What Brooklyn Taught Me About Economic Development
My first bona fide full-time job in New York City government was working for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.
I was 23 years old.
At the time, I understood that Brooklyn was changing. I don't think I remotely understood how much.
More than two decades later, I can walk through Downtown Brooklyn and barely recognize the skyline. Neighborhoods that were already desirable have become destinations for another generation of New Yorkers. Park Slope, in particular, has become an “it” neighborhood for young families. Brooklyn has a major professional sports team again. Entire corridors have been transformed by housing, retail, cultural institutions and private investment.
No mayor, borough president, developer or government program created modern Brooklyn by itself. The Bloomberg administration's 2004 Downtown Brooklyn rezoning, private investment, demographic changes and broader economic forces all played important roles. A later State assessment found that Downtown Brooklyn added more than 14,000 housing units following the rezoning and related investments.
But working for Marty gave me my first close-up view of something I have thought about ever since:
Economic development works best when public dollars do more than purchase something. They should help create the conditions for additional economic and community activity.
Marty Understood That People Develop Places Too
Marty was perhaps Brooklyn's greatest cheerleader.
That description sometimes understates what he was doing.
His famous summer concert series brought residents together for free performances and helped create communal experiences around Brooklyn. His Seaside Summer Concert Series in Coney Island and Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series in Central Brooklyn attracted major performers and large crowds over many years.
That may sound more like entertainment than economic development.
I see it differently now.
People don't choose communities solely because of tax rates, zoning or square footage.
They choose places because they want to be there.
Culture matters. Parks matter. Restaurants matter. Institutions matter. Shared experiences matter.
Marty understood the value of making Brooklyn feel like a destination rather than somewhere people had to leave to experience New York City.
And there was another, less visible part of the job that influenced me.
Sometimes Government's Job Is to Supply the First Dollar
Borough presidents can allocate portions of the City's capital budget to eligible projects at schools, cultural organizations, community facilities and nonprofit institutions. That remains part of the Brooklyn Borough President's budget role today.
As a young government employee, I saw how public capital could help get projects moving.
The amounts didn't always have to be enormous.
A nonprofit might need to improve a facility. A cultural institution might need equipment. A community organization might have an idea but lack enough capital to turn it into a physical project.
A relatively targeted City investment could become part of something larger.
That was an important lesson for me:
Sometimes economic development isn't government supplying every dollar. It is government supplying the dollar that helps unlock the next one.
That principle should also require accountability. Public investment should have a public purpose, and government should be willing to examine whether promised benefits actually materialize.
But the concept is powerful.
Then Brooklyn Thought Much Bigger
Atlantic Yards represented economic development at an entirely different scale.
Marty was an enthusiastic supporter of Forest City Ratner's proposed project and the effort to bring the Nets to Brooklyn.
The project became controversial, took much longer than originally envisioned and developed differently from the initial vision. Those facts are part of its history.
But one very visible piece became reality.
Barclays Center opened in 2012, and the Nets moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn for the 2012-13 season.
For the first time since the Dodgers left after the 1957 season, Brooklyn had a major-league professional sports team calling the borough home.
Think about that transformation.
I started working in Brooklyn government in 2004.
Less than a decade later, there was an NBA arena near Atlantic and Flatbush.
Two decades later, the skyline around Downtown Brooklyn bears little resemblance to what I remember when I started.
Government didn't create all of that.
Government helped establish conditions in which enormous amounts of private activity could occur.
That distinction has shaped how I think about economic development today.
Twenty Years Later, I See the Same Opportunity in Procurement
My career eventually took me away from Borough Hall and into budgeting, capital planning, technology and procurement.
Today, I look at economic development from the purchasing side of government.
And I increasingly believe New York City is underusing one of its most powerful economic-development tools:
its own purchasing power.
Every year, government buys tremendous quantities of goods and services.
Every purchase creates economic activity somewhere.
The question I think we should ask more often is:
Where?
If New York City spends a dollar with a local business, some portion of that money can circulate again within the local economy through wages, rent, purchases and taxes.
That does not mean taxpayers should write blank checks to local companies.
Competition still matters.
Price still matters.
Quality still matters.
But geography has economic value too.
I Would Make M/WBE Rules Both More Generous and More Demanding
The same principle applies to minority- and women-owned business programs.
