Friedman has more than 40 years of experience in urban planning and policy, being recognized nationally for his work to strengthen urban manufacturing
BROOKLYN, NY (March XX, 2022) Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso today announced the appointment of Adam Friedman to the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) board. Friedman has more than 40 years of experience in economic and community development, nonprofit management, and urban planning and policy, and is recognized nationally for his work to strengthen urban manufacturing. On the EDC board, he will contribute to the review and evaluation of development proposals and advance projects through the public review process. Friedman’s appointment is effective DATE.
“Adam’s expansive experience within the manufacturing sector and community development is invaluable when thinking about and making decisions for the future of our city. It’s my belief that we’ll be able to create the most economic opportunity through an expanded innovation sector and by supporting businesses that help to address climate change and manufacturing. Adam can help get us there faster,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “I thank Adam’s commitment to our city and look forward to see what he’s able to help accomplish through this well-deserved appointment.”
“I am deeply honored by Borough President Reynoso’s appointment because I know how committed he is to building an equitable and inclusive economy, growing well-paying jobs, particularly in manufacturing, revitalizing neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn, and ensuring the City’s economy addresses the challenges of climate change. I share these commitments and will work with the Borough President and his team to advance this agenda and to advocate for the residents and businesses of Brooklyn through my appointment at the EDC,” said Friedman. “At Pratt Institute, I’ve had the opportunity to see the most innovative, effective and inclusive models for working with communities and advancing economic justice and environmental resiliency. I know many people at EDC also share this progressive vision and I look forward to using what I’ve learned to help make equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth a reality.”
Adam Friedman currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) on the Research and Strategic Partnerships team in the Provost’s office at Pratt Institute. In that role he works on a range of issues, building relationships with key partners and developing and directing implementation of major initiatives that advance the work of faculty, Pratt’s research centers and Pratt’s community and other external partners.
Prior to his current position as CSO, Mr. Friedman was Director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, a research center within Pratt Institute launched out of the School of Architecture to provide research and technical assistance to support New York’s low-income communities and communities of color in their work to build a more just, equitable and sustainable city.
Friedman is also the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA), a national network of economic development professionals in more than 200 cities. The UMA seeks to build a more inclusive and equitable economy by strengthening urban manufacturing through the sharing of research, collaborative program development and best practices in cities across the country. His career also includes working in city government for Borough Presidents David Dinkins and Ruth Messinger, directing the Garment Industry Development Corporation, one of the nation’s first public-private labor-management partnerships established to strengthen one of the city’s key economic sectors, and the New York Industrial Retention Network (NYIRN), a nonprofit organization established to preserve the city’s manufacturing sector. While at NYIRN, Mr. Friedman launched the Made In NYC program which now serves approximately 1,400 local manufacturers.
Friedman is a graduate of Benjamin Cardozo School of Law and Haverford College.
The Brooklyn Borough President has the power and authority to appoint nearly 1,000 members to various boards of community organizations, city agencies, and non-profit organizations that impact that future of Brooklyn and city at-large. Borough President Reynoso is keen on ensuring appointees to these various boards are reflective of Brooklyn’s diversity, valuing elevating underrepresented voices that typically are not at the table.
“Pratt Institute has a unique range of professional expertise guided by its longstanding commitment to working with communities to address real world problems,” said Pratt President Frances Bronet. “The Borough President’s appointment of Adam to the Board of EDC recognizes the importance of aligning expertise and values. I hope that the Borough President, EDC, and others in the city’s leadership know they can turn to Pratt and our colleagues in education to develop new strategies that will make an impact as we meet the challenges ahead.”
“I would like to commend Borough President Reynoso’s appointment of Adam Friedman to EDC’s Board of Directors. Adam Friedman’s appointment shows Borough President Reynoso’s commitment to working people, to small businesses and to local manufacturing” said Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee. “I have known and worked with Adam Friedman since he founded New York Industrial Retention Network which helped foster Industrial Business Zones and the growth of a green manufacturing sector in this city. Adam’s appointment will help build a more equitable and inclusive economy in Brooklyn and throughout the city.”
“Borough President Reynoso and I share a passion for ensuring New Yorkers have good jobs and we both clearly see the importance of a strong industrial sector to a more just and equitable city economy,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. “I am delighted that the Borough President is appointing Adam Friedman to the Board of EDC because he is a respected and effective champion for urban manufacturing and for building a more equitable economy.”
“I’ve known Adam Friedman for more than 35 years and he is a great combination of expertise and innovation in economic development, and he is absolutely passionate about securing good jobs for the marginalized New Yorkers” said Secretary-Treasurer of Workers United and Vice President of SEIU Edgar Romney. “Borough President Reynoso has been a leader in the fight to save manufacturing jobs and I am sure Adam will be a great advocate in advancing a good-jobs agenda.”
“I applaud Borough President Reynoso’s decision to appoint Adam Friedman to the Board of EDC. I have worked with Adam for decades, first at the New York Industrial Retention Network when he launched Made In NYC, and now at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Pratt Institute where he is leveraging Pratt’s deep educational expertise to advance equitable growth. I have seen not only his expertise in economic development but his passion for equity and justice in our city. Adam will help bring together the city’s economic, education and workforce programs so that we create good jobs for New Yorkers and the city is a place of opportunity for all,” said Toni Yuille Williams Director Regional Community Affairs, Brooklyn.
“Adam Friedman is a committed New Yorker who will work to make sure that this city is a land of opportunity for everyone who comes here. I have had the opportunity to work with him at Pratt Institute on a number of public projects. His passion for small business, local manufacturers in particular, comes from the belief that this is where New Yorkers can lift up their families and communities and build a more just city,” said CEO and Founder of the Bridging Cultures Group Dr. Debbie Almontaser. “Adam knows the city. He knows the challenges and opportunities for business owners, manufacturers, their workers and their families. And he knows how government intervention, from land use to lending, from signage to sanitation tickets can hurt or save a business.”
“I am thrilled to learn of Adam Friedman’s appointment to the NYC EDC Board of Directors,” said Executive Director of Evergreen Exchange Leah Archibald. “Adam’s enthusiasm, deep institutional knowledge of NYC, and the challenges and needs of local manufacturers will be an excellent complement to the current slate of directors. Adam has been at the forefront of research and advocacy for urban manufacturing policy on a local and national level for decades. In his role as Executive Director for the Pratt Institute of Community Development he was able to incorporate the educational assets of Pratt Institute to complement the slate of creative services the Made in NYC program offers to NYC manufacturers. As a member of the EDC Board Adam will be an excellent steward of NYC’s economic development resources and will be well positioned to guide NYC economic development policies and programs.”
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