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The Upper West Side’s northern stretch of Broadway, the site of many commercial vacancies, might be getting some much needed love.
Community Board 7 members voted this week to support the “exploration into the creation” of a fourth business improvement district (BID) on the Upper West Side, one that would address the area along Broadway from about West 85th or 86th Street to West 103rd Street.
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“It’s almost surprising that it doesn’t exist yet,” another board member added.
Three BIDs currently exist within the boundaries of Community Board 7: the Columbus Avenue BID, which covers the area along Columbus from West 67th Street to West 82nd; the Columbus-Amsterdam BID, which covers the area that includes Columbus and Amsterdam avenues between about West 96th and West 110th streets; and the Lincoln Square BID, which is focused on the zone from Columbus Circle up to about West 70th and Broadway.
Board members cited the positive impact of local BIDs, particularly the Columbus Avenue BID which was created in 1999, as a factor fueling the idea for a Broadway specific BID..
The path to a Broadway BID is not without challenges. NYC.gov says NYC BIDs are 80% funded by assessment fees paid by business owners, landlords and property owners, so the process to create the bid won’t be without local pushback.
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According to the board, the process to create the Columbus Avenue BID was slower and more challenging than Lincoln Square. The Columbus Ave BID has a budget of $450,000, while the budget for the Lincoln Square BID, which covers commercial giants like Lincoln Center and the Shops at Columbus Circle – is $2.85M.
The process of creating a BID in NYC is also lengthy – the NYC Department of Small Business Services lays out a 60-page guide for what it calls a “multi-year process to form a new BID.”
So while the board voted to move forward in an exploratory phase, the reality of an upper Broadway BID is likely years away.
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BID’s could be positive influences but they quickly turn into power-mongers that vie for more funding and more power to endorse ridiculous programs by DOT Open Streets program which do nothing but close streets and impair business and traffic for deliveries in favor of social service programs to play ping-pong and hop-scotch in the middle of deserted public spaces.
Their boards are misdirected in highly influenced by personal gain of the members.
I agree.
Money should be used for affordable housing.
CB7 has no real power and Gale Brewer is useless. The only way businesses will open and have customers actively patronizing is by removing the mentally unstable and criminal element that is an every day occurrence on the UWS. More cops more jail time. Don’t want to go to jail – here’s an option – clean the streets and the sidewalks instead of jail. Seems straightforward to me.
Well said. Businesses will open when they know they won’t be at risk of daily shoplifting with zero consequence. Actions must have consequences or nothing will change and urban blight will continue.
Can something be done regarding the trash that regularly piles up on those medians? It’s great that neighbors use it as a space to congregate, but they often leave cans, broken glass, food wrappers, empty bags, and lots of cigarette butts all over the space. I see a sign that it’s maintained by Broadway Malls. How can we get them to clean more regularly? Hope the BID idea works. It’s sad that so many storefronts stay empty. Thanks!