The Brooklyn Navy Yard has a very fascinating history. It’s been in Brooklyn for over 200 years. The U.S. Navy occupied it for most of it’s time, but since they left it has been an industrial yard for a lot of Brooklyn’s businesses. The walking tour would benefit going through the Brooklyn Navy Yard because we can learn a lot of history on the way there and inside the premises. It would be a good stop on the walking tour because if someone is not interesting in the history of the BNY, than they can enjoy the things that they have to offer at the yard now. It has a lot of interesting factories that manufacture the food we see everyday and even film studios that make the movies we watch. It has something for everyone and I’m sure that whoever would go on the next walking tour of Brooklyn Heights would love to visit the Brooklyn Navy Yard and enjoy what it has to offer.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard was a big concept of Brooklyn’s history. For 160 years Brooklyn had a very powerful navy that occupied the yard building and fixing ships. The government purchased the land in 1801 for $40,000 in 1801. When Lieutenant Jonathan Thorn took command in 1806, the BNY was just beginning its existence. In 1911, Captain L.S. Von Duzer proposed to move the Navy Yard right over the Harbor to a park Communipaw New Jersey, but the ultimate decision was to maintain the yard in Brooklyn. Throughout all the military years at the BNY, they built 17 battleships and carriers and repaired over 5,000 Navy Vessels wounded in the Atlantic Ocean. In all the different wars throughout the years, the number of employees at the yard was growing gradually. By the time of WWII came around, the workforce at the BNY increased to 70,000 people. Reading the Lucy story in class by Jennifer Egan, made me realize that at one point woman occupied the BNY. Since we needed a lot of men for WWII, women were hired for the first time to work at the Yard as technicians and mechanics. The U.S.S. Missouri a.k.a. “Mighty Moe” was built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This was the ship that Japan had surrendered on, ending WWII for the U.S. Who knew that things manufactured in our hometown of Brooklyn can have such a big impact on the world. Who knows what would happen if we didn’t have a Navy Yard here. Things might’ve been a lot different here now. Because of the Brooklyn Navy Yard the U.S. survived all of America’s wars until it finally closed down in 1966.
New York City bought the 300 acre complex in 1967. Just a little more than it originally cost, New York City payed $24 million for it.  Immediately after the absence of Navy troops, the city did not know how to regain the 70,000 jobs that were lost since the war. When the yard reopened in 1971, an article from the daily news states, “They considered the automobile industry, a steel mill, moving the entire handbag industry here. None of them worked.” (Denis Hamlin) Just a couple of years later though, they figured it out and decided to make an industrialized park out of it. Right now, the park has 275 tenants and over 5,800 employees working in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The largest tenant at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is Steiner Studios. With the largest sound stages on the east coast, they plan to take the 20-acre of development land that is left of the BNY and develop a film program affiliated with Brooklyn College that will be at affordable prices. A document in the daily news said that “Brooklyn College will be creating a state-of-the-art film school here, where for $50,000, a kid can get a film school education that would cost $250,000 at NYU. With the largest movie studio in the city right here.” (DENIS HAMILL). Some of the other major manufacturers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard are manufacturers of Sweet n Low, B&H photo and electronics warehouse and Shiel Medical labs that are the biggest privately owned labs in New York. The BNY is actually a very popular place for a business. An article from the New York Times states that mayor Bloomberg wants the entertainment industry that’s developing in the Brooklyn Navy Yard to continue growing and accumulating jobs. The Brooklyn Navy Yard website states that “Since the fall of 2006, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and BNYDC have announced an eight-building expansion including over 1.7 million square feet of new industrial space, 2,000 new jobs and $250 million private investment”. It’s a great thing that the Brooklyn Navy Yard we have now will continue growing and serving the Brooklyn Community.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a big concept of Brooklyn’s history. It has survived all of America’s wars, built 17 ships and fixed over 5,000 navy vessels and carriers. After the absence of navy troops, N.Y.C. bought the 300 acre complex and made an industrial park out of it. Right now it has over 275 tenants and is employing over 5,800 employees. The BNY is a great stop for the walking tour. It has over 200 years of history and now that the yard is full, there is something interesting for everyone. If you’re not really interested in the history, than you can find one of the local businesses at BNY very interesting.
Works Cited Page:
Denis Hamill, The Navy Yard’s ‘can do’ spirit returns to Brooklyn with new businesses, Daily News Thursday, July 28, 2011
Brooklyn Navy Yard Website http://www.brooklynnavyyard.org/dev_opp.html Saturday November 24th 2011
Reading Lucy Jennifer Egan
Adriane Quinlan (2011, August 23rd) Mayor Praises Growth in Film and TV Jobs The New York Times p. 22
Bartlestone, John (2010) The Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn NY: Power House: London: Turnaround
