BP MARKOWITZ SENDS STEVE JOBS EMAIL ON HIS NEW IPAD:
"LET'S MEET AND GET AN APPLE STORE TO THE CREATIVE CAPITAL OF AMERICA, BROOKLYN, USA!"
Yesterday, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz got a new iPad, and invited Apple Inc. co-founder and chief executive officer Steve Jobs to meet and discuss the opening of an Apple retail store in Brooklyn (full text of email below). Apple, which launched its highly-anticipated iPad this week, has five retail stores in New York City--four in Manhattan and one in Staten Island--as well as three locations on Long Island.
"I like to call Brooklyn the 'Creative Capital of New York City,' and we have Mac-lovers everywhere--from Williamsburg's indie musicians and the poets of Fort Greene to the artists and tech startups of DUMBO and the more than 30,000 visitors who attend our internationally renowned Brooklyn Book Festival," said BP Markowitz. "If there's one thing we know, it's that where trendsetting artists live and thrive, economies improve. Brooklyn's got the creative energy and activity every city competes for--and we need tech retailers like Apple to meet that market demand."
Brooklyn, and particularly DUMBO, is playing a major role in the growth of the tech economy in New York City, which saw 116 startups receive funding in 2008 and 150 in 2009--five times the amount the city experienced in 1995. BP Markowitz also points to the successes of national retailers and other outlets that have set up shop and created jobs in Brooklyn, such as IKEA, Target, Morton's the Steakhouse and Trader Joe's. New York City's only IKEA, which opened last June in Red Hook, has some of the top sales not only in the region but in the nation, and Trader Joe's in Cobble Hill is one of that company's top performers as well.
Despite the difficult economy, national retailers continue to expand in Brooklyn and throughout all five boroughs. According to a Center for an Urban Future study released last summer, the Flatlands (11234) and Brooklyn Heights/Downtown Brooklyn (11201) neighborhoods were among the top ten ZIP codes in New York City for number of national outlets--a combined 256 stores representing the nation's largest retailers.
"For Brooklynites, quality of life depends on retaining economic diversity and helping businesses large and small to grow and thrive," added BP Markowitz. "When I took office I pledged to help our 'mom and pops' survive and prosper, while also attracting the kind of national retailers--such as Apple--that other cities take for granted."
Borough President Markowitz emailed the following to Apple CEO Steve Jobs:
Dear Mr. Jobs:
As you surely know, in the creative world, there's no place hotter than Brooklyn, USA. Just like "Apple," Brooklyn is now an international "brand," signifying the coolest place on earth to live, work, play and create.
I know you're always dreaming up the next big thing--here's a suggestion: Hit the big time and bring an Apple store to Brooklyn!
As we speak, Manhattan's got four Apple stores, and our "suburb" of Staten Island's even got one. It's time to bring the goods to the real market--the Mac-loving designers, writers, artists, bloggers, musicians, creative innovators and tech entrepreneurs in Brooklyn neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, DUMBO, Red Hook and beyond.
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest business hub in New York City--with more college students than Cambridge, Massachusetts. And these days, tourists visiting NYC are staying in Brooklyn hotels, dining at our renowned Brooklyn restaurants, hitting our clubs and cultural hot spots (and hey, if they want to take a day trip to Manhattan, that's okay!).
One more thing...
As Brooklyn borough president, I invite you to come to Brooklyn for a meeting, tour our borough and explore possible sites. I will even visit you in Cupertino--one hour is all I ask--and make the pitch of a lifetime for the biggest retail launch of the decade.
Let's make "Apple Brooklyn" the ultimate prototype store--one that changes the game yet again, with a retail experience that offers superior educational outreach and catalyzes entrepreneurial partnerships--a kind of "e-town square."
This is my official invitation: Let's make it happen! An Apple Store Grows in Brooklyn!
Sincerely,
Marty Markowitz
Sent from my iPad
Cc: Ron Johnson, Senior Vice President of Retail, Apple, Inc.
To watch video of BP Markowitz emailing Steve Jobs, photos and more information, visit http://brooklynboroughpresidentsoffice.presslift.com/apple
