Brooklyn Tech Triangle

New York is now the second leading tech hub in the country, behind only Silicon Valley, and the tech sector in the City recorded 11% job growth from 2010 to 2011.

The impact this can have on the local economy was among the subjects du jour at a panel presented by Google at this year’s Internet Week.

William Floyd, head of the search engine’s external affairs, moderated the panel which included Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Tucker Reed, NY Tech Meetup’s (NYTM) Jessica Lawrence, and Center for an Urban Future’s (CUF) Jonathan Bowles.

Lawrence kicked things off relating the shift she has observed in New York’s tech scene over the years, witnessed in everything from the explosive growth of NYTM’s membership to the number of tech-related meetups currently operating in the City (well over 600) to the anecdotal comments she hears regularly from people working in the sector.

“It used to be that people relocated to New York to be closer to family or for more personal reasons,” said Lawrence. “Now, the reasons we hear are that New York is the place to be if you want to work on interesting tech projects.”

This plays out in the quantitative evidence as well, said Bowles, who said recent analysis published by CUF showed the New York region experienced a 24% increase in VC deals over the last five years, compared to a 21% drop in Silicon Valley and a 31% drop in the New England area.

“Tech is now a sustainable growth engine for New York that didn’t exist 5 years ago,” said Bowles, who is among the consultant team currently looking at ways to harness this potential in the Brooklyn Tech Triangle.

With more than 500 tech and creative firms currently operating in the triangle that extends from Downtown to DUMBO to the Navy Yard, employing 9,628 people and generating $3.1 billion in economic impact, Reed described the momentum as the 21st century iteration of Brooklyn’s long legacy of innovation in the borough.

“The borough has a storied history of innovation dating back to its industrial past launching great ships along the waterfront and inventing useful everyday items like the cardboard box,” said Reed. “ Today, 21st century manufacturing has returned in the form of a boom in digital media, applied manufacturing, and tech firms operating here.”

Reed also highlighted what he sees as Brooklyn’s overall competitive advantages for startups – brand association, diversity of space, and the presence of like-minded companies doing business here – all of which the Brooklyn Tech Triangle initiative hopes to maximize with its recommendations to be released next month.

To view more photos of the panel and Internet Week, click here.

Much is happening in the Tech Triangle and much to do as the Tech Triangle Coalition plans on how to foster the area as a creative, tech-oriented, digitally-plugged hub.

Convening its advisory and taskforce committees this morning, the Coalition engaged public and private stakeholders in its findings and preliminary proposals. With 50 percent of the strategic plan under their belt, Adam Lubinsky of WXY Urban Design + Architecture discussed the area’s rich amenities and opportunities, and offered policy interventions and programs that best fits the strategic plan outcomes while overcoming area-wide challenges. For real estate initiates, see: short-term leases, model units and broadband connections. For transportation, think smoother Barclays Center to Brooklyn Bridge Park connection and better east-west connectivity. Focus areas for the Tech Triangle include better bike and pedestrian corridors and transforming the way pedestrians experience space—primarily parks, plazas and interstitial areas between districts. The launch of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle Strategic Plan is anticipated for Spring 2013.

Brooklyn Independent Television’s Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn, produced by BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn, features a segment on the Brooklyn Tech Triangle and the current tech sector boom in the borough. The spot discusses the steady influx of tech and creative companies into Brooklyn which began in DUMBO and is spreading into Downtown Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
 

Small and medium-sized businesses across the five boroughs are eligible to apply for the ConnectNYC Fiber Challenge, a City program offering up to $7 million in free fiber build-out to winning businesses—providing reliable, steady internet access with connectivity speeds hundreds of times faster than Cable and DSL.

The deadline for applications is December 27th, so apply now:

• Click “Accept this Challenge” here to register your interest in participating.
• Create a New Submission Form and enter basic information about your business and connectivity needs.

That’s all it takes. Help spread the word or apply today!

Coming soon to the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) has won a major grant from the City of New York to build out an 18,000-square-foot space at 20 Jay Street in DUMBO, along with partners General Assembly. IFP will develop and operate the “Made in NY” Media Center as a resource for professionals from the film, television, advertising, new media, gaming, marketing and branding industries for collaboration and new opportunities. Mayor Bloomberg made the announcement in DUMBO yesterday, along with a host of other officials and local stakeholders.

The “Made in NY” Media Center will launch with affordable short term rental work areas: community workspace intended for individual use and co-working workspace for small firms or start-ups for extended rentals, in addition to post production suites and two to three anchor tenants who will be housed in offices at the center. The facility will also feature classrooms, a public café, media arts gallery, lounge, numerous conference rooms and a 98-seat state-of-the-art ‘white box’ screening/multimedia room. Flexible workstations can be reconfigured to allow for changing needs of the occupants. Additionally, a variety of programs and workshops will be offered to foster the development of the next generation of content creators. Read the full press release here.

The Downtown Brooklyn tech scene now includes some ambitious high school students taking part in NYC Generation Tech – a new tech-entrepreneurship program administered by the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Students are currently taking part in a two-week boot camp at the LIU Brooklyn campus, where last Friday, each student took the stage for two minutes to pitch their idea for a marketable mobile app. For instance, Fitbuddy is an app that would help overweight high schoolers by syncing their class schedules with a recommended eating schedule and encouraging healthier lifestyle options. Another student proposed an idea for a stock simulator that would break down the complexities of stock market jargon and make it easy for anyone to make money trading stocks. Check out a sampling of the presentations below.

The students will now form teams to develop some of the app ideas and compete in a business plan competition to be judged by the tech community. They’ll continue their entrepreneurial education throughout the fall with weekly sessions held at different tech companies throughout the city. Any companies interested in supporting the program should contact Jordan Runge at Jordan.runge@nfte.com.

This August, Brooklyn Tech Triangle neighborhood DUMBO became the first neighborhood in New York City to offer free solar-powered cell phone chargers in its public spaces.   The pilot product called “Street Charge” is the latest gadget from industrial design firm Pensa (also based in DUMBO). The Street Chargers were installed in two patio umbrellas owned by the DUMBO Improvement District in the Pearl Street Triangle.  The chargers complement the free WiFi service already provided by the BID and the local installment means Pensa can easily work out product kinks before going to market.

Eventually, Pensa hopes to recreate the Street Charge for other street furniture. Marco Perry, Pensa founder says, “DUMBO is full of dynamic people who enjoy all the neighborhood has to offer – beautiful public spaces, great food vendors, and free WiFi! The only piece missing for a great outdoor office was a place to charge your mobile device while you did a little work or relaxed. Now you can recharge, free of charge. Enjoy!”

The Tech Triangle is full of early adopters and this is a win-win for the Tech Triangle and one of its best and brightest companies.