Industry City

Not to be confused with City of Industry or Industrial city.

Bush Terminal in 1958, looking north, with Lower Manhattan in the distance
Map
Location in New York City

Industry City (also Bush Terminal)[a] is a historic intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex on the Upper New York Bay waterfront in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The northern portion, commonly called "Industry City" on its own, hosts commercial light manufacturing tenants across 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m2) of space between 32nd and 41st Streets, and is operated by a private consortium. The southern portion, known as "Bush Terminal", is located between 40th and 51st Streets and is operated by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) as a garment manufacturing complex.

Founded by Bush Terminal Company head Irving T. Bush in the early 20th century, Bush Terminal was the first facility of its kind in New York City and the largest multi-tenant industrial property in the United States. The warehouses were built between 1892 and 1910, the railroad from 1896 to 1915, and the factory lofts between 1905 and 1925.[2] During World War I, Bush Terminal was used as a United States Navy base, and returned to private ownership after the war. At its peak, Bush Terminal covered 200 acres (81 hectares), bounded by Gowanus Bay to the west and north, Third Avenue to the east, 27th Street to the north, and 50th Street to the south.[3]: 171 

The surrounding area declined after World War II, and by the 1970s, the ports in Bush Terminal had been filled. The complex was rebranded as Industry City during the post-war years, though the Bush Terminal name remained in popular use. In the 1970s and 1980s, sections of Bush Terminal were demolished or converted for other uses, including a shopping mall, a federal prison, a privately operated manufacturing and commercial complex, and a garment manufacturing district operated by the NYCEDC.

Today, the Bush Terminal site comprises roughly 71 acres (29 ha), including 16 former factory buildings and 11 warehouses built in the early 20th century. Renovations and expansions began in the 2010s. A major expansion of Industry City, which would add 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m2) of space to the complex, was announced in 2017. The section of Bush Terminal operated by the NYCEDC is also being renovated into the "Made in NY" campus, a film, TV, and fashion manufacturing complex that was set to open in 2020, but was delayed.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BDE-Industry-1951 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Raber, Michael S.; Flagg, Thomas R. (1988). "Bush Terminal Company (Bush Terminal)" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  3. ^ Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. (1995). The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300055366.


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