Government is OFTEN Good
In an ironic twist. The day after I wrote my post about my excitement for Kalanick / Yassky talk at NExT about innovation and regulation I had a government whammy hit Northside. Over the 8 days of the event this year we'll have more than 80,000 people coming to different aspects of the festival as we celebrate the innovation and creative communities of Brooklyn, with the majority coming over the June 15 + 16 weekend.
When I suddenly received a spate of emails last week from local civic and elected leaders I was worried... The MTA decided, without consulting community boards, local leaders, or ANYONE, that June 15 + 16 was a great time to close service to Brooklyn for service updates to the L train.
My apologies to neighbors who might have heard a barbarically yawping "wtf" ring through Wellesley.
Within an hour of this announcement local businesses who rely on the increase in local business during Northside (and on another weekend they had announced), civic groups, and a remarkable team of local elected officials led by Daniel Squadron, Joe Lentol, Stephen Levin, and Marty Markowitz created a coherent and unified approach to the MTA. They drafted a letter, advised patience to those of us impacted by this, and assuaged us with remarkable communication.
... then something amazing happened. In less than 48 hours they fixed the problem. The dates were changed. If you'll excuse a slight reach... guided by great elected officials, the regulation (MTA changes to the L train schedule) that threatened to strangle valuable innovation (the emergence of Northside Festival as a major event and boost to the local economy) was changed to everyone's benefit.
So now a final point. There is a mayoral election coming up in NYC. Learn about the candidates and VOTE in the primary. That is where this election is almost entirely decided and the next Mayor will impact everyone in NYC... particularly anyone interested in entrepreneurship.
Just to reiterate a huge thanks to State Senator Daniel Squadron, NY Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, Council Member Stephen Levin, Borough Prez Marty Markowitz, and everyone else who participated in this rapid response.