I support the objective behind M/WBE programs: government purchasing should be accessible to businesses that historically have not received an equitable opportunity to participate.
But I would make the system simultaneously more favorable and stricter.
NYC rules already recognize the concept of a commercially useful function—whether a firm is genuinely performing, managing or supervising meaningful contract work rather than serving principally as a pass-through.
I would enforce that principle aggressively.
If an M/WBE receives the economic benefit associated with M/WBE participation, I want that business actually building capacity.
Employing people.
Managing work.
Developing expertise.
Building references.
Providing services.
Growing.
The objective shouldn't be moving an invoice through a certified company.
The objective should be creating stronger companies.
And in exchange for demanding genuine participation, I would be willing to provide substantially greater procurement advantages.
What If NYC Rewarded Ownership, Geography and Actual Work?
I would like New York to explore a cumulative procurement preference structured approximately like this:
A qualifying New York State business could receive a 5% evaluation preference.
A New York City business could receive another 5%.
Certified M/WBE status could provide another 5%.
And an M/WBE performing meaningful work itself—not merely serving as an intermediary—could potentially receive an additional 5%.
That could create as much as a 20% evaluation preference for a qualifying NYC-based M/WBE actually performing substantive work.
That doesn't necessarily mean government writes a check for 20% more. Bid preferences can instead adjust how competing offers are evaluated.
There are precedents worth studying.
San Francisco's Local Business Enterprise program provides qualifying small and micro local businesses a 10% bid discount on many procurements below $10 million, includes additional geographically targeted preferences in some circumstances, and incorporates a commercially useful function requirement.
New York law, however, presents a significant obstacle. A State Comptroller legal opinion interpreting General Municipal Law §103 concluded that municipalities generally cannot simply create a local-vendor price preference where State competitive-bidding law requires award to the lowest responsible bidder.
So Albany would likely have to authorize a broader program.
I think that conversation is worth having.
Public Authorities Show What Scale Can Accomplish
New York already understands that government can shape economic development through institutions operating at enormous scale.
The New York Power Authority operates more than 1,550 circuit-miles of transmission and owns or operates roughly one-third of New York's transmission backbone. Reliable, scalable power infrastructure is itself a prerequisite for economic development.
Empire State Development uses another approach. New York's film-production tax credit provides qualifying productions a 30% credit, with the program currently funded at $700 million annually through 2036.
Then there is perhaps New York City's most important economic-development machine of all:
The subway.
The MTA allows millions of people to connect with employment, education, entertainment and commerce. Transit effectively enlarges the labor market because people do not have to live next door to where they work.
But the MTA also illustrates the other side of public investment.
It isn't enough to spend public money. We have to care how much output each dollar buys.
NYU's Transit Costs Project found that the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway was the world's most expensive subway project per kilometer in its international database, at roughly eight to twelve times its composite baseline.
Labor costs and work practices are part of that problem, but the research points to a broader combination that includes oversized stations, procurement, design decisions, soft costs and institutional practices—not prevailing wages alone.
That distinction is important.
The subway may be one of the greatest economic-development investments New York ever made.
But if constructing each additional mile costs several times what comparable cities spend, eventually extraordinary costs prevent us from building the infrastructure that would generate the next round of economic development.
Cost control is economic-development policy too.
The Lesson I Learned in Brooklyn
Looking back, I think Marty Markowitz taught me something at 23 that took me another twenty years to fully appreciate.
Economic development isn't one thing.
Sometimes it is a concert.
Sometimes it is $100,000 toward a nonprofit capital project.
Sometimes it is an arena.
Sometimes it is a subway extension.
Sometimes it is electrical infrastructure.
Sometimes it is a tax credit.
And sometimes it is a purchase order awarded to a business that gets its first meaningful opportunity to work for New York City.
The common denominator should be multiplication.
What happens after the public dollar is spent?
Does it unlock additional investment?
Does it create infrastructure?
Does it strengthen an institution?
Does it create a job?
Does it build a business?
Does it create competition?
Does it make a neighborhood somewhere people want to live?
Does it make another dollar of economic activity possible?
Or did we simply spend it?
More than twenty years after I first walked into Brooklyn Borough Hall, I can look at Brooklyn's skyline and see how dramatically a place can change within one professional lifetime.
Some of that transformation came from government.
Much more came from people, businesses and private investment responding to changing conditions and opportunities.
I think that is government's most productive economic-development role.
