The sign is iconic, rising above the East River reminding passersby that 3 million pounds of sugar were once produced there on a single day.
To ensure part of the Domino Sugar Refinery's legacy is preserved, the City Council at its meeting Tuesday approved a landmark designation for three of its buildings, dating back to 1884. The sign, which many associate with the sugar refinery, and the building it is attached to are not part of the designation.
The City Council also approved legislation that provides prisoners who were born in New York City with a free birth certificate when released from incarceration as well as a bill that sets standards for the cleanup of crime scenes.
The Domino Sugar Refinery, one of five refineries scattered along Brooklyn's waterfront, once comprised 11 acres and thousands of employees. The thriving refinery, where tons of raw sugar were mixed with water and filtered, helped establish sugar manufacturing as the most important industry in Brooklyn from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, said city officials.
When the plant closed in 2004 and was bought by CPC Resources, the nonprofit developer of the Community Preservation Corporation, community organizations recommended that it be designated a landmark. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the status for three of the buildings, which together make up "The Refinery," in September.
The council unanimously approved the designation by a vote of 46 to 0.
The whole site, which comprises about 11.2 acres, is slated for mixed-use development with 30 percent affordable housing. The landmarked buildings are slated for residences, commercial and community facility use, and the whole project will comprise 2,400 residential units and approximately 220,000 square feet of retail, commercial and cultural facility space.
The buildings will vary in size, from "The Refinery's" height, at about 13 stories, to larger residential buildings reaching up to 40 stories. The developer intends on incorporating the Domino's iconic sign into the project.
" These important buildings are what helped make Brooklyn so sweet," said Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Describing New York as "a place where residential buildings abut what have been manufacturing and where manufacturing buildings can transform into new residential buildings in our city," Quinn said preserving the sugar refinery would contribute to sustaining the city's intricate and novel urban landscape.
As Williamsburg continues to change, the face of Domino Sugar will be a constant reminder of where Brooklyn and the borough’s industries came from, council members said.
" This building is a landmark building in the technical sense," said Councilmember David Yassky, who represents the neighborhood. "But also in the colloquial sense in the neighborhood. Everyone in Williamsburg knows the building, probably outside of Williamsburg as well."
The City Council approved legislation that would allow a prisoner to request his or her birth certificate upon release within the five boroughs. The council approved the bill (Intro 574-A) by a vote of 39 to 6, with the body’s three Republican members dissenting along with council members Peter Vallone, Domenic Recchia and Vincent Gentile.
Birth certificates are already provided for prisoners in New York State facilities.
The bill will allow former inmates to reintegrate into society, said the bill’s sponsor, Councilmember Annabel Palma. Often times, prisoners are released without the proper identification needed to obtain employment.
Vallone said he voted against the legislation, because no one, whether a prisoner or not, should be able to receive a city service for free, when the majority of New Yorkers have to pay for it.
" It bothered me to give away something for free that the rest of us have to pay for," he said. "It helps them get a job, but so does a new suit."
Inmates who are born in New York City and were incarcerated for more than 90 days will be eligible for the free birth certificates. Because inmates are already provided with a birth certificate, albeit one stamped "not for government use," there should be minimal cost attached to the legislation, said Quinn.
Normally a birth certificate would cost a New Yorker $15 – a fee some advocacy groups called an impediment to reintegration into society.
A representative from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene testified against the bill this summer, stating the cost would be a burden on the department, which oversees birth certificates
About 2,500 city residents who leave city jails and 9,000 city residents who leave state prisons will fall under the bill. The certificates will be made available upon request.
When Councilmember Michael Nelson stumbled upon a crime scene in his district, he realized that once an investigation was complete there was no requirement that the city clean up the area.
Under a bill (Intro 123) approved by a vote of 45 to 1, with Councilmember Simcha Felder dissenting, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will be required to draft regulations of crime scene cleanup on city property.
Guidelines for private properties owners will be posted on a Web site and available through 311, but they will be merely advisory. Members said it is important that private citizens, including biohazard contractors, have access to this information.
