20 Years of Launching Businesses in Brooklyn, Including Greenlight Bookstore, Island Pops, Brooklyn Tea and Bogota Latin Bistro
Brooklyn, NY—Brooklyn Public Library’s 20th annual PowerUP! business plan competition has awarded the 2023 top prize of $20,000 to Noel Gaskin, Jovon Browne, and Cheryl Culpepper for Hemp Thyself, a licensed CBD health and skin company. Dime Community Bank presented the award in a ceremony at Central Library. (A complete list of winners, including the audience favorite, can be found here.)
Hemp Thyself joins a long list of beloved Brooklyn businesses which got their start with PowerUP! including the first ever winners, George Constantinou and Farid Ali, who launched Bogota Latin Bistro, after winning the first contest in 2003. Twenty years later, the restaurant is a Park Slope favorite and Ali and Constantinou have opened three additional restaurants.
“Winning the PowerUP! contest back in 2003 was very instrumental in validating our business idea and the main catalyst that pushed us forward in opening up Bogota Latin Bistro 19 years ago,” said George Constantinou, co-owner. “Since then, we have opened up three more restaurants between Park Slope, Brooklyn and South Orange, New Jersey. Currently we have 155+ employees and are in construction to open up two more businesses (one in Park Slope and one in South Orange) in 2024. Thank you to the PowerUP! team for creating this contest and for your constant support throughout the years.”
Just a few years later, Jessica Stockton Bagnulo opened Greenlight Bookstore. A beloved shop in the Fort Greene neighborhood, it was named one of the top book shops in the country by Book Riot. Another 2008 winner, Elisa Olin, has operated Green in Brooklyn on Myrtle Avenue, selling eco-friendly products since 2008.
PowerUP! first began in 2003, to provide businesses a helping hand after 9/11. Since then, the PowerUP! contest has provided over $600,000 to over 200 entrepreneurs across the borough. Two of the winners have created multi-million dollars businesses and many of Brooklyn’s most successful and beloved shops and businesses launched with help from PowerUP!
Soon after winning the contest in 2015 Khalid Hamid and Shelly Marshall, opened an ice cream shop featuring the flavors of Trinidad and the Caribbean. They ship their delicious treats nationwide, but New Yorkers can visit their shop in Crown Heights. Their popular favors have even caught the attention of the New York Times and the Today show.
Brooklyn Tea, a 2018 winner, has two shops in Brooklyn and one in Atlanta. Beyonce included their teas in a directory of Black-owned businesses.
“For 20 years, Brooklyn Public Library’s PowerUP! contest has served as the foundation for Brooklyn’s innovators and entrepreneurs. From Brighton Beach to Bed-Stuy, you can see the positive economic impact of PowerUP! businesses in every neighborhood in the borough,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO, Brooklyn Public Library. “We extend our gratitude to Dime Community Bank for their support and a hearty congratulations to the 2023 winners.”
BPL’s PowerUP! Business Plan Competition is generously supported by lead sponsor Dime Community Bank, with additional support provided by Data Axle Reference Solutions, and Ridgewood Savings Bank.
A select list of shops, restaurants and businesses owned and operated by PowerUP winners and perfect for holiday gifts is below.
Storefront
Bogota Latin Bistro
141 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Greenlight Bookstore
686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn 11217
Island Pops
680 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11216
Green in BKLYN
432 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Argyle Yarn Shop
288 Prospect West, Brooklyn NY 11215
TerraArt
Union Square Holiday Market, New York 10003
Shipwrecked
621 Court Street, Brooklyn NY 11213
Brooklyn Tea
411 Lewis Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11233
Hudson Yards Holiday Market through 1/1/2024
The World is Change (book shop)
368 Tompkins Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11216
Archestratus Books and Foods
164 Huron Street, Brooklyn 11222
Online
Masala Mama Foods
Indian-inspired sauces and legumes
https://masalamamafoods.com/
Jess Pudd’n
Pudding-based desserts
https://www.jesspuddin.com/menu/
DMC Original Art
Art and home décor
https://www.dmcoriginalart.com/
B4 Your Skin
Vegan skin care https://b4urskn.com/pages/our-story
When She Comes Home
Self-care packages for pre-natal and post-partum women
https://www.whenshecomeshome.com/
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. As a leader in developing modern 21st century libraries, we provide resources to support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.6 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators—from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.