English: The Brooklyn Bridge, seen from Manhattan, New York City. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
NY State Senator Daniel Squadron, announced recently that the MTA is going to create a new line in 2013 to support the growing “tech triangle.” Squadron told MetroFocus that, “Brooklyn’s tech industry is changing the face of New York — and now, we’ll have a bus route that will allow the booming Tech Triangle to continue to grow and innovate.” The downtown area includes Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, DUMBO and Vinegar Hill, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights. The tech sector is faring particularly well in both DUMBO and the Navy Yard, which are seen as a great way to expand this tech sector throughout downtown Brooklyn.
In the last five years, Downtown Brooklyn has had a major boom in terms of population and economy, according to both Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and NY’s comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. According to MetroFocus, a recent report released by the comptroller reported that private sector jobs and wages grew at a higher rate in downtown Brooklyn between 2003 and 2010 than anywhere else in NYC.
The exact route of the line will be decided by a combination of Squadron, the MTA, and “stakeholders,” one of which is the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. The organization was founded in 2006 to ensure that the neighborhood continued to progress, and is one of three total organizations that make up the Brooklyn Tech Triangle initiative. The group released a request for proposals for their strategic plan earlier this month, which included a strategy for linking each neighborhood with public transit.
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