The Brooklyn Army Terminal. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Army

A Staten Island non-profit industrial workshop is expanding to Sunset Park.

On Monday, October 29, MakerSpace, a Staten Island community workspace for makers, builders, tinkerers, hardware developers, hobbyists, artists and entrepreneurs, opened at Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT).

The workshop is moving into a 20,000-square-foot manufacturing center at BAT, with the goal of providing low-cost access to equipment and tools to entrepreneurs, inventors and craftspeople, as MakerSpace has on the North Shore of Staten Island for the past five years.

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New York City Economic Development Corporation President James Patchett expressed his excitement about the move.

“MakerSpace NYC has created new opportunities for so many entrepreneurs in our city,” he said. “We’re thrilled to welcome them to the Brooklyn Army Terminal, where they will offer training, affordable access to equipment and space to launch a business — all in this vibrant industrial campus.”

At BAT, MakerSpace will provide affordable and shared access to equipment and training on specific tools and machinery, AWS Welding Certification, and STEAM programs for children in grades K-12, among other things

“Scott [Van Campen, Executive Director] and I opened Staten Island MakerSpace five years ago with the idea that we wanted to give people in our community affordable access to tools, equipment and skills,” said Associate Director of the Staten Island MakerSpace D.B. Lampman. “Since 2013, we have provided over 60,000 adults and children with high-quality STEAM education and adult skill-building programs. We are incredibly grateful and excited to operate the Futureworks Center for Advanced Manufacturing at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. This opportunity will enable us to rebrand as MakerSpace NYC and provide more people with access to an even wider variety of tools and equipment to help them prototype, build businesses and contribute to the creative economy of New York City.”

MakerSpace will also host product demo days, pitch nights and hackathons. BAT already houses 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters and a water jet, in addition to traditional equipment used for woodworking, welding and sewing.

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“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a working waterfront that is accessible to every working family, which is why the addition of NYC MakerSpace to the Brooklyn Army Terminal is an exciting development,” said Councilmember Carlos Menchaca, who represents the area. “Not only does it promise to open doors to the new, dynamic and innovative industrial and manufacturing sector taking root in Sunset Park, but it also shows a commitment on the part of NYCEDC to diversify the types of businesses that call the waterfront home.

“My hope,” Menchaca went on, “is that MakerSpace will encourage young people from Sunset Park to apply for jobs and training, which if their new STEAM programming and job outreach is robust, will come to fruition.”

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