The following is a guest editorial from the New York Press Association:

Spend $25 on September 25th — And Help Preserve Our Downtown

What would Garden City be without its downtown? That would have been a theoretical question just a few years ago. But today, it’s real enough to seriously ponder. Times are tough everywhere, but they are especially hard on small, family-owned businesses, like those lining Seventh Street. High taxes and decreasing retail traffic are shuttering stores all across New York State. No downtown is immune. Including ours.

The New York Press Association, the New York Conference of Mayors, and the New York Economic Development Council, among others, are collaborating to do something about it this September 25th. The organizations have created a statewide citizen initiative called “Spend $25 on the 25th” to put a few extra dollars into the cash registers of Main Street merchants across New York - and to remind all citizens how much charm, character, value, sales tax revenue, and community support these shops provide to our communities.

It’s simple concept: If you want to pitch in, you are asked to spend $25 at a local store on September 25th.

The “$25 on the 25th” campaign will not solve all of New York’s problems. That’s going to take a far bigger plan. But it may help keep some Main Street doors open just a little longer, until the economy gets stronger and they can get back on their feet. And it will serve to remind us how precious our downtown is. Without it, Garden City would not be Garden City

Meg Morgan Norris

Publisher