BROOKS BROS. IN DEAL TO KEEP 1 PLANT IN N.Y.
NEW YORK — Brooks Bros. has struck a deal with the Empire State Development Corp., the state’s economic development agency, to keep one of its two remaining domestic manufacturing plants here, according to a statement from Gov. George E. Pataki’s office on Wednesday.
Pataki said Brooks Bros. will undertake a $2.1 million capital project to retain its 280 manufacturing jobs currently based here and create an additional 42 jobs.
The company had considered moving its Manhattan-based factory operation to its other domestic plant in North Carolina, where Brooks Brothers makes some men’s shirts.
Instead of moving the jobs to North Carolina, Brooks Brothers will acquire and renovate an 85,000-square-foot facility in the Long Island City section of Queens, where it will move its Manhattan-based operation by the end of the month, Pataki’s office said.
Brooks Brothers officials were not available to comment on the deal.
Empire State Development approved a $1 million capital grant to assist with construction, equipment acquisition and renovations in a bid to help retain the manufacturing jobs here. The project is expected to cost a total of $2.13 million and will result in an additional 42 jobs created over three years, Pataki said.
“Brooks Bros. is a New York success story and it will remain a New York tradition,” Pataki said.