Don't try to create the entire economy. Create the conditions in which people can build it.
And when government does spend public money, structure that spending so the benefits don't stop with the first recipient.
The best public dollar is one that keeps working after government spends it.
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About the Role Conduct preliminary and follow-up investigations of alleged violations of the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) and/or Housing Code. You will gather and evaluate evidence, inspect properties, interview tenants and landlords, prepare legal cases for the City Attorney’s Office, negotiate settlements, and represent the City at public events. You may also act as a head investigator or supervise investigative support and public counter staff. Key Responsibilities Investigations & Inspections: Investigate RSO and Housing Code violations through property inspections, witness interviews, and evidence gathering. Legal Case Preparation: Compile, evaluate, and organize legal documents; conduct legal research; and prepare oral and written reports on investigative findings. Enforcement & Settlement: Prepare legal cases for referral to the City Attorney’s Office Criminal Division; negotiate complaint settlements and case closures with landlords and tenants. Public Representation & Leadership: Represent the City at public events to provide information about the RSO; act as a head investigator reviewing team work or supervise investigative support staff. Minimum Qualifications Meet one of the following: Bachelor’s Degree + Professional Experience: Graduation from an accredited four-year college/university + 1 year of full-time paid professional experience (meaning the position itself required a 4-year degree) investigating complaints, conducting inspections/interviews, researching laws, evaluating evidence, preparing reports, and compiling legal documents for civil/criminal enforcement. Paralegal Certificate + Experience: A paralegal certificate from a U.S. training program + 1 year of full-time paid paralegal experience investigating complaints, evaluating evidence, and preparing legal documents for civil/criminal enforcement. General Experience: 4 years of full-time paid experience performing the duties described above, with at least 1 year related to civil or criminal enforcement actions. Special Requirements & Strict Document Rules Driver’s License: A valid Class C California driver’s license is required. Disqualification will occur if the DMV record within the last 36 months reflects 3+ moving violations/at-fault accidents, or a major violation (DUI/DWI). CRITICAL Document Submission: Requirement #1: MUST list school name, location, degree type, and major in the Education section of the application. Requirement #2: MUST attach a copy of the paralegal certificate to the online application BEFORE submitting. Documents attached after submission will NOT be credited. Preferred: Experience in Housing Law is highly desired. Transcripts: Applicants may attach a copy of their qualifying degree and transcripts in the Attachments section to expedite the verification process. Selection Process & Test Dates Examination: Advisory Essay (Online) + Interview (100% weight). Advisory Essay: Administered online. Must be completed with substantive responses to all questions to be invited to the interview. Failure to complete it results in failure of the entire exam. Interview: Evaluates Analytical Ability, Interpersonal Skills, Written Communication, Fact Finding (investigative/interviewing techniques), and Job Knowledge (mediation, confidentiality). May be held in Los Angeles or online. Anticipated Test Schedule: Apply Mar 20, 2026 – Apr 2, 2026: Essay: May 11–18, 2026 | Interview: June 8–18, 2026 Apply Mar 19, 2027 – Apr 1, 2027: Essay: May 10–17, 2027 | Interview: June 7–17, 2027 Passing Score: A final average score of 70% or higher is required to be placed on the eligible list. Restriction: You may take this examination only once every 18 months. How to Apply & Application Deadlines Filing Period 1: Friday, March 20, 2026 to Thursday, April 2, 2026 Filing Period 2: Friday, March 19, 2027 to Thursday, April 1, 2027 How to Apply: Applications are ONLY accepted online at governmentjobs.com/careers/lacity. Note: The examination may close without prior notice once a sufficient number of applications are received. Applicants are urged to apply early! Employment Details Benefits: Employee benefit coverage (health, dental, life insurance) commences approximately six weeks after your original regular appointment. Disaster Service: All City employees are required to be Disaster Service Workers. EEO & Accommodations: The City of Los Angeles is an equal opportunity employer. Reasonable accommodations for disabilities can be requested by completing the Disability Accommodation Form within 14 calendar days of application submittal.
