New York City Council Members Susan Zhuang and Crystal Hudson announced a $5 million city allocation to convert Brooklyn Technical High School’s historic Foundry into a modern multimedia and research center, school and city officials said.
“Education is generational wealth, and I promised our families that I would fight to deliver,” Zhuang said. “This investment shows that when we fight for our students, we can give them the opportunities they deserve.”
Built nearly a century ago, Brooklyn Tech is the nation’s largest specialized public high school for STEM, serving nearly 6,000 students. The project is expected to outfit the long-dormant Foundry with labs, collaboration space and updated technology to support hands-on learning.
“Our public schools are the foundation of our city’s future,” Hudson said. “This investment in Brooklyn Tech is an investment in our young people who will shape the future of New York. I’m proud to work alongside Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Member Zhuang to make sure every student has the tools and spaces they need to dream big and do great things.”
Although the school lies outside District 43, many Brooklyn Tech students live in southern Brooklyn neighborhoods represented by Zhuang. She has toured the building multiple times to assess facility needs.
Principal David Newman said the Foundry renovation will address space and program constraints. “Brooklyn Tech is a transformational space for the students and the people of Brooklyn… This space will provide us collaboration and research opportunities which we currently simply don’t have,” he said, noting the school’s STEM pipeline program connects with eight Brooklyn middle schools.
Alumni leaders said the upgrades will serve both current students and the broader community. “The Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation greatly appreciates CM Hudson and CM Zhuang’s support in securing funding to renovate the dormant 10,000 square foot foundry workshop space,” said Foundation President David Lee. The new STEM-focused space “can also be a space for the foundation’s pioneering STEM Pathway Program,” which works with under-resourced middle schools “to close opportunity gaps and build a more equitable pipeline into high-demand fields.” Last year, the program hosted “over 1,300 middle school students and parents,” Lee said.
The Foundry project adds to Zhuang’s broader education investments across District 43, including new STEM labs, auditorium upgrades and classroom technology improvements, according to her office.
A construction timeline was not immediately available.
