![Chase bldg in Metro Tech Center framed jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Chase_bldg_in_Metro_Tech_Center_framed_jeh.jpg)
Brooklyn Commons, formerly MetroTech Center, is a business and educational center in
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and r ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
Location
Brooklyn Commons lies between
Flatbush Avenue
Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to the R ...
Extension and Jay Street, north of the
Fulton Street Mall and south of Tillary Street, close to Brooklyn's Civic Center (
Borough Hall and the courts) and
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, ...
. The complex is above the
Jay Street–MetroTech station of the
New York City Subway, served by the .
It is the nation's largest urban academic-industrial
research park
The following is a list of science park, technology parks and biomedical parks of the world, organized by continent.
Asia
ASEAN Economic Community
Report listing all the Economic Zones in the ASEAN Economic Community froUNIDO Viet Nam China ...
.
History
![Wunsch Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Wunsch_Building.JPG)
The 1980s and 1990s were a period of major large-scale development activity and renewal in
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and r ...
. The MetroTech Center office complex was at the center of this revitalization and within walking distance of several other major development projects including Pierrepont Plaza, the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge,
Atlantic Terminal Mall, and Renaissance Plaza. MetroTech was controversial when it was created because it involved the demolition of over 100 homes and 50 businesses.
As part of an effort to resuscitate Downtown Brooklyn in the 1970s,
George Bugliarello, a professor at the nearby
Polytechnic Institute
An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...
, had advanced an idea to create a center for research and development along the lines of the development then starting in
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
in California. About a decade later the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
, like several other scientific and engineering organizations, was unsuccessfully seeking locations for expansion in Manhattan matching their needs and budget. When the AIAA chose to relocate to
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
due to lack of suitable space in New York, Bugliarello, who had by then become the President of Polytechnic, decided to try again to put his idea of a technology-centered development in Brooklyn into action.
A few years later, New York City agreed to designate what had then become Polytechnic University as the main sponsor of the
urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
project that would become MetroTech, under the condition that there would be at least two other tenants. The city and Polytechnic chose
Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. was a real estate investment trust that invested in office buildings, shopping centers and apartments in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and the greater metropolitan areas of New York Ci ...
as the project’s main developer based on its years of experience, commitment to stay in the area, and financial capacity. Forest City's co-founder
Bruce Ratner and Brooklyn Borough President
Howard Golden
Howard Golden (born November 6, 1925) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the Borough President of Brooklyn from January 3, 1977 to December 31, 2001. He concurrently served as chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Pa ...
put together a public-private partnership and quickly redefined the MetroTech vision from a research and development park to a campus-centered
back office
A back office in most corporations is where work that supports ''front office'' work is done. The front office is the "face" of the company and is all the resources of the company that are used to make sales and interact with customers and client ...
complex.
As Forest City negotiated with
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
, two other major corporate players were being considered for the site: the
Securities Industry Automation Corporation The Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) is a subsidiary of the NYSE Euronext. Its purpose is to provide technical services for the exchanges themselves, members and other financial institutions. In this role, SIAC provides the comput ...
(SIAC) and
Brooklyn Union Gas
KeySpan Corporation was the fifth largest distributor of natural gas in the United States. KeySpan was formed in 1998 as a result of the merger of Brooklyn Union Gas Company (founded 1895 by merging several smaller companies) and Long Island Ligh ...
. SIAC decided to move to MetroTech because the site was on a separate power grid from Manhattan's, which meant their operations would be safe if Manhattan experienced a power failure, as had happened in the
New York City blackout of 1977
The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which ...
. The move that sealed the decision to build the MetroTech vision begun by Bugliarello was convincing
Chase Manhattan Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fi ...
(now
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
) to relocate its back office operations there.
The 1980s and 1990s were a period of major large-scale development activity and renewal in
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and r ...
. The MetroTech Center office complex was at the center of this revitalization and within walking distance of several other major development projects including Pierrepont Plaza, the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge,
Atlantic Terminal Mall, and Renaissance Plaza. MetroTech was controversial when it was created because it involved the demolition of over 100 homes and 50 businesses.
MetroTech Center was formed in 1992 by making a rectangle of downtown Brooklyn into a
superblock (bounded by Jay Street, Johnson Street, Flatbush Avenue, and Myrtle Avenue), to allow the erection of new office buildings and parking garages. Dozens of older buildings had to be demolished in order to clear this space for the construction of the new center. The entire area was designated a
pedestrian zone
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
, and, as a consequence, the north ends of Lawrence and Duffield Streets were closed to automobile traffic.
From 2000 to 2016, the MetroTech complex generated more than $1 billion in new investment, representing more than five million square feet of new space. In 2017, New York University announced that it would invest over $500 million in its Brooklyn Campus that mainly includes the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Center for Urban Science and Progress.
