“Our niche is people who want quality lighting that will last a long time,” explained Emma Price, the President of Edison Price Lighting, when asked about her company’s specialty. “You have to do high-quality [if you want to manufacture things] in New York City. You can’t just make cheap stuff, here.”
Established in 1952, Edison Price has over 60 years of experience designing and manufacturing high-quality energy-efficient lighting fixtures at their factory in Long Island City, Queens, in the shadow of the Queensboro Bridge. The company has completed many high-profile projects, including the refurbishment of the lighting fixtures for the United Nations, and lighting the new 9/11 Memorial Museum. Emma’s father was a friend and frequent collaborator of legendary Modernist lighting designer Richard Kelly, and the company worked with him to light the Yale Art Gallery, the Seagram Building, and other architectural landmarks.
Nina Rappaport (left) and Emma Price (right) welcome tour participants to Edison Price Lighting’s Long Island City factory (Photo: OHNY)
In that time, the company has witnessed the city’s economic and technological landscape transform dramatically, and its physical surroundings are now following suit. On July 16th, Emma and her team hosted a factory tour, organized and presented by Vertical Urban Factory curator and project director Nina Rappaport, as part of Open House New York’s (OHNY) and New York City Economic Development Corporation’s (NYCEDC) Making it Here series.
In the 1900s, Long Island City was a vibrant manufacturing center, thanks to the area’s efficient transportation networks and large skilled labor pool. But as technology advanced and outsourced labor became more economically strategic for many manufacturing firms, the area’s industrial community took a huge blow. “After NAFTA, a many cities simply let the manufacturers go,” Nina noted in her introduction. “Many planners thought that manufacturing wasn’t something that was needed in cities anymore. As a result, we wound up with land zoned for manufacturing sitting empty, which was an impetus for rezoning to other uses.”
Just outside, glittering new residential buildings are on the rise. (Photo: OHNY)
More recently, large sections of New York’s manufacturing districts have been rezoned for residential and commercial uses as the land values of waterfront property in the city have soared due to the increased interest in urban living. This is especially true of LIC, but despite mounting pressure to leave the area, Edison Price has chosen to stay right where they are. The area’s transit access, still important to attracting skilled workers, also makes it easy for architects and lighting designers—the company’s core clients—to get to the factory themselves.
By specializing in the production of high value added goods, companies like Edison Price provide essential services to the more glamorous, high-profile sectors of the city’s economy, architecture and design among them. The symbiotic relationship between design industries and manufacturers that specialize in creating unique products is one of the mainstays of urban economies. For Edison Price, that means working directly with the people who design the lighting for the buildings in which we live, work, and play. Both architect and manufacturer are able to fine-tune what they do in order to produce better results based on their collaborative work, and are thus better off for being near each other, Nina noted.
The factory tour was led by factory manager George Closs (left). (Photo: OHNY)
After Emma’s and Nina’s introductions, factory manager George Closs led tour participants through the almost 50,000-square-foot facility to learn more about how custom lighting fixtures are made. On average, Edison Price manufactures $20 million in product per year. George emphasized that Edison Price is “made in New York City,” and that its products are American to the core. For the past 60 years, Edison Price has done all design, research, and production work within its LIC facility. Furthermore, every material and machine used to produce light fixtures at Edison price is made in the United States.
Bins of metal shavings are collected and sold to metal recycling firms. (Photo: OHNY)
During the tour, the factory floor buzzed with the rhythmic sounds of dozens of machines drilling and making calculated cuts and punches. George pointed out an impressive group of machines that cut and shaped metal into light fixtures, and a laser-cutting machine larger than most New York City bedrooms. “We have zero inventory,” he told the group, explaining that the factory manufactures its products using just-in-time scheduling to send out orders as soon as they’re finished being made. This cuts back on the space that the company needs to occupy, allowing for the more efficient use of space.
A large punch press makes precise, rapid cuts through metal sheeting. (Photo: OHNY)
Edison Price also stands out for a unique factory layout that allows the company to take advantage of the city’s aforementioned skilled labor pool. The company utilizes small teams of workers who are cross-trained to be able to work on fixtures at any step in the production process, rather than using the more common assembly line model, where workers specialize in a single monotonous step. Here, employees are valued for their adaptability and flexibility, rather than serving as cogs in a machine.
At Edison Price, employees are valued for their adaptability and flexibility, rather than serving as cogs in a machine. (Photo: OHNY)
Afterward, Nina discussed her Vertical Urban Factory project, explaining that she is working directly with manufacturers like Edison Price to think through how they might be able to continue growing in place while also taking advantage of changing trends in urban real estate like those affecting Long Island City. “Could you have a situation where Edison Price is able to develop a residential project above its factory, have mixed uses in place, which is something rarely considered, and stay in its building in the long term?” Nina asked, before hinting that she’s working with the city’s planning department to think through potential future scenarios.
A visit to a facility like Edison Price Lighting’s is an eye-opening experience. It illustrates why creating adequate space for manufacturers is still so important to New York’s economy. Creative types benefit greatly from being able to work directly with the people who make their ideas work, and vice versa. In order for the city’s creative industries to thrive, both sides of the coin have to be considered.
A visit to a factory like Edison Price’s illustrates why creating adequate space for manufacturers is still so important to New York’s economy. (Photo: OHNY)
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OHNY and NYCEDC thank Nina and Edison Price Lighting for welcoming participants into the factory for this tour.
