In a new op-ed for Crain’s New York Business, New York City Council Member Lincoln Restler writes that “the future of economic innovation lies in creating spaces where education, research, and industry intersect,” a vision exemplified in the partnership between Pratt Institute and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.
Home to more than 550 businesses and 13,000 workers, the Navy Yard supports tenants like Pratt that foster innovation and contribute to economic growth. Restler notes that Pratt’s Research Yard operates as a hub for creative inquiry, housing the Pratt Center for Community Development, the Center K-12, the Center for Climate Adaptation, and the Spatial Analysis & Visualization Initiative (SAVI).
The op-ed also highlights the new 60,000-square-foot facility at Dock 72, which includes 100 art studios, seminar and critique spaces, galleries, a computer lab, fabrication shops, and a Performance Lab. Through this space, Pratt graduate students in Fine Arts and Photography have opportunities to participate in the creative ecosystem of the Navy Yard and “engage with cutting-edge technological, entrepreneurial, and artistic activity.”
“By linking young creatives directly to the businesses that can help bring their ideas to life, Dock 72 is not only nurturing the next generation of creatives, but modeling how research institutions and businesses can collaborate to generate real-world impact on a local and potentially global scale,” Restler writes.
Initiatives such as Made in NYC connect students with entrepreneurs, fostering knowledge exchange, while events like the Research Open House elevate cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research, sparking new ventures. Restler praises Pratt’s role in supporting companies like Terreform ONE and Kintra Fibers, noting that these collaborations “demonstrate how research institutions and businesses can generate real-world impact.” Overall, he says, this partnership showcases the power of academic and industrial collaboration in driving economic and creative growth in Brooklyn.
Read more about this collaboration in Lincoln Restler’s full op-ed here.