In 2018,
Brookfield Properties purchased the MetroTech complex. In 2022, Brookfield Properties announced that MetroTech would be renamed Brooklyn Commons.
The private plaza at MetroTech Commons was renamed Brooklyn Commons Park, and
James Corner Field Operations James Corner (born 1961) is a landscape architect and theorist whose works exhibit a focus on "developing innovative approaches toward landscape architectural design and urbanism." His designs of note include Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island and ...
was hired to renovate the plaza. Brookfield also announced that One MetroTech, Two MetroTech, and Fifteen MetroTech would be substantially renovated, with new lobbies, retail spaces, and terraces.
The work was budgeted at $50 million,
and the project was scheduled to be completed in 2023.
Brooklyn Commons Park
Brooklyn Commons Park (formerly MetroTech Commons) is the
privately owned public space
Privately owned public space (POPS), or alternatively, privately owned public open spaces (POPOS), are terms used to describe a type of public space that, although privately owned, is legally required to be open to the public under a city's zoni ...
at the heart of the Brooklyn Commons complex.
It hosts events including concerts, health fairs, chess tournaments and holiday celebrations. Theater performances, an ice-skating rink, and children's activities are also offered at the facility.
Bounded by Lawrence and Duffield Streets, the square is frequently adorned by modern art exhibits. Two pieces called ''Alligator'' and ''Visionary'' are part of the Commons' permanent public art collection. Designed by sculptor
Tom Otterness
Tom Otterness (born 1952) is an American sculptor best known as one of America's most prolific public artists. Otterness's works adorn parks, plazas, subway stations, libraries, courthouses and museums around the world, notably in New York City's ...
, they were installed in 1998.
In 2019, the plaza featured NYC based painter Annie Viuex as part of her light wave collection.
Notable tenants
The early occupants included
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
, the
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
, the
New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications,
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...
Human Resources
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...
,
Keyspan Energy (now
National Grid),
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, the
New York City College of Technology
The New York City College of Technology (City Tech) is a public college in New York City. Founded in 1946, it is the City University of New York's college of technology.
History
City Tech was founded in 1946 as The New York State Institute of ...
and the
New York University Tandon School of Engineering
The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...
. Later tenants include
MakerBot Industries, the
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...
, ''
Slate'' magazine, the
Ms. Foundation for Women,
El Diario La Prensa
''El Diario Nueva York'' is the largest and the oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the United States. Published by ImpreMedia, the paper covers local, national and international news with an emphasis on Latin America, as well as human-in ...
,
Robert Half International
Robert Half, formally referred to as Robert Half International Inc., is a global human resource consulting firm based in Menlo Park and San Ramon, California, founded in 1948. It is a member of the S&P 500, and is credited as being the world's ...
, and
UniWorld Group. The NYU Tandon School of Engineering, previously named Polytechnic Institute, and later Polytechnic University, was one of MetroTech's founding institutions. The
Marriott
Marriott may refer to:
People
*Marriott (surname)
Corporations
* Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993
* Marriott International, international hote ...
Hotel at
Brooklyn Bridge is located across Jay Street. The MetroTech
Business Improvement District, a non-profit organization, provides sanitation, marketing, and events programming services.
*
ImpreMedia ImpreMedia, LLC is a media company headquartered on the 7th Floor of 15 MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City.
ImpreMedia's products include Hispanic newspapers, websites, and magazines."Company Overview of ImpreMedia, LLC", Bloomb ...
has its headquarters on the 18th floor of 1 MetroTech Center. ''
El Diario La Prensa
''El Diario Nueva York'' is the largest and the oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the United States. Published by ImpreMedia, the paper covers local, national and international news with an emphasis on Latin America, as well as human-in ...
'', a newspaper of ImpreMedia, has its offices on the same floor.
[Contact]
."ImpreMedia ImpreMedia, LLC is a media company headquartered on the 7th Floor of 15 MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City.
ImpreMedia's products include Hispanic newspapers, websites, and magazines."Company Overview of ImpreMedia, LLC", Bloomb ...
. Retrieved on June 1, 2010.
*
MakerBot Industries has its headquarters on the 21st floor of 1 MetroTech Center.
*
National Grid, the gas utility company, has offices in the MetroTech complex.
*The
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
has its headquarters in 9 MetroTech Center, which has eight stories and of space.
[9 Metrotech Center - FDNY Headquarters]
." Fresh Meadow Mechanical Corp. Retrieved on November 5, 2009.
*
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
's campus includes the building at
370 Jay Street, within MetroTech Center.
*
TransCare Corporation had its headquarters in 1 MetroTech Center.
References
External links
*, MetroTech Business Improvement District (BID)
{{New York City Fire Department
Forest City Realty Trust
Companies based in New York City
Buildings and structures in Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn
Privately owned public spaces
Business parks of the United States
Science parks in the United States