Brooklyn becoming a serious rival to Manhattan

New York

THOSE who work in Manhattan and live in another borough will often talk of a job in "the city." The slip might be understandable. Most office buildings are in Manhattan, which means many New Yorkers spend the bulk of their waking hours there.

But Brooklyn seems poised to become a serious rival for the 9-to-5 set. About 16 million square feet of office space is under construction or planned, brokers say, in an arc that stretches south from Williamsburg through downtown to Sunset Park. The properties range from single warehouses to multi-building complexes.