Manufacturing has long been an integral part of New York City’s success, with businesses, makers, suppliers, and many others creating a rich network that provides for the city and world. From the Garment District to historic industries lining the New York Waterfront, these places imbue neighborhoods with an irreplaceable character while also providing crucial jobs and goods. But today, manufacturing feels squeezed between a growing call for more housing, vastly increased real estate prices, and the slow loss of industries to other places. What is the preservation community’s role in preserving manufacturing, both the historic places that many of these industries inhabit, as well as the industries themselves?

HDC’s 2026 Conference will examine this complex topic with discussions among legacy businesses, new makers and artisans, economic development officials, historians, architects, developers, and many other stakeholders.

Conference Tour Series:

Brooklyn Army Terminal Tour – April 18

Brooklyn Navy Yard: Past, Present & Future – May 16

Immigrants, Industry, and Style: A Garment District Tour – May 26

Conference Panels

1:00 PM: Event begins, doors open

1:15 PM Welcome Remarks

1:30 PM: Panel 1

2:45 PM: 10-Minute Break

3:00 PM: Panel 2

4:15 PM: Panel 3

5:30 PM: Preservation Fair and Reception

6:30 PM: Preservation Fair and Reception ends

Panel 1: Practitioners and Community

Jeffrey Spring, President, Modern Art Foundry
Dawn Ladd, Principal, Aurora Lampworks
George Kalajian, Owner, Tom’s Sons International Pleating
JP Coyle, Partner, WORKSPACE11

Who is doing the work of advocating for industries and individual businesses, especially in neighborhoods where manufacturing has historically been an anchor? This panel features current manufacturers who will discuss how things work currently including some of the battles they’ve faced to preserve their communities and their businesses.

Panel 2: Developers and LDCs  

Mary Habstritt, President, Roebling Chapter, Society for Industrial
Micaela Skoknic, Director of Development & Communications, Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation
Cassandra Smith, Senior Project Manager, Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center
Nina Rappaport, Steering Committee Member, Western Queens Community Land Trust / Vertical Urban Factory

How has industry survived and thrived in New York City and what role have historic industrial buildings played? This panel will feature voices who have successfully created spaces where businesses continue to make things. What obstacles have they faced and how have they rehabbed historic structures to continue providing a nucleus for manufacturing and makers?

Panel 3: The Future?

Jennifer Gutierrez, Council Member for New York City’s 34th District
Carly Baker-Rice, Executive Director, Red Hook Business Alliance
Tessa Maffucci, Coordinator, New York Fashion Workforce Development Coalition / Assistant Chair, Pratt Fashion Department, Pratt Institute
Rick Cook, Founding Partner, COOKFOX Architects

Our final panel will be a wide-ranging conversation on the future of manufacturing in New York City and preservation’s role. What role does nostalgia play in preserving these places? Should adaptive reuse of industrial buildings for new uses be considered a win? In an ideal world, what do we need to have industry thrive in historic locations?

AIA Credit $50; General $35

Friends / Seniors $25

Students Free

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