FROM RAG TRADE TO REAL ESTATE IN NEW YORK'S GARMENT CENTER: REMAKING THE LABOR LANDSCAPE IN A GLOBAL CITY

During the 1980s, New York City enjoyed a spectacular economic renaissance fuelled by the influx of unprecedented amounts of international finance capital. This renaissance stimulated the conversion into office and residential space of many lofts traditionally used for light manufacturing. Increasing numbers of loft conversions in the city's Manhattan Garment Center district provoked growing conflicts between developers and landlords wishing to cash in on the conversion wave, and garment producers worried about being displaced. Under pressure from the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), the City Planning Commission set up a Special Garment Center District in 1987 to help preserve floorspace for garment manufacture and related activities. The paper examines how the ILGWU sought to protect garment employment through a conscious defense of the historical geography of the built environment. Based on these observations, the paper argues for developing a closer understanding of the links between the practices of labor unions and the form of the urban environment.