Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, January 31, 2007) - The Fort Greene and Clinton Hill community came out in force at yesterday afternoon’s Bank of America Myrtle Avenue banking center grand opening party, which also served as the unveiling of the commercial corridor’s new marketing campaign, “Home Grown & Locally Owned”. The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership (the Partnership) designed the campaign to bring attention to the avenue’s “ Main Street, USA” character of mom and pop businesses, while also looking to further personalize its small businesses to local residents with both photos and quotes of the 18 business owners currently featured in the ads. “I can’t tell you how often a customer in my store gets excited to find out that I’m the ‘Karen’ in Karen’s Body Beautiful” explained Karen Tappin Saunderson, who runs the store with her husband Damani. Karen’s sister Grace, looking to tap into the rapport Karen shares with her customers, just opened a new yoga and dance studio two blocks down Myrtle aptly named “Move With Grace”.

During the grand opening party, attended by Councilmember Letitia James and representatives of the Borough President Markowitz, Mayor Bloomberg, Congressman Towns, Assemblyman Lentol, Senator Montgomery, and Commissioner Walsh of the Department of Small Business Services, Michael Blaise Backer, Executive Director of the Partnership, introduced the campaign with a few anecdotes about the avenue and its business owners. “Over ninety-five percent of the small businesses in our business improvement district are independent, locally-owned businesses, and almost eighty percent are minority or woman-owned enterprises,” started Backer. He then went on recount the efforts of Gustavo Mendez, owner of Clinton Hill Hardware, who opened the business one year ago after working at Adami Hardware for 15 years. When the owners of Adami Hardware, Albert and Louie, decided to retire and sell the property where Bank of America now stands, Gustavo took it upon himself to keep the neighborhood hardware store going, opening up shop across the street. Gustavo manages the store with his three sons, all of whom live just one flight up above the store.

While Bank of America is not a Brooklyn-based institution, it is the first new bank to open on Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in many years. The bank’s decision to invest in the community with a new, 5,000-square-foot banking center is evidence of Myrtle Avenue’s resurgence, and of the bank’s commitment to the area’s small business and residential community. The Myrtle and Waverly banking center is Bank of America’s ninth to open in Brooklyn.

The Home Grown & Locally Owned is a grassroots campaign of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership which aims to showcase Myrtle Avenue’s local entrepreneurs and entice our neighbors to shop close to home in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill . The campaign features full-color postcards of local business owners at their workplaces by photographer Colm Johnston of Razorback Productions with graphic design by Justine Fasciano. Meet your neighbors in business. Support your local economy. Buy locally-owned. Visit the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership website at www.myrtleavenue.org for more information, and www.flickr.com/photos/myrtleavenue/sets to view all of the campaign ads.

###

Contact:
Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, M. Blaise Backer, Executive Director, 718.230.1689