(macrumors.com)

Gianna Palmer is a guest blogger for Betabeat.

An Apple manufacturing plant in Brooklyn? Conventional wisdom says fat chance. After all, recent reports allege the company relies pretty heavily on cheap, abused, non-American workers.

But apparently Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz isn't afraid to dream.

“Just like the Mayor had a competition for Roosevelt Island, I’m suggesting another competition to create a high-tech manufacturing zone,” Mr. Markowitz told the Daily News. “We desperately need manufacturing jobs.”

Apple, apparently, is at the top of his list of desired manufacturers. This, despite Brooklyn's difficulty in attracting even a basic Apple retail store.

“As much as I want an Apple store, and I do, if I had a choice I would rather have an Apple manufacturing facility,” Mr. Markowitz said. “Do the patriotic thing and bring the jobs home, and bring them to East New York and Brownsville.”

Markowitz said he picked these two neighborhood because they have high unemployment rates and city land available to build on.

The Borough President's office did not immediately return Betabeat's requests for more information about the competition, but we expect more details will come out in Mr. Markowitz's State of the Borough address tonight.