX HI½RIW 2I[ York City itself: poverty, tragedy, decline, reinvention, wealth and success. The area has been home to waves of migrants from XLI GMX]´W QSWX TVSQMRIRX GSQQYRMXMIW ¯ JVSQ )YVSTIER .I[W XS -XEPMERW 4YIVXS 6MGERW (SQMRMGERW 'LMRIWI ERH %JVMGER %QIVMGERW ¯ ERH MX LEW XVEZIVWIH XLI physical landscape, moving from the Lower Suggestions have ranged from the practical )EWX 7MHI XS +VIIR[MGL :MPPEKI ERH ½REPP] XS ¯ QSZMRK QERYJEGXYVIVW XS GLIETIV VIEP Midtown over the course of a century.

IWXEXI MR 0SRK -WPERH SV 2I[ .IVWI] ÂŻ XS The laws preserving the Midtown district the resolutely historical: building a museum came in part as a response to the drop in in honor of a faded industry. Among the QERYJEGXYVMRK XLEX LEH FIKYR MR XLI W ideas that have actually gained some both in New York and the United States XVEGXMSR [EW SRI žSEXIH MR 8LI TPER MR KIRIVEP -R EGGSVHMRK XS &YVIEY would have seen 300,000 square feet of SJ 0EFSV 7XEXMWXMGW ½KYVIW SFXEMRIH F] &-( QERYJEGXYVMRK WTIGM½G WTEGI GSRWSPMHEXIH XLI GMX]´W XI\XMPI ERH ETTEVIP QERYJEGXYVMRK into a single building (at a combined cost to industries employed close to 370,000 owners of $25 million), leaving the rest of TISTPI &] XLI RYQFIV LEH WPYQTIH the district up for grabs for redevelopment. to 212,000, and in 2009 it was a mere Not surprisingly, the negotiations eventually 51,000. Figures for the district itself tell a broke down. similar story: Although not precisely within “The initial offering of 300,000 square its boundaries, the zip code encompassing JIIX [EW WS MRWYPXMRK ² WE]W )VMGE ;SPJ SJ XLI EVIE WE[ MXW XSXEP JEWLMSR MRHYWXV] ÂŻ 7EZI 8LI +EVQIRX 'IRXIV ;SPJ [LS [SVOW VIPEXIH NSFW HVST JVSQ EPQSWX MR XS MR ÂŻ ERH FEVIP] closely with Nanette Lepore, says the

proposed solution would have given lease TVSXIGXMSR XS SRP] E TSVXMSR SJ XLI HMWXVMGX´W 300 manufacturers and left many more out MR XLI GSPH ±3RGI XLIWI GSQTERMIW KS ² WLI [EVRW ±XLI]´VI RIZIV GSQMRK FEGO ²

[ERX MW [LEX [I LEZI VMKLX RS[ ² LI WE]W to 20 percent of the line in LA, she says, describing the status quo as “black and FIGEYWI SJ XLEX GMX]´W QSVI WTIGMEPM^IH [LMXI ² knitwear factories.

&YX +YVEP ERH 6ERHEPP WE] XLEX XLI intention was never to protect everyone, and that the free market should ultimately determine who survives and who does not. ±- GER SRP] KMZI XLIQ WTEGI ² +YVEP WE]W ±- GER´X KMZI XLIQ E NSF 8LI QERYJEGXYVMRK MRHYWXV] MW H]MRK ² LI EHHW ±MX LEW RSXLMRK XS HS [MXL YW -´Q RSX YRHIV XLI MQTVIWWMSR

±;I HIGMHIH XLEX MX´W MQTSVXERX XS OIIT XLEX LIVI ² GSRXMRYIW ,EWLQM ±XS OIIT GSRXVSP SZIV XLI MRMXMEP GSRGITX ²

±;LIR E HIWMKRIV WE]W ³-´Q KSMRK SJJ WLSVI ´ XLI] EHSTX ER SJJ WLSVI MRJVEWXVYGXYVI ² LI explains, adding that there are economic advantages to producing smaller runs locally, and to enabling designers to have FIXXIV GSRXVSP SZIV XLIMV ½RMWLIH TVSHYGXW Ferrara, who is a member of Community &SEVH [LMGL GSZIVW XLI HMWXVMGX EPWS S[RW a factory in the Caribbean.

