Resilience Building in Action

Strengthening the Economic Resilience of the Garment District

For more than a century, New York City’s Garment District has played a unique historic, cultural and economic role for the city. It is home to the greatest concentration of fashion designers in the country and houses a tight-knit network of fashion-related businesses that combine design, technology and handcraft to support the city’s cutting edge fashion industry. Yet, like many manufacturing industries across the nation, the district has seen a steep decline in production and the closing of factories, largely due to overseas competition and the rising costs of operating in New York City. The city as a whole has seen a 95% decrease in its manufacturing workforce since the 1950s, including a decline of 61% since 2001.

Resilient Cities Catalyst is partnering with New York City’s Garment District Alliance (GDA), a business improvement district, in the design and delivery of a multi-year, multi-million dollar programmatic investment to address these ongoing industry and neighborhood challenges. The specific aims are to catalyze business development, ensure the neighborhood’s companies and workforce remain competitive and foster the ongoing vitality of the district.

While the first year of the Business Development Collaborative programming (2020-21) focused squarely on helping businesses navigate the acute and immediate challenges of COVID-19, the second year of programming (2021-2022) centered on fostering economic stability and driving growth for district businesses. Six local program partners -- Custom Collaborative, E-Com Fashion, Fashion Institute of Technology, ITAC, Made in NYC and Nest -- provided the district ecosystem with a robust suite of services, including expert guidance on digital marketing and lead generation, support on workforce recruitment and retention, and workplace innovations in sustainable operations, digital design and beyond. Rooted in our experience that greater, more transformational impact can be achieved through collective efforts across program partners, RCC has fostered a cross-organizational collaborative approach to programming that brings these diverse partners together as a cohort.

The Business Development Collaborative program has provided both a breadth and depth of support to businesses, entrepreneurs and workers over the past two years.

415+

Businesses and/or Entrepreneurs Engaged

5,100+

Hours of Programming Delivered

126

Businesses that Received at least 2 Unique Program Services

79

Businesses that Collaborated with at least 2 Program Partners

Further, businesses are seeing positive change and growth as a result of their engagement in the program.

97%

of program participants are likely to recommend the program to a colleague or a friend

52%

of businesses have experienced increased visibility of their brand

46%

of businesses have reported an increase in their team’s technical skills, knowledge and innovation

32%

of businesses have seen an increase in sales

The impact and insights gained from the second year of the Business Development Collaborative reinforced the ever-evolving nature of the Garment District and the continued resilience of the neighborhood, the industries, and the people. As RCC, in partnership with the Garment District Alliance, looks ahead to future programming, we will continue to prioritize support to businesses, artisans and entrepreneurs that ensures they are equipped to thrive today and contribute to the vitality of the district well into the future.