Third Annual Shop Brooklyn Initiative Kicks Off

On Friday, November 26, the third annual "Shop Brooklyn," an initiative of the Brooklyn Borough President's Office, will officially kick off the holiday shopping season.

Shop Brooklyn is an awareness campaign highlighting the uniqueness of Brooklyn's thriving neighborhood shopping corridors, re-introducing Brooklyn to Brooklynites, and reminding them to shop local, not just during the holidays, but year-round. Participating retailers, restaurants, bars, and other service providers will display a "Shop Brooklyn" logo in shop windows and offer special "Brooklyn Bonuses" on November 26 ("Black Friday" is now "Brooklyn Friday") and each weekend through December 25.

Top 10 Reasons to Support Locally Owned Businesses (adapted from www.newrules.org)

1. BROOKLYN IS UNIQUE! (Local Character and Prosperity) In an increasingly homogenized world, communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character have an economic advantage.

2. BROOKLYNITES LOOK AFTER BROOKLYNITES! (Community Well-Being) Locally owned businesses build strong communities by sustaining vibrant town centers, linking neighbors in a web of economic and social relationships, and contributing to local causes.

3. BROOKLYN RETAILERS LIVE HERE TOO! (Local Decision-Making) Local ownership ensures that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and will feel the impacts of those decisions.

4. LOCAL RETAILERS SPEND THEIR $$ IN BROOKLYN! (Keeping Dollars in the Local Economy) Compared to chain stores, locally owned businesses recycle a much larger share of their revenue back into the local economy, enriching the whole community.

5. BROOKLYN RETAILERS HIRE BROOKLYNITES! (Job and Wages) Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages than chains do.

6. THAT GO-GET-'EM "BROOKLYN ATTITUDE"! (Entrepreneurship) Entrepreneurship fuels America's economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class.

7. OPEN STORES KEEP STREETS SAFE! (Public Safety) Open stores mean more lights on and foot traffic on major corridors. More eyes on the street means more safe havens and less crime.

8. A GREENER BROOKLYN! (Public Benefits and Costs) Local stores require comparatively little infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services relative to strip shopping malls. Local stores help sustain walkable town centers-which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution.

9. BROOKLYN'S "MOM AND POPS" ARE CREATIVE! (Competition) A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices.

10. BROOKLYN SHOPS HAVE WHAT YOU WANT! (Product Diversity) A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

Initiated in 2008 by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Shop Brooklyn is a borough-wide "shop local" campaign highlighting the service and individuality of Brooklyn's neighborhoods, made possible through partnerships with Business Improvement Districts, Merchant Associations and Local Economic Development Organizations. It serves to unite Brooklyn's vibrant "Main Streets" under one cohesive banner to promote shopping in Brooklyn and "Brooklyn Bonus" offers.

For more information on Shop Brooklyn, visit www.ishopbrooklyn.com.