Innovation Lab At Industry City Plans To Help Community With Job Training And Entrepreneurship

Industry City
Photo via Industry City

A collaboration among Industry City, local politicians, educational programs, and local non-profits will yield a new jobs center that plans to provide job training as well as education and assistance to the community in entrepreneurship.

If you haven’t been down to Industry City — or if it’s been awhile — there has been a lot happening. Located at 220 36th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues), the complex on the waterfront its massive, and is in the midst of a $1 billion redevelopment.

We recently reported that Industry City will host Smorgasburg and The Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays and Sundays from October 17, 2015 to March 27, 2016.

According to a spokesperson for Industry City, construction of the 7,700-square-foot Innovations Lab has just begun. The Innovation Lab plans to have a grand opening by the end of 2015.

The Lab’s specific services and programs will include:

  • Pre-screening and job placement services with the more than 400 businesses at Industry City, as well as businesses at other developments along the waterfront, including Bush Terminal, Liberty View, Sims Recycling Facility, and the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
  • Technology and vocational training programs targeted to business growth needs.
  • Entrepreneurship and cooperative training programs.
  • Continuing education programs.

The  public-private collaboration for Innovation Lab includes Industry City, CUNY’s City Tech (New York City College of Technology) and local non-profits: Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC), Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), and the Center for Family Life (CFL).

Already, a pilot local hiring initiative has provided jobs over more than 100 local residents who now work at Industry City.

Both Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Council Member Carlos Menchaca have been heavily involved and have provided funds to non-profit organizations working on the lab.

“Nothing can transform one’s future like a good-paying job, and the innovation economy which has blossomed in Brooklyn is making new, good-paying jobs possible every day,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Support to OBT, CFL, and SBIDC for their Innovation Lab operations will be provided by Council Member Menchaca.

Cristal Rivera, Chief of Staff and Director of Community Engagement at Industry City says the Lab “will offer direct connections for Sunset Park residents to the jobs created onsite, and embedding it within the Industry City community provides direct and easy access for business owners to learn about these initiatives and programs, creating a unique opportunity to maximize the benefit for everyone.”