Brooklyn Borough President

BOROUGH PRESIDENT HOSTS BROOKLYN TOURISM INITIATIVE

Photograph by Kathryn Kirk
Shown, from left to right: Brooklyn Brewery CEO Steve Hindy and Borough President Marty Markowitz unveil renderings of the new Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center, scheduled to open February 12th.

Brooklyn organizations gather to coordinate efforts to make Brooklyn the destination for tourists from home and abroad

On January 21st, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Brooklyn Brewery CEO Steve Hindy, chairman of the steering committee for the Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center, hosted a meeting of Brooklyn’s burgeoning tourism industry at Brooklyn's Marriott Hotel. More than 90 businesses, recreational attractions and cultural institutions from across Brooklyn were represented.

Borough President Markowitz announced that the Tourism and Visitors Center will open in Brooklyn Borough Hall on February 12th at noon, and he unveiled images and renderings of the Center to the audience. Also viewed was a Brooklyn promotional video produced by the Marriott Hotel. NYC & Co., the city's tourism bureau, also made a presentation, about the benefits of their services to Brooklyn. Attendees then engaged in working sessions about how to best promote Brooklyn's attractions to Brooklynites and to tourists around the world.

"We all know how important attracting more tourists is to the economic future of Brooklyn," Markowitz said. "Brooklyn's retail stores, businesses and attractions want those tourist dollars in our pockets. We need to let everybody know that you can see the entire world and stay in Brooklyn: in 30 minutes, you can get from Poland to Italy, from China to the Caribbean, from Puerto Rico to Pakistan. We're selling Brooklyn to Brooklyn, and Brooklyn to the world."

Markowitz also applauded the fact that for the first time in the city's history, NYC & Co. will hold its annual meeting in Brooklyn, on February 12th, the same date of the official opening of the Tourism and Visitors Center. The Center is funded by the Borough President's office, NYC & Co. and grants raised through Best of Brooklyn, a non-profit organization. A team of 30 trained volunteers and two staff members will work at the Center, and Best of Brooklyn will operate its store, which will feature Brooklyn-related merchandise.