This event about local and small businesses in Brooklyn is for people who want to learn about the many exciting changes throughout the borough, from the establishment of major, anchor stores in Central Brooklyn and the installation of art work in Clinton Hill, to the creation of buy local campaigns and the development of green spaces.
In light of the current financial crisis and looming recession, the panel will consider the impact of the credit crunch and funding cut backs. If small businesses are indeed the nation’s economic engine, what will help them survive and if they don’t, what will our neighborhoods look like?
This event is a Con Edison Power Breakfast, one of two hosted annually
by Brooklyn Public Library’s Business Library. The Breakfasts
highlight economic developments in Brooklyn and usually attract an
audience of 100. They are free and open to the public.
Brooklyn, with its 2.5 million residents, has over 60 discrete neighborhoods, each with its own local shopping district. These 200-plus shopping streets not only provide convenience goods and services to local residents, but are part of the unique character of each neighborhood and are essential to creating a sense of identity and place. On Thursday morning, November 6, the Brooklyn Public Library will host a forum, Keys to the Community: Unlocking the commercial vitality of Brooklyn ’s neighborhoods, which will focus on the role successful commercial corridors play invigorating the borough’s economy.
A panel of policy experts and community stakeholders will explore the state of retail in Brooklyn’s many diverse neighborhoods and the contribution local grassroots organizations are making to the vibrant communities that are revitalizing Brooklyn . The discussion will consider the important impact of purposeful planning and management of commercial corridors; such as the creation of jobs, the generation of tax revenue, and the development of walkable, sustainable communities.
Dr. Tom Schutte, President of Pratt Institute and Chair of the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project will provide introductory remarks. Joan Bartolommeo, Director of the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, the convening organization for commercial revitalization in Brooklyn , will be the moderator. The panel consists of:
Catherine Bohne, Park Slope Civic Council, Rachel Fuentes, Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Larisa Ortiz, consultant for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Lori Raphael, Flatbush-Nostrand Junction Business Improvement District, and Stacey Sutton, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, Columbia University.
The Where and When
November 6, 2008
8:30 a.m. until 10:30
Dweck Center at the Brooklyn Central Library
Grand Army Plaza