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Marty Markowitz Uses iPad To Beg For Brooklyn Apple Store
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 8, 2010
Modified Apr 8, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 8, 2010
Modified Apr 8, 2010
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We all know that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz loves drumming up business for his borough. But now, armed with a new iPad, he's asking Apple innovator Steve Jobs to bring an Apple Store to Brooklyn, explaining, “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. 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.”
Here's Markowitz e-mail:
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.
Markowitz also says, "For Brooklynites, quality of life depends on retaining economic diversity and helping businesses large and small to grow and thrive. 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."
Tagged
apple
apple store
brooklyn
ipad
marty markowitz
technology
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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