Rockaway Beach, NY – Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Beach) presented owners Jianna and Jason Heuer of Avoid the Day Bookstore with her April 2021 Small Business of the Month citation on Independent Bookstore Day, Saturday April 24th. The award ceremony took place as a surprise addition to Avoid The Day’s Independent Bookstore Day programming, which included book readings from local authors throughout the day. The Assemblywoman read a chapter from Rockaway resident Dan Brown’s book, “The Sometimes Why: Short Stories, Monologues, and Words to That Effect,” along with four other local readers.

“Avoid the Day Bookstore exemplifies what a true community partner and civic minded small business can mean to a community,” Pheffer Amato said. “Through their hard work and dedication to their business - they have firmly ensconced themselves as an important part of the community and are an invaluable addition to the culture and arts space in Rockaway. I was proud to present them with the April 2021 Small Business of the Month award and look forward to their continued success!”

“We want to thank Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato for presenting us with the April 2021 Small Business of the Month Award,” Jianna and Jason Heuer, owners of Avoid the Day Bookstore said. “We are so happy to still be here after this pandemic - it had been our dream to open up a bookstore in Rockaway Beach, and we’re only getting started!”

Jianna and Jason Heuer opened the Avoid the Day Bookstore in February 2020, 7 weeks before the start of NY PAUSE. They are the 17^th business to receive the Small Business of the Month award since its launch in 2018.