Brooklyn's Progress
August/September 2007

BY ATIM ANNETTE OTON

I am always looking to change the world – typically, I usually start with my business. This time, I looked to change the block my business, Calabar Imports, is located on Washington Avenue. It had been a year I was waiting for the re-formation of a merchant’s association, and I guess one day, my patience ran out.

My business front has always had a planter in front of it since it opened. So one morning in late March as I went out to buy plants for my home, I came up with an idea. I bought four more planters, soil and some flowers and drove back to Washington Avenue – thus begun the “Yellow Flower” movement. It is a simple idea – I began to put the plants and placed them in front of four business on my block.

The next thing I knew, two other business owners asked “What about us?” I let them know that I could do the same if they provide $25 for the planter, plants and soil. By the next two weeks, I had a planter in front of all but two of the storefronts on my block and went on to do the same for seven other businesses on the next couple of blocks.

I can’t tell you how many times some of us had discussed plants and greening the Avenue, but one simple act of spending about $100 began a small Brooklyn movement. To this day, I am still getting requests from some other blocks. Even better, residents and the businesses in the neighborhood have begun to own the plants. This simple idea has brightened up my business block, and is giving me new ideas

The next move? I am looking for benches for the block, just eight or so that I can stop having to replace a chair outside for some of the elderly residents and my customers, one that usually gets taken. But rather than getting just one bench, I would like to begin the Washington Avenue bench movement.

Would you be interested in taking part? For more information, send an e-mail to info@calabar-imports.com.

Atim Annette Oton is a partner/co-owner of CALABAR IMPORTS, a distinctive Brooklyn import retail store for African, Asian and South American decor, table-top accessories, fashion, jewelry and furnishings, as well as a bi-monthly lifestyle publication about Brooklyn home décor, fashion, culture, and lifestyle called CALABAR Magazine.