ABOUT THE ROLE The Town of Lexington is seeking a qualified Economic Development Director to join the Land Use, Housing and Development Department. This full-time position is responsible for managing economic development operations and fostering a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the community. The Director will develop and implement economic development strategies in close coordination with the Assistant Town Manager for Development, Planning Director and staff, property developers, property owners, and other business leadership. The role aims to enrich the character and quality of life in Lexington by serving all constituents and promoting diversity in the workforce. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Manage Economic Development operations for the Town of Lexington. - Develop and implement comprehensive economic development strategies. - Coordinate with the Assistant Town Manager for Development and Planning Director/staff. - Collaborate with property developers, property owners, and business leadership. - Promote, respect, and accommodate diversity in the workforce to best serve all constituents. - Oversee supervision, budgeting, and marketing initiatives related to economic development. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - Master’s degree, MBA, or equivalent. - Five to seven years of increasingly responsible experience in economic development. - Experience in local government is preferred. - Experience in supervision, budgeting, and marketing. - Equivalent combination of education, training, and experience may be considered. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience in local government economic development. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS - Commitment to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. - Ability to collaborate effectively with various stakeholders including town officials, developers, and business leaders. SELECTION PROCESS - Position remains open until filled. - Review of submitted application forms, cover letters, and resumes. HOW TO APPLY - Obtain a complete job description and the town’s required application form online at www.lexingtonma.gov/311/Current-Job-Openings. - Submit the following documents: - Town application form (required) - Cover letter - Resume - Submission methods: - Email: jobs@lexingtonma.gov - Mail: Town of Lexington, Human Resources Department, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02420 - For questions, call 781-698-4590. EMPLOYMENT DETAILS - Community: Lexington, MA - Region: Greater Boston - Position Type: Full-time - Operational Area: Community Development (Planning, Building, Economic Development) - Department: Land Use, Housing and Development Department - Status: Open until filled
ABOUT THE ROLE The City of McMinnville is hiring an Associate Housing Planner to perform advanced work in city planning, including current and long-range planning, developing land use ordinances and comprehensive plans, review of development proposals, and implementation of land use and related policies. This journey-level position involves investigating, analyzing, and developing reports and recommendations pertaining to zoning and land use planning. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Conduct and manage housing planning initiatives, comprehensive planning projects, periodic review, and housing capacity analysis. - Serve as lead staff for the Affordable Housing Committee and administer the Affordable Housing Construction Excise Tax program and Fund. - Conduct research, gather and interpret data, prepare reports, and maintain housing and planning databases. - Evaluate land use applications and site plans for compliance with local, state, and Federal laws. - Act as project manager for assigned land use applications through the approval process. - Provide customer service by checking zoning regulations, conducting on-site inspections, and providing information to the public and professionals. - Provide staff support to the Planning Commission and various other commissions and committees. - Write and administer grants for housing planning projects. - Make presentations to the City Council, citizen groups, and committees. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - Any equivalent combination of education and experience providing the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. - A typical way to qualify is a master's degree in urban planning, landscape architecture, or a related field AND at least 2 years of experience as a professional land use planner for a government or private entity, or closely related experience. - Knowledge of data gathering, research techniques, citizen survey tools, land use policy formulation, and planning applications for land use theory, urban design, economics, and land use law. - Ability to use advanced math tools, conduct on-site inspections, analyze data, speak publicly, and draft ordinances and resolutions. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS - Preferred qualifications include Certification in the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). - Preferred experience in current planning, comprehensive planning, urban design issues, and GIS/graphic skills. - Applicants with GIS experience may be assigned GIS-related responsibilities such as developing and maintaining ArcGIS Online map services and researching GIS data. - Must possess a regular ability to use dexterity and fine motor skills and continuous use of office equipment. - Position requires some responsibility for driving. SELECTION PROCESS - Finalists will be subject to a computerized criminal history check. Adverse background information could result in withdrawal of a conditional job offer. - The City does not offer visa sponsorship. Must complete I-9 form within three days of hire confirming authorization to work in the US. HOW TO APPLY - Submit application through the online application system at governmentjobs.com/careers/Mcminnville. - Required documents must be provided at the time of application. Remove personal protected information from documents. - For best consideration, apply by the first review date on Monday, September 21st. - Veterans may request preference by electronically attaching required documentation (DD Form 214/215 or VA letter) at the time of application. EMPLOYMENT DETAILS - Employer: City of McMinnville - Department: Community Development - Division: Planning - Job Type: Full-Time - Location: Community Development Center | 231 NE 5th St., McMinnville, OR - Opening Date: 08/05/2026 - Closing Date: Continuous