Event will highlight local businesses recovering after East Village Explosion<\/p>\n
New York, NY – Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Member Rosie Mendez today announced the Council will host a \u201cFollow Me Friday\u201d tour of Manhattan\u2019s East Village with local business owners, community members, and elected officials on Friday, May 29th. The Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl will help highlight and promote East Village small businesses recovering from the aftermath of the March 26th building explosion and will begin with a moment of silence at the site of the explosion on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street. The small business tour will begin at 5:30 PM and will include the following stops:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Moment of silence for victims of recent explosion (Northwest Corner of 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street)
\n\u2022 Tour of Moishe\u2019s Bake Shop (115 2nd Avenue)
\n\u2022 Tour of New Yorker Market (550 2nd Avenue)
\n\u2022 Tour of Caf\u00e9 Mocha (116 2nd Avenue)
\n\u2022 Tour of Bar Virage (118 2nd Avenue)
\n\u2022 Tour of Himalayan Vision (127 2nd Avenue)
\n\u2022 Tour of Enz\u2019s (125 2nd Avenue)
\n\u2022 Tour of Jimmy\u2019s No. 43 (23 East 7th Street)<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the horrible tragedy that occurred in this neighborhood recently, the East Village remains a vibrant and lively destination in New York City,\u201d said Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. \u201cThe whole Council stands with the residents and business owners of this community in encouraging all New Yorkers to visit and enjoy all that the East Village has to offer. I thank my colleague Rosie Mendez for the leadership she\u2019s provided in her district, and welcome everyone to join us at our Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaker Mark-Viverito launched \u201cFollow Me Friday\u201d in 2014 as a way to communicate directly with constituents. At least one Friday per month, Speaker Mark-Viverito goes to a local business or institution to meet with members of the public. This East Village Follow me Friday event was organized in partnership with Speaker\u2019s Office and Council Member Rosie Mendez to bring much-needed attention to local businesses in the East Village and encourage New Yorkers to visit the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Those wishing to join the event should RSVP by sending an e-mail to jli@council.nyc.gov<\/p>\n
\u201cI am proud to work with Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to host a Follow Me Friday event in my district,\u201d said Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, District 2. \u201cAfter the East Village Explosion occurred on 2nd Avenue several weeks ago, many of the small businesses have been struggling to keep their doors open. Follow Me Friday provides us with an opportunity to visit our small businesses while encouraging New Yorkers to visit and support these establishments as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am proud to be a part of this month\u2019s spotlight on local businesses along 2nd Avenue, especially following the tragic East Village Explosion, and I am honored to support neighborhood businesses that define the nature of our community,\u201d said Assembly Member Deborah J. Glick<\/p>\n
“I applaud Speaker Mark-Viverito and Council Member Mendez for their leadership in bringing attention to the small businesses affected by the East Village gas explosion. I’m particularly grateful to the Speaker for drawing on her experiences from the East Harlem incident and utilizing the resources of the City Council to help our neighborhood recover,\u201d said Senator Brad Hoylman.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a disaster, government\u2019s most important job is to help the community \u2013 and no one has worked harder in the aftermath of the East Village explosion than my colleague Councilwoman Rosie Mendez,\u201d said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. \u201cAs those joining Councilwoman Mendez and Speaker Mark-Viverito for their \u2018Follow-Me Friday\u2019 tour will see, this vital neighborhood is recovering and will grow stronger than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the disaster happened, we worked really hard to get up and running again. We\u2019re still receiving calls from people who are surprised that we are open; a lot of them thought we were closed for good. This event will help show everyone that this part of the East Village is up and running again. We really the City Council\u2019s support and we just want to show the city that we\u2019re back,\u201d said Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy\u2019s No. 43<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applaud the Speaker and Council Member Mendez for drawing attention to the small businesses impacted by the tragic accident,\u201d said Nancy Ploeger, President, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see support for our small business owners and their employees!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity Board 3 is proud to join the Speaker and Councilwoman Rosie Mendez on Follow Friday. This is a wonderful effort to draw business to our small neighborhood businesses still struggling to overcome the destruction caused by the Second Avenue fire,\u201d said Gigi Li, Chair of Community Board 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe welcome the focus that Speaker Mark-Viverito and Councilmember Mendez are bringing to our small businesses via Follow Me Friday,\u201d said William Kelley, Executive Director of the Village Alliance BID. \u201cAlthough the area has been stabilized, we are still feeling the economic impact of the tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Now is the perfect time to visit the East Village, to support the places that were difficult to access and to find new favorites among a widely diverse retail and food landscapes,\u201d said Sara Romanoski, Managing Director of the East Village Community Coalition. The East Village Community Coalition and East Village Independent Merchants Association are pleased to join Follow Me Friday and grateful for the leadership Speaker Mark-Viverito and Councilmember Mendez have shown in helping to revitalize Second Avenue and nearby streets.”<\/p>\n
“We are happy to join Speaker Mark-Viverito and Council Member Mendez in supporting the community of small merchants that call the East Village home,” said Tim Laughlin, Executive Director of the Lower East Side Business Improvement District. “Our collective efforts to bolster the recovering local economy are critical in sharing the message the East Village is open for business!”<\/p>\n
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Event will highlight local businesses recovering after East Village Explosion<\/p>\n
New York, NY – Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Member Rosie Mendez today announced the Council will host a \u201cFollow Me Friday\u201d tour of Manhattan\u2019s East Village with local business owners, community members, and elected officials on Friday, May 29th. The Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl will help highlight and promote East Village small businesses recovering from the aftermath of the March 26th building explosion and will begin with a moment of silence at the site of the explosion on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street.<\/p>\n
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