“Everything up until the cutting and WI[MRK ² WLI WE]W ±XLEX´PP FI HSRI LIVI ²

3R E VIGIRX 1EVGL QSVRMRK .SI *IVVEVE´W 39th Street workshop was packed with the ZEVMSYW WIKQIRXW SJ E [LMXI XEMPSVIH NEGOIX as workers focused on ironing lapel pieces, Queens-based designers Fatima Monkush stitching, lining, and sewing button holes. ,I [EPOIH XLI JEGXSV] ¾SSV ERH TSMRXIH to workers using a pattern to iron pocket ¾ETW°HIXEMP LI WE]W ]SY´H VEVIP] ½RH MR mass-production organizations. Ferrara makes the point that having a designated HMWXVMGX QIERW IRWYVMRK XLEX XLIVI´W E TPEGI with the knowledge of this kind of work, skills that can take “a solid generation to FYMPH FYX GER FI HMWQERXPIH MR E ]IEV ² ±(S [I [ERX XS PMZI MR E GMX] XLEX HSIWR´X LEZI IZIV]XLMRK EX ]SYV ½RKIVXMTW#² LI EWOW “And do we want to reduce it to the point [LIVI XLEX´W MVVIPIZERX# (S [I [ERX XS LEZI E GMX] XLEX HSIWR´X LEZI XI\XYVI#²

XLEX MJ VIRXW [IVI ^IVS XLI]´H WXMPP FI EPMZI ² And yet thanks to an idea hatched by SRI SJ LMW QERYJEGXYVIV XIRERXW +YVEP ½RHW himself in the unlikely position of siding with WSQI MR XLI MRHYWXV] ,I ERH .SI *IVVEVE [LSWI X[S +EVQIRX (MWXVMGX JEGXSVMIW specialize in high-end products for labels PMOI 4SPS 6EPTL 0EYVIR LEZI WTSOIR [MXL the city and the New York City Economic Development Corporation about a plan to invest in a $10-million manufacturing showroom that would feature the latest in garment-making technology and design.

Still more concept than reality, the idea is JSV E WSVX SJ ±JEGXSV] SJ XLI JYXYVI ² [LIVI young designers would be exposed to new processes and work directly with in-house WEQTPI ERH TEXXIVRQEOIVW ±;LEX [I HSR´X

6ENY 1ERR HMVIGXSV SJ TPERRMRK EX 2I[ =SVO´W 1YRMGMTEP %VX 7SGMIX] FIPMIZIW MX MW IWWIRXMEP XLEX MX MW RSX NYWX KSZIVRQIRX XLEX MW VIPMIH SR XS ½RH E WSPYXMSR -RWXIEH LMW SVKERM^EXMSR LEW NSMRIH [MXL SXLIVW MR XLI JEWLMSR ERH YVFER TPERRMRK ½IPHW XS encourage change to come from within rather than outside the industry.

The Society sees the future of the district lying in three key areas: with emerging designers too small to produce overseas; with mediumsized companies such as Nanette Lepore and Yeohlee Teng whose business models are built around harnessing the speed and timing of proHYGMRK PSGEPP] ERH TSWWMFP] PEVKI ½VQW XLEX QE] want small amounts of high-end work done in New York.

and Nyla Hashmi, the pair behind the [SQIR´W [IEV PEFIP )ZE /LYVWLMH I\IQTPMJ] such an approach. Since establishing their PEFIP MR XLI] LEZI TVSHYGIH I\GPYWMZIP] in New York, but this Fall the designers will PEYRGL XLIMV ½VWX PMRI QEHI SZIVWIEW 8LI] ±-X´W RSX VIEPP] NYWX SV QSWXP] EFSYX [LEX XLI will continue to make their capsule luxury TYFPMG WIGXSV GER HS ² LI WE]W ±;LEX GER XLI collection, Eva Khurshid Noir, in New York, JEWLMSR [SVPH HS# 8S QI MX´W TEVXMEPP] EFSYX but will move the rest of production to LA VIJVEQMRK XLI HMWGYWWMSR ERH RSX NYWX [EMXMRK and China.

EVSYRH JSV XLI GMX] XS JIIP XLEX YVKIRG] ¯ XLEX ±-X [EW E FYWMRIWW HIGMWMSR ² WE]W 1SROYWL TSMRX GERRSX FI YRHIVWGSVIH IRSYKL - XLMRO [LS EHHW XLEX EPP SJ XLI GSQTER]´W WEQTPI the focus is on what can be done, not what and pattern-making work will stay in the WLSYPH FI HSRI ² +EVQIRX (MWXVMGX MR XLI LERHW SJ XLI TISTPI XLI]´ZI [SVOIH [MXL WMRGI XLI FIKMRRMRK Part of the decision, she says, was so that he decline of manufacturing is the pair “can make money and sustain the of course not exclusive to New GSQTER] ² FYX MX [EWR´X NYWX EFSYX QSZMRK =SVO 'MX] RSV XS XLI KEVQIRX FYWMRIWW -R production overseas. They will produce 15

