The abandoned Domino’s Sugar Refinery
June 7th, 2007 by Bad Guy Joe
For many years, the Abandoned Domino's Sugar refinery on the Brooklyn waterfront was a playground for explorers and graffiti artists. As usual, we were in first.
In 1857 they started refining sugar on this property, and that practice continued until the early 2000's. The Dominos refinery's closure was not a happy occasion, a fact that seems to be overlooked by just about everyone reporting on the situation there today. In 1988, the company was bought by an overseas firm that in 1998 handed the union a raw deal - a contract that demanded a lot of give backs and a slap to the face of the working man everywhere. The union went on strike, but they got no backing from their national organization. Left out in the cold for more than 20 months, the union finally gave in and the company got to ram their raw deal down the worker's throats. It wouldn't even last that long though. With production so far down while the strike was on, the place never seemed to recatch what it once had... They closed up the factory and sold the property in 2004. A sick and sad end to a long storied history.
Today the Abandoned Domino's Sugar refinery stands vacant and quiet. Security cameras line the facade and guards wander around... inside, the buildings are dark and quiet. The floors are sticky with sugar product. It's just one of the dozens of abandoned industrial buildings located around NYC.
Such a large industrial site as this, located on prime real estate, will surely not last much longer. Plans to redevelop it are already made. How much longer it will stand, who knows... The only thing I do know is that preservationists wish to preserve the company sign that is on the side of one of the buildings here... and to that, I say maybe those preservationists should talk to some of the people that worked here and were eventually forced out and see what they have to say about that...
If I was one of them, I'd want to drive the wrecking ball through the sign myself.
Update: 2018.
This property has, of course, been redeveloped into residential housing.
