I recently bought flowers for a friend to celebrate a birthday. As I scanned the listings for a florist I could only locate one in the immediate downtown area. I thought about the days when there were over a dozen.
As I’ve lived in different parts of the city I consciously tried to shop in close proximity to where a lived. This was before the much maligned Stimulus Package. In thinking of those days and how we’re all linked economically I decided to craft a local stimulus plan. Local to your neighborhood, your business district, perhaps on your city street.
Now there’s only one florist downtown and within our community neighborhood centers there are a lot of businesses that are barely making it. Your local dry cleaner, convenience store, bookstore and more are at the base level of our local economy.
We can’t wait for a large company to swoop in and create entry level jobs for our youth and those without skills re-entering the workforce.
Where there’s a local neighborhood diner, stop in and buy something once in a while. Have some coffee or breakfast. If there’s a service you can purchase locally, do so. And not just dry cleaning.
The Eastwood neighborhood center has a variety of goods and services, same goes for Westcott Street, Tipp Hill, South Avenue, Geddes Street and other business corridors in Syracuse.
There are restaurants and insurance agents, gas stations and, especially in the Westcott Nation, several restaurants that employ dozens of neighborhood residents. This is true for Tipp Hill with Rosie’s, Coleman’s, Original Italian Pizza, The Brooklyn Pickle, and the recently renovated Cole/Mavis auto repair shop, along with others. There’s economic energy all over our city, you just have to find it.
Take a look at Armory Square, Little Italy, and don’t forget the Syracuse University area. My point is simple. We need to support our local area businesses.
If you’re downtown, don’t call 1-800-FLOWERS, it adds pennies to a local merchants cash register. Venture out of your office or get on the phone — there’s a florist that can provide service right around the corner. By purchasing locally the money stays here in Syracuse longer, giving others a chance to break off a little piece of profit before it goes out of state or out of the country.
Instead of waiting for our President, Governor, County Executive or Mayor to create economic development scenarios for investors, we the citizens need to get off our collective butts and support our local merchants. I don’t care if it’s flowers, coffee, clothing, lunch or medicine. Stop. The store you save may be your own.
Ken Jackson is the editor of Urban CNY and a columnist for The Eagle. Reach him at [email protected].
