Pushing the Made in America Manufacturing Act in Sunset

Fashion grows in Brooklyn.

While touring Manufacture New York, 850 Third Avenue, a woman-owned fashion design and production company for independent designers, on Tuesday, August 9, United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand discussed the Made In America Manufacturing Communities Act, a bill that would create a permanent program that would put local areas at the front of the line to receive federal economic funding for investing in manufacturing.

“We all know that Brooklyn has the diversity and talent to earn this honor as you can see from this factory and others like it, and I’m going to fight hard in Washington to make sure it gets that designation,” she said. “What this program does is knock millions of dollars in federal funds for manufacturing initiatives into this region. It’s a great program but right now, it’s not permanent. When President Obama leaves office, the program ends. We can’t let that happen.”

Gillibrand stated that making the bill permanent would help improve infrastructure. In addition, “It also gives us money for retraining workforces so you could actually have local workers here in Brooklyn be able to come, apply for these jobs, and get the training they need,” she added.

CEO and Founder of Manufacture New York Bob Bland was grateful that the senator showed up to offer her support. “I consider this to be the highlight of the last four years of tireless effort by myself and our entire team,” she said. “It’s an acknowledgement to the entire New York manufacturing community and to Sunset Park that she chose to make her announcement here, and it shows that in the future she’s going to be dedicated to providing federal resources to local manufacturing in Brooklyn.”

“It’s more than just, how do we manufacture clothing, but how do we ensure manufacturing lives?” added Borough President Eric Adams. “ We are watching our good products leave our country only to return to be purchased here by American consumers when we can use floor plans like this and ensure that our ecosystem can give life to a product in communities where we can continue to grow and prosper.”

Gillibrand considered her visit to the Sunset business an inspiring one. “This is an amazing facility where young entrepreneurs can realize their vision. They not only create jobs but make beautiful things for people to buy,” she said. “Brooklyn particularly is suited for manufacturing because of the large buildings that were used previously for manufacturing and other large companies.”