Q&A
Gotham Park's plans for supporting small businesses through incubation kiosks
2:14:26
·
131 sec
Council Member Rivera inquires about Gotham Park's role in supporting small businesses. Rosa Chang, co-founder of Gotham Park, details plans for a small business incubation kiosk program in partnership with Welcome to Chinatown.
- The program aims to create a 'bread crumb trail' of kiosks leading to Chinatown and South Street Seaport
- It will source businesses from local communities, including public housing residents
- The initiative seeks to increase foot traffic and support business growth from kiosks to storefronts
Carlina Rivera
2:14:26
I I did wanna also ask about about Gotham Park and how do you see this new space supporting small businesses.
Rosa Chang
2:14:38
I'm so happy you asked that.
2:14:40
We actually want to partner with Welcome to Chinatown and build a small business incubation kiosk program.
2:14:47
Where we actually have smaller kiosks really sourcing from our community, actually.
2:14:55
So Alfred D.
2:14:57
Smith Houses is actually an externebre, and Ayesattore, who's who's a tenant association president there.
2:15:03
Has told me how people in her buildings are working to start businesses, but it's hard to actually, like, figure out how that all works and also to be able to access the foot traffic that would help these small businesses.
2:15:15
So so we thought if you start and small.
2:15:17
And we were able to create sort of a bread crumb trail that leads into our communities that have really suffered from having a lack of foot traffic like Chinatown or the South Street Seaport Imagine a trail of little kiosks that dot your way into Chinatown, which is only 5 minute walk away from the Brooklyn Bridge, and it's 10,000,000 pedestrian crossings, or along Frankfort Street, all the way to the historic Sesame Seaport.
2:15:42
And I personally believed that we fall in love with our tummies more than with our brains.
2:15:48
And so if you see something that looks really yummy along the path, and then you wanna bring the you know, drink a little coffee, and then you really want a chachiki because apparently all the tourists in New York City do then you're just automatically gonna follow these kiosks right into Chinatown and the South Street Seaport, and you are gonna be supporting these small local businesses that are started right in our own communities.
2:16:11
And then, welcome to Chinatown.
2:16:13
We'll help them.
2:16:14
Figure out how to actually grow into a real storefront and have a bigger presence and help them with paperwork and all of this.
2:16:21
It's it's we want to really draw from our community to help our community thrive in many, many ways and that includes the whole neighborhood but also individuals and families and create jobs.
Carlina Rivera
2:16:34
Thank you.
2:16:34
Thank you so all three of you.
2:16:36
Very, very much.
Rosa Chang
2:16:37
Sure.
2:16:37
Thank you.
