Marty Markowitz,
along with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Brooklyn Economic
Development Corporation, local Business Improvement Districts (BIDs),
elected officials and others are launching the “Shop Brooklyn”
initiative today at the Fulton Mall.
So what is Shop Brooklyn?
“Shop Brooklyn” is an awareness campaign highlighting the uniqueness
of Brooklyn’s neighborhoods and thriving shopping corridors,
re-introducing Brooklyn to Brooklynites and inviting tourists and
visitors to experience this cultural and shopping destination—not just
during the holidays, but year-round.Not only will there be holiday discounts borough-wide as
part of the “Shop Brooklyn” campaign, many Brooklyn retailers,
restaurants, bars, and other service providers will offer special
“Brooklyn Bonuses” on November 28 (“Black Friday”—now renamed “Brooklyn
Friday”) and each weekend from November 23 through December 21.
Sounds to me like a borough-wide version of "Buy in Brooklyn," which was started right here in Park Slope.
The program will feature a website aggregating information from all
participating BIDs, merchant organizations, and local development
corporations. The site will be designed by the creative team at
Brooklyn- and Manhattan-based NPower New York, an information
technology nonprofit that provides other nonprofits with high-quality
and affordable technology assistance.
Look for a Shop Brooklyn” logo in the window of participating stores.
Or you could crowd-surf in Manhattan or experience soul-death in a mall. Holiday shopping in the Slope has changed me from a grinch back to a Santa, seriously. This is a great promotional idea! (They should, however, stress that it’s also more fun than sitting at your computer clicking “check out”…)