Fifty-thousand barrels of Brooklyn Beer on the wall
Fifty-thousand barrels of beer
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Will Make them all
Fifty thousand barrels of Brooklyn Beer on the wall
Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Brooklyn Navy Yard announced yesterday it inked a deal with Brooklyn Brewery to relocate its headquarters, expand its operations, and build a new brewery along with a roof-top restaurant and beer garden at the Navy Yard’s Building 77.
The de Blasio administration has invested over $100 million to transform the City-owned Building 77 into a 1 million square foot manufacturing center. Brooklyn Brewery will employ 124 people at the Yard, with the long-term goal of creating an additional 100 quality jobs.
“Brooklyn Brewery is a welcome addition to the Yard’s growing roster, bringing along with it more than a hundred quality jobs and some of the best brews our city has to offer. I hope New Yorkers will join me in raising a glass to toast Brooklyn Brewery and the continued revitalization of Brooklyn’s waterfront at the Brooklyn Navy Yard,” said de Blasio.
Under the deal, Brooklyn Brewery, which opened its first brewery in Williamsburg 20 years ago, will lease a total of 75,000 square feet in the building, which is now undergoing a $185 million redevelopment. It joins anchor tenant Russ & Daughters in the ground floor food manufacturing hub, and other food manufacturers including chocolate maker Mast Brothers and coffee maker Brooklyn Roasting Company – both of which have recently announced plans to open manufacturing facilities at the Brooklyn Navy Yard – in the Yard more broadly.
The Brewery will produce 50,000 barrels of beer annually at the Yard.
“We are very excited to be in the Navy Yard,” said Brooklyn Brewery Founder Steve Hindy. “The Navy Yard gives us a future in Brooklyn. It’s incredible to see what’s grown around us here in Brooklyn and our long-term lease at the Yard will ensure a presence in Brooklyn alongside many similar Brooklyn entrepreneurial success stories. We are very proud to be a part of this creative community that has become an engine of job creation in Brooklyn.”
In addition to the Navy Yard site, which will become operational in early 2018, Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottaway said the company is hoping to build a large brewery in Staten Island to handle production that is now done in Utica, NY.
The Brewery will maintain its brewing operations in its original site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, until its leases expire in 2025. Ottaway said the company is hoping to extend that lease beyond 2025 and maintain a presence in Williamsburg.
“Bringing the Brooklyn Brewery to the Brooklyn Navy Yard is great news for keeping Brooklyn in Brooklyn,” said Northern Brooklyn State Senator Daniel Squadron. “The Navy Yard continues to deliver exciting news for economic development and local jobs. I thank the City, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn Brewery, and my colleagues.”
“Since its inception 32 years ago, Brooklyn Brewery has established itself as one of America’s premiere brewers. I’m happy to hear they will continue Brooklyn’s rich brewing tradition, and breathe new life into our borough’s growing manufacturing and innovative industries,” said Williamsburg State Senator Martin Malave Dilan.
Bay Ridge State Senator Marty Golden said economically, Brooklyn continues to expand and soar to new heights, and the Brooklyn Brewery will be help to further stimulate the economy and create jobs. “I can already see it becoming the next big thing, the next awesome place to go. I commend Mayor Bill de Blasio and all those involved in making this happen for Brooklyn and for our City,” Golden said.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams noted that Brooklyn Brewery has played an important role in building the Brooklyn brand as a standard of excellence known to consumers around the world.
“Its headquarters at the Brooklyn Navy Yard will provide good jobs that are accessible to public housing residents in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Fort Greene, helping the popularity of our brand translate into prosperity for more Brooklynites,” he said.
Also on hand to laud the deal were Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez, Assembly Member Joseph R. Lentol and City Council Members Stephen Levin and Laurie A. Cumbo.
