Brooklyn Chamber Hosts 2013 Annual Meeting & Trade Show at Gargiulo's Restaurant

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce hosted its 2013 Annual Membership Meeting & Trade Show on Wednesday night at Gargiulo's Restaurant, drawing 500 attendees nearly a year after Hurricane Sandy partially destroyed the famed Coney Island eatery.

The keynote speaker was New York University President John Sexton.

"It was important for us to host our Annual Membership Meeting and Trade Show in Coney Island this year," said Carlo A. Scissura, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. "Over the past 12 months, coastal Brooklyn has worked hard to rebuild and it remains important that we support the local businesses that suffered damage."

The Brooklyn Chamber announced the launch of a new website called "Explore Brooklyn" that will serve as the borough's premier place to get information regarding where to visit, stay and shop. The site will also feature user-generated event listings and a blog.

The address is www.explorebk.com. The site is currently in its beta-testing stage.

"Never before has a website aimed at collecting all this information in one place," said Scissura. "We want to show visitors - whether they are from Manhattan, somewhere else in the region or beyond - that Brooklyn is a first-class visitor destination with some of the greatest sights and restaurants in the world. We want to help visitors navigate the borough and highlight the many great and diverse neighborhoods that make Brooklyn such an awesome place."

The Brooklyn Chamber also announced the winners of the inaugural "Made in Brooklyn" awards given out to businesses that make things in the borough in the area of food and beverage, design, tech and a fifth category set aside for an M/WBE business.

This year's winners - which were chosen by an independent jury - are:

-- Food:

Damascus Bakery - Inspired by world traditions in bread and service. New York's Damascus Bakeries opened its community bakery in 1930 with America's Original Pita Bread. Now 80 years and generations later, our dedication to providing delicious bread solutions to both the retail and food services environment continues to tantalize buds nationwide. For more information, visit: www.damascus.com

-- Beverage:

Raw Pothecary - A raw pharmacy of nutritious blends of organic leafy greens, vegetables, and fruits and seeds. For more information, visit: raw-pothecary.com

-- Tech:

Gotham Greens Farms - Gotham Greens is a New York City based company dedicated to growing the highest quality vegetables and culinary herbs for local restaurants and retailers. Gotham Greens' premium quality, pesticide-free vegetables and herbs are grown in sterile rooftop greenhouses using clean, renewable energy. For more information, visit: gothamgreens.com

-- Design:

Pensa - Pensa is a strategic product design consultancy. We bring our clients closer to their customers by understanding people, the products they use and the context in which they use them. It's not just what we do, it's what we love to do. For more information, visit: www.pensanyc.com

-- M/WBE:

Spoonable LLC - Handmakes rich all-natural caramel sauces. For classic sweet desserts & inventive savory dishes. For more information, visit: www.spoonablellc.com

In addition, the Brooklyn Chamber also announced the creation of three committees: LGBT Business, Business and Education as well as Culture, Commerce and Tourism. All three committees will start in January 2014.

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