| Brooklyn Commons | |
|---|---|
 The office building of 115 Myrtle Avenue | |
 | |
| Alternative names | Brooklyn Commons at Metrotech Center |
| General information | |
| Location | 100 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°41'39.69"N, 73°59'9.48"W 40°41′40″N73°59′09″W / 40.694358°N 73.985968°W |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties |
| Website | |
| brooklyncommons | |
Brooklyn Commons, formerly MetroTech Center, is a business and educational center in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City.
Brooklyn Commons lies between Flatbush Avenue 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. The complex is above the Jay Street–MetroTech station of the New York City Subway, served by the A , C , F , <F> , and R trains. [1] [2]
It is the nation's largest urban academic-industrial research park.
The 1980s and 1990s were a period of major large-scale development activity and renewal in Downtown Brooklyn. 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. [3]
As part of an effort to resuscitate Downtown Brooklyn in the 1970s, George Bugliarello, a professor at the nearby Polytechnic Institute, had advanced an idea to create a center for research and development along the lines of the development then starting in Silicon Valley in California. About a decade later the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 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. 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. [4]
A few years later, New York City agreed to designate what had then become Polytechnic University as the main sponsor of the urban renewal 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 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 put together a public-private partnership and quickly redefined the MetroTech vision from a research and development park to a campus-centered back-office complex.
As Forest City negotiated with Morgan Stanley, two other major corporate players were being considered for the site: the Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) and Brooklyn Union Gas. 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 move that sealed the decision to build the MetroTech vision begun by Bugliarello was convincing Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) to relocate its back-office operations there.
MetroTech Center was formed in 1992 by making a 16-acre (65,000 m2) 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, 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. [5] 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. [6]
In 2018, Brookfield Properties purchased the MetroTech complex. [7] In 2022, Brookfield Properties announced that MetroTech would be renamed Brooklyn Commons. [8] [9] [10] The private plaza at MetroTech Commons was renamed Brooklyn Commons Park, and James Corner Field Operations 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. [9] [10] The work was budgeted at $50 million, [8] [10] and the project was scheduled to be completed in 2023. [11]
Brooklyn Commons Park (formerly MetroTech Commons) is the 3.5-acre (14,000 m2) privately owned public space at the heart of the Brooklyn Commons complex. [9] [10] 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. [10]
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, they were installed in 1998. [12]
The early occupants included JPMorgan Chase, the New York City Fire Department, the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, Verizon Human Resources, Keyspan Energy (now National Grid), Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, the New York City College of Technology and the New York University Tandon School of Engineering. Later tenants include MakerBot Industries, the Brooklyn Nets, Slate magazine, the Ms. Foundation for Women, El Diario La Prensa, Robert Half International, 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 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.
Battery Park City is a mainly residential 92-acre (37 ha) planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the north and south, and the West Side Highway on the east. The neighborhood is named for the Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, located directly to the south.
The New York University Tandon School of Engineering is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United States.
The New York City College of Technology is a public college in New York City. Founded in 1946, it is the City University of New York's college of technology.
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University.
Fulton Street is a long east–west street in northern Brooklyn, New York City. This street begins at the intersection of Adams Street and Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights, and runs eastward to East New York and Cypress Hills. At the border with Queens, Fulton Street becomes 91st Avenue, which ends at 84th Street in Woodhaven.
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City, and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and residential buildings, such as the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower and the MetroTech Center office complex.
1 New York Plaza is an office building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of South and Whitehall Streets near South Ferry. The building, measuring 640 feet (200 m) tall with 50 floors, is the southernmost skyscraper in Lower Manhattan. It was designed by William Lescaze & Assocs. and Kahn & Jacobs, and developed by Sol Atlas and John P. McGrath.
One Police Plaza is the headquarters of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). The building is located on Park Row in Civic Center, Manhattan near New York City's City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. Its block borders Park Row, Pearl Street, and Police Plaza. 1PP replaced the NYPD's previous headquarters at 240 Centre Street, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north of 1 Police Plaza.
One Liberty Plaza, formerly the U.S. Steel Building, is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is situated on a block bounded by Broadway, Liberty Street, Church Street, and Cortlandt Street, on the sites of the former Singer Building and City Investing Building.
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institution near City Hall based on a curriculum focused on a secular education. The university moved in 1833 and has maintained its main campus in Greenwich Village surrounding Washington Square Park. Since then, the university has added an engineering school in Brooklyn's MetroTech Center and graduate schools throughout Manhattan.
The Winter Garden Atrium is a 120 ft (37 m), 10-story glass-vaulted pavilion on Vesey Street in New York City's Brookfield Place office complex. Designed by Diana Balmori, the Atrium was originally constructed in 1988, and substantially rebuilt in 2002, after it was damaged by the collapse of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. The Atrium houses various plants, trees, flowers, and shops. The rear of the building opens onto the World Financial Center Plaza and the North Cove Yacht Harbor on the Hudson River. Over the years, the Atrium has become home to various exhibits and holiday displays.
The urban campus of New York University (NYU) is located in Manhattan, and is around Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, and also is in MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn. NYU is one of the top three largest landowners in New York City.
Zuccotti Park is a 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m2) publicly accessible park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is located in a privately owned public space (POPS) controlled by Brookfield Properties and Goldman Sachs. Zuccotti Park is bounded by Broadway to the east, Liberty Street to the north, Trinity Place to the west, and Cedar Street to the south.
The Old Brooklyn Fire Headquarters is a historic building located at 365–367 Jay Street near Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. Designed by Frank Freeman in the Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style and built in 1892 for the Brooklyn Fire Department, it was used as a fire station until the 1970s, after which it was converted into residential apartments. The building, described as "one of New York's best and most striking architectural compositions", was made a New York City landmark in 1966, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Total Plaza is a tower in Downtown Houston, Texas, one block from the Allen Center complex. The building, managed by Brookfield Properties, opened in 1971. The 35-story building, designed by the architect Lloyd, Morgan & Jones, was renovated in 1981 and 1996, and features a mirror-finished reflective glass on its exterior. Each floor has about 24,000 sq ft (2,200 m2), with a total of 847,200 sq ft (78,710 m2). The building is named after its major tenant, Total Petrochemicals USA, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies SE. The complex was formerly the headquarters of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO).
The Jay Street–MetroTech station is a New York City Subway station complex on the IND Fulton Street, IND Culver, and BMT Fourth Avenue lines. The complex is located in the vicinity of MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn. It is served by the A, F, and R trains at all times; the C train at all times except late nights; the N train during late nights only; and a few rush-hour W and <F> trains in the peak direction.
The NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress is a degree-granting technology and research institute in downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It is a graduate school of New York University focusing on urban informatics. The Center, first opened in September 2013, is inside NYU's 370 Jay Street building.
The New York City Board of Transportation or the Board of Transportation of the City of New York was a city transit commission and operator in New York City, consisting of three members appointed by the mayor. It was created in 1924 to control city-owned and operated public transportation service within the New York City Transit System. The agency oversaw the construction and operation of the municipal Independent Subway System (IND), which was constructed shortly after the Board was chartered. The BOT later presided over the major transfers of public transit from private control to municipal control that took place in the 1940s, including the unification of the New York City Subway in 1940. In 1953, the Board was dissolved and replaced by the state-operated New York City Transit Authority, now part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
370 Jay Street, also called the Transportation Building or Transit Building, is a building located at the northwest corner of Jay Street and Willoughby Street within the MetroTech Center complex in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. The site is bounded by Pearl Street to the west, and was formerly bound by Myrtle Avenue at its north end; this portion of the street has since been de-mapped.