Felder voted against the bill to ensure that the cleanup and care of remains left at the crime scene would take the victims’ religion into account. Nelson said any religious requirements would be included in the guidelines.
City officials said any additional cost for this cleanup would likely be covered by insurance. Â
When Ruby Hsu planned her trip to New York City during Thanksgiving week, she, like many tourists, also planned to see a Broadway show.
"I was very excited to finally get to see 'Wicked.'" Hsu said. "I was hoping that the strike would be over by the time I got there."
Instead, the San Francisco resident arrived on November 17, at the height of the 19-day strike on Broadway. Contract negotiations between The League of American Theatres and Producers and the stagehands union had shut down most Broadway shows, including "Wicked."
"It ruined my whole week," Hsu said. "And I hate New York."
An overreaction? Perhaps. But Hsu was not alone. Travelers on Jetblue Airlines reportedly began canceling their trips to the city after learning the lights had gone dark on the Great White Way. "We've seen a slight increase in cancellation [of flights to New York] over the last week," the airline spokeswoman Alison Eshelman told the Daily News.
A few days after the walkout, the league said the strike would cost the city $17 million per day and would wipe out Thanksgiving week revenue, the second highest grossing period after Christmas.
"While this is a private labor matter, the economic impact is very public and will be felt far beyond the theatres closed today," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in his statement.
Now that Broadway is back, skeptics question whether the estimates of the strike's economic impact was overblown. Did the walkout really hurt the city? Is Broadway, for that matter, crucial to the city's economy?
Months before visiting New York City, Bryan Vavra decided not to go see the touring production of "Avenue Q" that finally made its way to his hometown, Houston, Texas.
"I wanted to see the show on Broadway. This is where the best of the best perform," he said of his plan during Thanksgiving week. "It was just unforntunate that they were on strike the few days I was in New York City."
After arriving in the city, Vavra changed his plan and went to see "The Ritz," one of a few Broadway shows that remained open during the strike.
Vavra's story is an example of what some analysts had argued - that ticket holders would spend their money on other forms of entertainment and so help lessen the economic blow to the city.
The league's estimated cost of the strike has since been challenged. The Partnership for New York City, a business group, said that the strike cost the city $5 million a day, $12 million less than producers league projected. New York City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. put the final number at $2 million a day, based on survey data including total spending on tickets, dining and shopping.
"The average theater ticket is about $76," Frank Braconi, chief economist for the city's comptroller, told Bloomberg News." We assume that that $76 is spent elsewhere in the city, on other entertainments or shopping or whatever."
Rodney Tan of Astoria, Queens, an avid fan of opera, said that he was surprised to find a full house on November 16 at a so-so production of "Cendrillon,' a French version of Cinderella, at The New York City Opera.
"The opera was so bad," he said. "The only reason it's packed here is because Broadway is closed."
During the last days of the strike, public officials started changing their tune and were, by then, convinced that the overall impact on the rest of the economy was relatively minor.
"This is not like Las Vegas where, if the gambling industry shut down, there would be nothing to do here," George Fertitta, chief executive of NYC & Company, the city's tourism agency, told Newsday.
In the end, aside from Broadway producers who lost an estimated $40 million in box-office revenue, the strike affected fewer people than expected. The strike was "an unfortunate blip in a very successful time in the City of New York," Fertitta said.
But some argue that Broadway is still crucial to the city's economy.
Last year alone Broadway brought in $5.3 billion to the New York City economy, according to the league spokesperson. At least 45,000 full-time jobs depend on Broadway - 13,000 employed directly by theaters and 32,000 people in related local businesses.
"Broadway is our number one tourist magnet," Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City told the Daily News. Of the $11.53 million in tickets sold during the 2004-2005 season, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 82 percent were purchased by out-of-towners.
For a Broadway fan such as Vavra, nothing can come between him and the show he wants to see. He hasn't ruled out another trip to the city or catching a touring production of "Avenue Q" in the future.
"I will see the show elsewhere," he said. "It's not often I go to New York."
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* Members do not receive their stipend. Avella declined his, while Gallagher voluntarily, and temporarily, stepped down from his position after being indicted on rape charges.