Fort Greene: Moving Towards a Bookstore

I heard about the potential plans to open a bookstore in the 'hood months ago.  Now, a local advocacy group is working with BK Library Power Up winner Jennifer Stockton Bagnulo to make this happen here!

FORT GREENE INDIE BOOKSTORE INITIATIVE

Press Contact: Steve Sachs, fortgreeneshopping@gmail.com

Bookstore Entrepreneur Plans a Store in Fort Greene; Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative to host Bookstore Kickoff Event on September 16

Last year the Fort Greene Association's retail committee surveyed 380 locals about their shopping preferences. 75 percent of respondents (281) cited bookstores as a category in which they wanted more choices.

To meet this need, the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative (FGIBI) embarked on a campaign to find an independent bookstore. After months of talking with Brooklyn-based bookstores, the group met Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, a Brooklyn entrepreneur who won the 2007 Brooklyn Public Library PowerUp! Competition for her business plan to open a bookstore in Fort Greene.

To raise community awareness and rally support for Jessica's independent bookstore, FGIBI is hosting an event in Fort Greene at the Cumberland Greene (237 Cumberland Ave) on September 16, 2008 from 7pm to 9pm. The event will feature local Brooklyn authors. Complimentary beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres from local businesses will also be served. RSVP required; email rsvp_fortgreeneindie@hotmail.com to be added to the guest list.

About the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative

The Fort Green Indie Bookstore Initiative (FGIBI) is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that seeks to attract small business owners to Fort Greene to open a bookstore and other stores in response to the community's needs. The group also encourages current retailers to open new businesses locally and seeks to help local residents open their own businesses.

To contact the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative, e-mail fortgreeneshopping@gmail.com.

About Jessica Stockton Bagnulo

Jessica has worked in New York City independent bookstores for the past eight years, and is currently the events and publicity coordinator at McNally Jackson Books in Manhattan. She is active in numerous book industry organizations and is often called upon to speak and write about independent bookselling. Her business plan for an independent bookstore in Brooklyn won the grand prize in the 2007 Brooklyn Public Library PowerUp! business plan competition in January 2008. She lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and blogs at www.abookstoreinbrooklyn.blogspot.com.

To contact Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, e-mail booknerdnyc@earthlink.net.