On Monday, February 23, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Deputy Mayor Robert C. Lieber hosted a Brooklyn Business Leaders Roundtable at Borough Hall, during which members of the Brooklyn business community discussed issues ranging from slumping revenues and skyrocketing rents to exorbitant business credit card rates and excessive ticketing and enforcement. Also joining BP Markowitz and Deputy Mayor Lieber on the panel was Robert Walsh, commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services.

Other topics included:

• Storefront vacancies
• Obstacles in the permitting process
• “Green” businesses
• Attracting supermarkets to neighborhoods in Brooklyn that need them
• Incentives to keep small businesses in New York City
• “Microbusinesses” and their fight to survive

“Let’s face it—running a small business is never a picnic,” says BP Markowitz. “But today, when the economic crisis means less money to spend and storefront vacancies are on the rise, it’s a bigger challenge than ever.” In his State of the Borough Address on February 12, BP Markowitz declared, “For my office, jobs are job one.” The Borough President’s Office will aggressively reach out to employers in an effort to located businesses and much-needed jobs in Brooklyn.

“We need to remind companies that the future of America will look more like Brooklyn,” adds BP Markowitz. “By coming to Brooklyn, they’ll be getting in on the ground floor of 21st century America.”