Shop Downtown This HOliday Season!

Vision Long Island has compiled a list of "alternative" shopping choices that will help support local downtowns. As it becomes holiday shopping crunch time, do yourself and your community a favor and stay away from mall and big box store parking lots. Support your local community this holiday season.

The New York Times recently ran an Op-Ed that highlighted the benefits of downtowns, as opposed to big box developments such as the Arches at Tanger. The writer, who owns a small shop in downtown Darien, CT, notes,

"Instead of writing about discount outlet malls, tell your readers about the importance of supporting their local merchants who know them by name and who provide customer service not to be found in large department stores or discount outlets. Perhaps the best value is saving gas and time by staying in your hometown and getting to know your neighbors and friends, who own local businesses. They support your local fundraisers, appear on town boards and donate endless volunteer hours and money to enhance the local community.

If our customers abandon us to save a few dollars, what they will lose when this economic blip is over will be much greater. Will the discount outlets open on Main Street? No. Will they run an ad in your kid's football program or let the Girl Scouts sell cookies on a Saturday morning outside their storefront? No. Will they come to a Chamber of Commerce meeting to talk about making the town beautiful with holiday lights or flower baskets in the spring? No."

SMART GROWTH NEWS

Newsletter Editor: Michelle Dutchen, Communications Director
Contributors: Eric Alexander, Executive Director; Tara Klein, Planning Coordinator;
Tawaun Whitty, Director of Special Projects; Juliana Roberts Dubovsky, Planning Consultant

We strive to provide continued quality publications such as this each week. If you are interested in becoming a newsletter or news blast sponsor, please call the office at 631-261-0242 for rates and opportunities. If you have any news or events that you would like to add to our newsletter, submit them to info@visionlongisland.org for consideration.

For more information about Vision Long Island, visit http://www.visionlongisland.org or contact us at:
24 Woodbine Ave. Suite One Northport, NY 11768. Phone: (631) 261-0242. Fax: (631) 754-4452.
Email: info@visionlongisland.org