What is that building?
Every day as I drive home from work, I pass a rather non-descript old factory building by the side of the Bruckner Expressway. Last fall, I noticed that it was getting spruced up. New windows, fresh bright yellow paint on the fire escapes, that sort of thing. I wondered what was going on, but it was only this afternoon that I discovered what was up.
It turns out this is a landmarked building, built by the American Bank Note Company in 1909 as a printing plant. After being unused for years, it is now being renovated into multiple uses. Of particular interest here is that they're turning one floor into the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator. OK, I took a little poetic license saying tech incubator in the title of this post. There will be all kinds of businesses there, not just tech, Still, it's good to see something like this coming to The Bronx.
Somewhere in the 1990s, tech started moving into New York City. The big concentration was on the west side of Manhattan, in what came to be known as Silicon Alley. Over the years, tech firms started springing up pretty much anywhere below 59th st. The Made In New York Digital Map shows hundreds of companies in lower Manhattan, another 50 or so in Brooklyn, and a smattering in Queens. As I was perusing the map, I panned over to The Bronx and discovered the Sunshine incubator. I hope these guys can make a go of it. This is the kind of project that can really serve as a catalyst for growth in a part of the city not normally known for tech.