De Blasio Announces Funding to Staten Island Innovation Center Makerspace, Spurring New Industrial Jobs

April 12, 2017

$50,000 new equipment grant supports 30 additional small businesses as part of the administration's Futureworks NYC initiative, helping to create more than 2,000 jobs citywide

STATEN ISLAND—Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Economic Development Corporation President James Patchett today announced a new partnership with Staten Island MakerSpace, a Stapleton based non-profit STEAM education and community innovation center that helps support new companies that are creating jobs on Staten Island. The announcement was made at a tour of Staten Island MakerSpace Wednesday morning.

MakerSpace will join the Futureworks NYC Partner Network and receive $50,000 from NYCEDC, allowing the organization to purchase advanced manufacturing equipment, including a 3D resin printer and laser cutter, and make those machines accessible to more entrepreneurs and small businesses. The funding will support marketing and outreach, and MakerSpace will introduce the equipment and its services to school and college students.

“Growing the advanced manufacturing industry and introducing students to the possibilities they present are critically important to growing New York City’s 21st century economy. A partnership with Staten Island MakerSpace builds on our work to foster modern industrial jobs accessible to all New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Futureworks NYC is a network of programs and resources that supports New York's advanced manufacturing sector, creates high-skilled production jobs, and increases competitiveness for existing companies. It is expected to create over 2,000 jobs. For more information click here.

“In our effort to create 100,000 good jobs over the next ten years, we are constantly looking for ways to invest in emerging industries and support the entrepreneurial spirit that drives New York City,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett. “As Staten Island MakerSpace joins Futureworks NYC, even more entrepreneurs will have access to the advanced manufacturing technology they need to start new companies and create 21st century jobs for New Yorkers across the city.”

“Staten Island MakerSpace was built on the premise that we could give creative entrepreneurs the ability to start and grow their own businesses by giving them access to tools, equipment, and classes to build their skills. Futureworks NYC helps us expand that vision and enables us to give entrepreneurs, artisanal manufacturers, and startups more affordable access to industrial and advanced manufacturing tools, skills, and prototyping services, to make their ideas come to life,” said Scott Van Campen, Executive Director Staten Island MakerSpace.

“With a centuries-long legacy as a manufacturing hub, New York City will remain at the forefront of this sector in the years ahead, thanks in part to the launch of Futureworks NYC,” said Council Member Debi Rose. “I am proud to say that an integral component of this initiative is a new Futureworks NYC Prototyping and Design Center at our own Staten Island MakerSpace in Stapleton. This center will assist our city’s inventors and entrepreneurs with needed design and fabrication services, helping to ensure that New York City remains a competitive leader in advanced manufacturing.”

“SIEDC has been the Industrial Business Zone provider for Staten Island for over a decade. In that time, we have seen a remarkable expansion in industrial and manufacturing in the borough. The Industrial Action Plan has played a critical role and the Industrial Developer Fund is a particularly important effort. SIEDC is excited for the expansion of services through the entire FutureWorks NYC initiative and is especially pleased with the creation of a virtual incubator component, which launched earlier this year. A similar effort was launched by SIEDC in 2016 and has been very successful,” said Steven Grillo, First Vice-President Staten Island Economic Development Corporation.

“SI CB1 is very proud of the success of SI MakerSpace. The programs and creative energy they have brought to the North Shore are simply wonderful and their community engagement is tremendous. CB1 is thankful to the EDC for its initial support of SI MakerSpace and we are thrilled that the EDC is continuing to support SIMakerSpace and the North Shore of Staten Island,” said Joseph Carroll, District Manager, Staten Island Community Board 1.

New and current City investments in the wider industrial sector will generate more than 20,000 new jobs and support the city’s existing 530,000 manufacturing and industrial jobs, which represent 15.4 percent of the city’s private sector workforce. The sector is an important pathway to the middle class for many families, with median wages of $50,400 a year. More than 328,000 jobs in the sector (61.5 percent) are located outside Manhattan, 62 percent of the workforce comes from culturally diverse backgrounds, and nearly half are foreign-born. Approximately 63 percent of industrial and manufacturing sector jobs are available to individuals who do not have a college degree.

The first project in the Futureworks NYC portfolio was announced in October 2016, with NYCEDC’s selection of TechShop to operate a 20,000 square foot advanced manufacturing center at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, which is expected to support more than 200 businesses and create over 500 jobs in the next 5 years. The new facility is expected to open later this fall.

Futureworks NYC was first announced in November of 2015 as part of Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Mark-Viverito’s ten-point action plan to grow industrial and manufacturing jobs. The City’s action plan for the industry will help ensure that both longstanding businesses and new firms have the space to evolve and expand, preserving and creating good jobs in New York City.