Editorial: Everything old is new again

In Industry City, Brooklyn has pure gold.

We join in the excitement as the area – one of the few remaining waterfront manufacturing zones in the borough – is rapidly transforming into one of the hottest areas in Brooklyn.

Even though the renovation of the buildings at the huge site are not yet complete, a wide range of businesses is clamoring to move in, as the area’s vintage warehouse buildings are modernized, joining long-anchored tenants, including numerous artists, in revitalizing what, not too many years ago, was a hulking ghost town.

Already home to tech companies and other innovative manufacturers including the food start-ups that are becoming such an important factor in Brooklyn’s economic growth, as well as businesses that have been on site for decades, the area is truly on the cutting edge.

It’s poised to become a destination as well, with artists who have work spaces in the buildings holding their first open studios tour this month, and such events as the Vendys and Brooklyn Fashion Week seeking out the edgy area, drawing people into the area, many for the first time.

Those same people will likely be back, thanks to such developments as a food court planned for the new and improved Industry City, plus ground-floor retail showcasing the products of manufacturers that have space in the buildings.

This is great news. The burgeoning complex will provide an economic boost to Sunset Park in particular, as well as Brooklyn and the city as a whole. It is also likely to be a growing source of jobs, many of which will be in line with the new economy.

Everybody loves a success story, and we are particularly delighted to see this one developing in our neck of the woods. We can’t wait to read the next chapter as the story of Industry City continues to unfold.