By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
GREENWICH VILLAGE — Tech juggernaut Google, which occupies nearly 50,000 square feet of office space on a block of Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, offered technology tips Wednesday to neighborhood businesses suffering after the shutdown of St. Vincent's Hospital.
Google representatives spoke to Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce members about using Google tools to optimize their exposure online.
For businesses in the blocks immediately surrounding St. Vincent's, where profits in many cases are still down by 40 to 50 percent, Google community affairs manager Alex Abelin said increasing online presence, especially when its free, is a great first step to recovery.
One of the innovations that the Google reps pushed was "Google Places." Google encouraged local business to register for a Google place page, which would help their placement on Google Maps.
Among the Chelsea businesses that have already claimed a Google place page, Google engineering manager Patrick Leung cited the Standard and Gansevoort hotels, the Christian Louboutin boutique, and notorious, shuttered hotspot M2 Ultra Lounge. Just one third of the small business owners in attendance Tuesday raised their hand to indicate they were familiar with Place Pages.
One Google-savvy business owner in attendance, Richard Geist of Uncle Sam's Army Navy Outfitters, said his West 8th Street block, traditionally known for shoe shopping, has been "decimated" by the recession.
"Most of our neighbors are still struggling," Geist said, noting that foot traffic on the block is down 22 percent. Uncle Sam's has nonetheless managed to increase its business by driving web customers into the store.
But growing online sales is only part of the solution for Chelsea and Village small business owners, Danziger said. Getting neighborhood residents to support stores on their block is also critical.
"Not enough people realize when you buy online, not a single dollar goes back to your neighborhood," she said. Money spent at nearby stores, by contrast, brings 68 cents of each dollar back through city taxes, payroll and other expenses.
For Google, which joined GVCCC in August and employees nearly 2,000 people from the New York area at its Chelsea office (opened in 2005), the event was one piece of a broader push toward stronger community relations.
"We want to be the best local neighbor we can, and maybe traditionally we weren't as thoughtful of a neighbor as we'd like to be," Abelin said. "In 2011 we should be a big player."
