Dismayed by the presence of empty storefronts in the village, Mount Kisco homeowners Sarah O’Grady and Maria Colaco founded the Occupy Main Street movement early in the year.
They hoped to rally village and area residents to once again make Mount Kisco the shopping and eating center of Westchester County. O'Grady and Colaco hoped to work with local business owners to think outside the box to come up with innovative ways to bring in new businesses and reinvigorate current shops.
Borrowing the name of the popular "Occupy Wall Street" economic reform movement, the initiative focused on the economy at the local level. Occupy Main Street had its first live meeting in March, which brought in enthusiastic members of the village's business community as well as residents and town officials.
At a village board meeting in May, O'Grady, a copywriter/social media expert, and Colaco, a social media creative, arranged a July 15 family event that they dubbed Kisco Summer Sunday. However, the day of live music, food and kids' activities, which they hoped would create a buzz around the village, was rained out.
Ironically, toward the end of the year, both O’Grady and Colaco had to relocate their families and move away from Mount Kisco.
In a Sept. 25 post on the Occupy Main Street's Facebook page, O'Grady wrote that although she is proud of everything Occupy accomplished, the village still suffers from some of the same problems.
O'Grady lists the issues in her post: "Borders space is still not occupied, many retail storefronts sit vacant for 1+ years, no new community events being planned for or supported by the town or the Chamber, retailers still frustrated with an anti-business mentality from the various town boards, etc..."
The question remains as to who will take up the reins of Occupy Main Street and continue its work.
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