The Midtown Gazette

A Columbia Journalism School newsroom covering Midtown Manhattan in the heart of New York City.


Category: Garment District
  • New government grants encourage sustainable fashion

    New government grants encourage sustainable fashion

    Grants offer a boost in environmentally-friendly innovation, but more will be needed for a lasting impact.

  • NYC soccer leagues struggle for field space

    As they grow, recreational soccer leagues request more field space in New York City parks. But the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation can’t seem to meet their demands.

  • New Garment District market gives vendors access to NYC culinary scene

    New Garment District market gives vendors access to NYC culinary scene

    UrbanSpace’s new market in the Garment District gives vendors access to prime real estate in New York City.

  • Career-changer sees a local fashion future

    Career-changer sees a local fashion future

    Dana Glaeser, 37, quit his job as a marketing executive to start his own accessories company, and was among nearly 3,000 participants in the NY Now Trade Show in late August.

  • Fashion groups join to support Garment District and emerging designers

    Fashion groups join to support Garment District and emerging designers

    As fashion tenants slowly leave the Garment District, a group of small businesses, non-profits and emerging designers come together to revitalize the area’s stylish legacy.

  • The Garment District: Same name, different faces

    The area from West 35th to 42nd streets, and from Seventh to Ninth avenues will remain named the “Garment District” despite several suggestions of alternatives that would better align with changes in the neighborhood. Recently, several fashion industry spaces have been sold or redesigned, transformed from garment production spaces to banks, office space, and apartments. CBRE, the global leader of commercial…

  • LGBT Synagogue Faces Funding Shortfall for New Home

    The planned $17 million relocation of New York’s largest LGBT synagogue, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), from the West Village to Midtown West faces a delay of its scheduled 2013 opening due to a $5.5 million fundraising shortfall.

  • Retailers Cross Their Fingers: A Special Garment District Holiday Report

    Retailers Cross Their Fingers: A Special Garment District Holiday Report

    Black Friday is one of the busiest days of the year on the streets of Garment District in Midtown. In honor of the holiday, The Midtown Gazette presents a special report on the designers and pattern makers, retailers and shoppers who populate the neighborhood.

  • No Baby Steps for Baby Buggy Charity

    No Baby Steps for Baby Buggy Charity

    Baby Buggy founder and president Jessica Seinfeld, along with husband Jerry Seinfeld, visited the Empire State Building to celebrate her organization’s ten year anniversary with a lighting ceremony on December 5. Baby Buggies, dedicated to donating essential items to in-need families, showcased their blue and green lights on the Empire State Building Monday.

  • Faces of the Fashion Industry

    Faces of the Fashion Industry

    Patricia Harper has had her studio in the heart of the Garment District for five years. But as the area changes, she worries about being left behind. Story by Kate Racovolis and Laura Fosmire. To read more about this story, click here. Jeffrey Schwager runs a business selling designer clothing in the Garment District, which…

  • William Wai’s Four Decades in the Garment Industry

    William Wai’s Four Decades in the Garment Industry

    Can you imagine the life of a Chinese immigrant who has been working in the Garment District of Manhattan for four decades? Here is the story of 61-year-old pattern maker William Wai, who came here in 1971, did odd jobs, attended school, married and divorced, earned citizenship, opened design companies and failed, and kept working.

  • One Year Later, Fashion Initiatives are Getting Off the Ground

    One Year Later, Fashion Initiatives are Getting Off the Ground

    In November of 2010, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky, announced a series of six initiatives the city intended to launch to bolster and support the city’s famed Garment District, and to squelch the notion that outsourcing and the city’s desire to re-zone are threatening the vitality…

  • Arrivederci, Garment District

    Arrivederci, Garment District

    VIDEO: Waves of Italian immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s brought a sidewalk cafe culture to Seventh Avenue. Watch the last remaining tailors, patternmakers, and other fashion professionals share their stories, espressos in hand.

  • Garment District 2021: The Latest Trend in Gentrification

    Garment District 2021: The Latest Trend in Gentrification

    For years, the residents and stakeholders in New York’s Garment District have worked against economic and policy trends to preserve the soul of this neighborhood – the fashion industry. How will their collective efforts pay off in 10 years?

  • Winning at FIT…and Looking Good Doing It

    Athletic director, Kerri-Ann McTiernan takes a “win at all costs” attitude to succeed with a sports program at a school known more for prowess at the sewing machine than on the field.

  • Who Works in the Garment District?

     The Garment District  The Garment District spans the west side of Midtown Manhattan from Ninth Avenue to Fifth Avenue, from 34th Street to 40th Street. It is less than one square mile in area—but is key to the manufacturing history of New York City. The first purpose of the city’s garment industry was the production…

  • Re-Made in the U.S.A.

    Re-Made in the U.S.A.

    After decades of outsourcing, some fashion designers are moving their production back to America.

  • From Mississippi to Manhattan

    Jennifer Cole left a successful business in Jackson, Mississippi to tackle the mean fashion world of New York. Unfamiliar surroundings and financial hardships aside, Cole has persevered.

  • Designer Struggles to Stay Afloat

    Designer Struggles to Stay Afloat

    Patricia Harper has had her studio in the heart of the Garment District for 5 years. But as the area changes, she worries about being left behind.

  • Celebrity Branding Bonanza at Macy’s

    Celebrity Branding Bonanza at Macy’s

    On Black Friday, prepare to be surrounded by Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Beyonce’s new brands at Macy’s. They are just three of the many celebrities who have utilized social media and taken advantage of a weak economy to launch new brands.