T

.ERYEV] XLI PEWX GYXPIV] QERYJEGXYVIV MR XLI country quietly shut its doors in upstate New York, and over the past three decades, WIZIR QMPPMSR NSFW LEZI FIIR WLIH JVSQ QERYJEGXYVMRK WIGXSVW EGVSWW XLI REXMSR -X´W E similar story in other western economies, as more companies look to the cheaper labor and higher technology on offer in countries WYGL EW 'LMRE -RHME ERH &ERKPEHIWL &YX XLI WLMJX LEW LMX XLI JEWLMSR world particularly hard. Free trade and KPSFEPM^EXMSR LEZI QEHI MX NYWX EW IEW]°MJ RSX IEWMIV°JSV E QENSV 2I[ =SVO PEFIP XS send design orders off-shore as it would be for it to travel the few blocks to Midtown and meet with sample makers or fabric sellers in person. ±3RI GSYPH QEOI XLI EVKYQIRX ² WE]W (VI[ 9RMZIVWMX]´W +VIIR[EPH ±XLEX FIGEYWI of the nature of garment manufacturing being lo-tech with high labor input, that America is past its time. That we had that moment, it peaked in the 1950s, and that it is good for developing nations to have this kind of industry. ±8LI ¾MT WMHI SJ MX XLSYKL [EW [LEX [EW PSWX MW XLI GLERGI SJ XYVRMRK FEH NSFW MRXS KSSH NSFW -R XLI W KEVQIRX [SVO [EW very different than it was 50 years before.

Not very glamorous, but much more stable.

- XLMRO MX [SYPH FI YRVIEPMWXMG XS WE] [I could get back to the 1950s and we could

manufacture all our clothing in the United 7XEXIW -X [SYPH FI XSS GSWXP] ERH EPWS XSS PEXI JSV XLEX &YX XLI TVSFPIQ MW MJ [I SYXWSYVGI IZIV]XLMRK - XLMRO [I´ZI PSWX E FMX SJ SYV MHIRXMX] EW E REXMSR ² Columbia University architectural historian Andrew Dolkart believes the HMWXVMGX LSPHW WMKRM½GERGI JSV SXLIV VIEWSRW The early 20th century loft-style brick buildings populating the area, he explains, EVI XLI TVSHYGX SJ XLI ½VWX ^SRMRK PE[ regulating the construction of industrial space in New York City. And they may be the densest concentration of this type of FYMPHMRK MR XLI GMX] -R JEGX LI EHHW XLI] are most likely the largest concentration of skyscraper factories in the world. So [LMPI MRHMZMHYEP +EVQIRX (MWXVMGX FYMPHMRKW QE] RSX GSQTEVI XS 2I[ =SVO´W SXLIV architectural gems from the same period, Dolkart says, “sometimes the whole is KVIEXIV XLER XLI WYQ SJ MXW TEVXW ² %R] rezoning change must take this into account, he says.“Whatever changes are made to the law, they need to ensure that the garment manufacturing industry survives, as long as XLIVI MW E KEVQIRX MRHYWXV] ²

ERH (MRRE 7SPMQER ¯ FYX SXLIV XLER E brief reference to the fact that “50% of all JEWLMSR NSFW [IVI JSYRH MR XLI +EVQIRX 'IRXIV ERH WYVVSYRHMRK RIMKLFSVLSSHW ² there was no further mention of the little box in his vision. %RH WS XLI TISTPI SJ XLI +EVQIRX District continue to await their fate.Though the recent economic downturn brought WSQIXLMRK SJ E VITVMIZI ¯ PERHPSVHW decided that some tenant, however cheap, [EW FIXXIV XLER RS XIRERX EX EPP ¯ TISTPI PMOI 'EZE^^E EVIR´X PIXXMRK HS[R XLIMV KYEVH ±-J XLI ^SRMRK PE[W TEWW ERH XLI IGSRSQ] HSIW XEOI E XYVR JSV XLI FIXXIV ² says the third-generation businessman, “the landlords would really want us to be out of LIVI UYMGOP] ² %RH LI ORS[W [IPP [LEX XLEX would mean for him and his 27 staff. ±- EP[E]W WE] XS TISTPI [I´VI RSX GEVTIRXIVW [I´VI RSX TPYQFIVW [I´VI RSX IPIGXVMGMERW =SY ORS[ MJ ]SY´VI E TPYQFIV SV ER IPIGXVMGMER ERH ]SY PSWI ]SYV NSF MR 2I[ =SVO 'MX] ]SY GER KS SYXWMHI -R XLI +EVQIRX (MWXVMGX ]SY´VI E WI[MRK STIVEXSV and your factory closes, where are you KSRRE KS# =SY´VI RSX KSRRE KS XS 8IRRIWWII XS KIX E NSF 8LIVI EVI RS JEGXSVMIW STIRMRK YT 8LIWI TISTPI [MPP PSWI XLIMV NSFW ERH XLIVI´W RS SXLIV TPEGI [LIVI XLI] GER KS ²

The city, for its part, appears to have *The original version of this article was amended to shifted its focus. Last November, Mayor clarify Mr Mann’s position.

1MGLEIP 6 &PSSQFIVK ERRSYRGIH E WM\ Dewi Cooke and Tahiat Mahboob are students point initiative aimed at fostering and VIXEMRMRK RI[ HIWMKR XEPIRX¯ TISTPI PMOI at Columbia University’s Graduate School of 7LS[VSSQ 2I[ =SVO´W 'EXLIVMRI 'LMEVE Journalism.

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