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It's on then! whoop whoop!

Throwdown: Downtown Brooklyn vs. Downtown Jersey City

BAM isn't even close to downtown Brooklyn.

Yo Jersey! Take a look downtown

BY Jotham Sederstrom
New York DAILY NEWS
Friday, April 3rd 2009, 8:29 PM

There would be an invasion of New Jerseyans on the streets of downtown Brooklyn.

City officials are rolling out the red carpet to dozens of Garden State-based companies in a bid to woo them to beautiful downtown Brooklyn, the Daily News has learned.

With leases set to expire in buildings across Jersey City and Hoboken, Brooklyn officials say they can offer more incentives to Jerseyans willing to set up shop in Brooklyn.

"Downtown Brooklyn's direct competitor is not midtown or lower Manhattan," said Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Joe Chan. "It's Jersey City, Hoboken and, to a lesser degree, places like White Plains and Stamford."

Dozens of businesses at 101 Hudson St. in Jersey City - home to New York City-based companies such as Merrill Lynch and Deloitte Touche - are believed to have leases close to expiring, sources said.

"The difference between downtown Brooklyn and our competition really rests on the arts and cultural cachet in the area," said Chan, who said the campaign will cost less than $300,000.

"The fact that we have artists like Mark Morris and institutions like BAM shows we're much less vanilla a location. It's a much cooler and less sterile environment."

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy appeared unfazed by Chan's jabs, saying downtown Jersey City - not downtown Brooklyn - was a more promising place for prospective businesses.

"We have the best access to downtown and midtown Manhattan, a lower operating cost and many other incentives that we believe still make Jersey City much more competitive, not only to Manhattan but also to Brooklyn," Healy said.

The pitch comes as the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership readies a new promotional campaign, "It's the Moment," aimed at drawing businesses from across the globe to the estimated 524,000 square feet of space available downtown.

A 12-year tax incentive will allow businesses below 96th St. in Manhattan or outside the five boroughs to occupy space at reduced rates - as low as $20 per square foot.

In Jersey City, where tax incentives are comparable and there are 1.5 million square feet of available office space, the average price per square foot also is about $20, according to information provided by the real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.jsederstrom@nydailynews.com