The Southwest Brooklyn Bulletin

SBIDC creates equal opportunity for the people, businesses and community of Southwest Brooklyn’s working waterfront.

News

Rebranding complete: SBIDC launches new logo and website

We are ecstatic to announce the rollout of our new logo and website, celebrating 45 years of serving businesses and job seekers in Southwest Brooklyn. Head to our new website for an updated overview of what our organizations stands for, what programs are soon to take place, and even learn about our job placement services.

Also, if you have driven north on the BQE, perhaps you've seen SBIDC's brand new billboard at 41st Street and 3rd Ave!

New brand identity designed by Stacey Geller of American Design Language. Thanks to Spinner Industries for use of the billboard.

Thanks to Kim Robinson from 3pts for providing copywriting, brand and content development for our new site.

Are you press and you want to learn more about us and our work? Reach out to Micaela Skoknic at mskoknic@sbidc.org

Plan for Growth Spring 23' wrapped!

It’s a wrap! Congratulations to nine Plan for Growth Spring 23’ participants for making this one of the best cohorts yet!

Extra congrats to Pure Mitti for a killer presentation and winning a one-year complimentary access to Industry City's Camp David.

Thank you to our wonderful program partner, Skopos Collective, and to our final presentation judges: Kim Robinson from 3 pts, Natalie Sarpi with Industry City, Shavez Awan and Mike Warrington from Valley Bank.

Want to join the Fall Cohort? Fill our interest form and stay in the know for program updates.

SBIDC onboards two new fellows

Ronnie Zhu completed her first year at Columbia's urban planning master's program. She studied International Studies in undergrad and later worked at Sephora China as a brand incubator. Her time at Sephora gave her insight into the challenges faced by small businesses in cities, fueling her ambition to support them on a larger scale. She aims to provide business services and advocate for broader city planning efforts and policies. Reach out to Ronnie at rzhu@sbidc.org

Manal Bawazir is a master of Urban Planning student at NYU Wagner and a Gallatin Urban Practice Fellow, interested in equitable economic development and housing justice. Manal wants to use her research and data analysis skills to help advance place-based methods of planning and community empowerment. Contact Manal at mbawazir@sbidc.org

City Council hearing on Industrial Development Action Plan

Legislation that would require the City to execute an Industrial Development Action Plan every five years for each Industrial Business Zone advanced to a joint City Council Committee Hearing on June 29th. Brady Meixell, SBIDC’s Government Relations and Business Services Manager, spoke in support of the legislation at that session citing the ability of these plans to push for City policy and zoning changes which would benefit the industrial sector. The full session can be watched here. We will continue to keep you updated as this legislation advances through Council.

Donna Cocktail Club Launch: It takes a village!

After closing their Williamsburg location in 2020, Donna reopened in the West Village as a cooperative, with all employees having been offered a path toward ownership. The menu has Latin American and Mediterranean roots, while cocktails emphasize Filipino ingredients.

SBIDC + The Working World and BOC Capital supported the initial stages of the conversion of Donna to a worker co-op. Donna entered EqID, our worker co-op conversion program for businesses. We are in awe of this group’s endurance and hard work towards seeing their vision through and reopening in a beautiful space with a killer menu in the West Village.

Learn more and visit them at donnanyc.com

Learn more about SBIDC + The Working World + BOC’s worker co-op conversion program here.

Opportunities

Fill out the Survey and Join the We Source NYC Business Directory

SBIDC is part of We Source NYC, a partnership between major manufacturing contractors, local business service providers, and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).

Get informed about future contracting opportunities in NY energy infrastructure projects.
Get noticed by multinational offshore wind companies who are required to source local products and services
Get notified about future scopes of work
Pre-register for networking opportunities
Get a $50 Grubhub gift card - lunch is on us!

Fill out the survey here, and learn more at wesource.nyc or contact Gabriel Lefferts, NYCEDC, at glefferts@edc.nyc.

Looking for grants for your business? Have you checked out Hello Alice yet?

Spotlight On:

Mijo, La Newyorkina's new venture

One of SBIDC's long-standing MWBE member is La Newyorkina, a Mexican-owned ice-pop, ice-cream and sweets company founded in 2010 by chef Fany Gerson. Big round of applause to Fany and husband Daniel Ortiz de Montellano for launching Mijo, their new savory Mexican delights venture at Pier 57.

SBIDC’s relationship to La Newyorkina dates back to 2018, when they started a small factory in Red Hook. La Newyorkina took Plan for Growth twice, SBIDC’s entrepreneurship program. They have accessed technical assistance and financial connections through SBIDC, such as referrals to CPAs and CDFI lending.

Fany also owns NYC-famous Fan Fan Doughnuts. She is certainly a force of nature!

Visit their website

Thanks for reading the newsletter!

At SBIDC we work to create opportunities for the people and industrial businesses of Southwest Brooklyn. Looking for help?

Business Services: Guidance, resources, programs and connections to grow your business.

Workforce Services : We connect employers and job seekers.

Advocacy Support: We advocate with local government on your behalf.

Get The Help Your Business Needs Today!

Reply to this email if you have any questions or if we can assist your business in any way.

Sincerely,

Jesse Solomon

SBIDC Executive Director

If you are receiving this for the first time, welcome! In our newsletter, we inform recipients of financing opportunities, new programs, events targeted to the Southwest Brooklyn business community, and more. If you know of anyone interested in this content, have them email bmeixell@sbidc.org to subscribe.

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