For Business Owners in New York, Solidarity is an Act of Patriotism
On June 27th, 2017, Brooklyn, New York—The “Hate Has No Business Here” campaign rolled out in 21 business improvement districts across the city. With this simple message, the campaign aims to inspire a conversation to combat narratives that purport racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and misogyny, especially as they impact our city’s small business community.
The idea for a cohesive campaign originated with Amanda Neville, a wine shop owner in the Myrtle Avenue BID in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. “One of the business owners in our community was targeted with hateful comments via social media immediately after the election,” explains Neville. “Our city’s small business community is incredibly diverse. We are not only embracing that diversity through this campaign, we are rejecting rhetoric that challenges how valuable it is,” says Meredith Phillips Almeida, Executive Director, Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership.
The campaign logo features an American flag with a heart replacing the stars, designed to express the idea that love, kindness and acceptance are patriotic.
“The NoHo BID is proud to support this effort. We think this campaign is important to show both the business and residential community that our district will be a safe place for all New Yorkers.” says Cordelia Persen, Executive Director, NoHo Business Improvement District.
The NoHo Business Improvement District (BID) is a non-profit organization of property owners, businesses, residents, and government officials working to improve NoHo’s quality of life and promote its economic and cultural vitality.
Since our founding in 1996, the NoHo BID has played a key role in maintaining a clean, safe and inviting environment. With significant investments in supplemental sanitation, graffiti removal, public safety, landscaping, marketing and advocacy, we continually strive to enhance NoHo’s position as New York City’s unique downtown destination.
To date, 21 BIDs, representing thousands of business owners across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens will display posters, flyers and postcards in their districts — including translations of the message into 9 languages (Arabic, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Urdu). The campaign was designed pro bono by Three Furies, a consultancy located in the Lower East Side BID, and Starting Now, a design shop located near the Jackson Heights BID.
The group is also providing free digital logos and flyers to others who want to join their movement. For the free downloads and a full list of participating BIDs, go to www.hatehasnobusinesshere.com.
The campaign has gotten a lot of response so far. Here is one article from Time Out New York
