CB 11 votes for Bayside BID

Bring on the BID.
Community Board 11 voted on Monday, March 5 unanimously in favor of the first Business Improvement District (BID) in northeast Queens. Although there are already 11 BIDs in the borough, the closest one is in downtown Flushing.
The next step in the process to create a Bayside BID is a vote by the City Council, which could take as long as six months.
Many business owners and residents believed that Bayside already had a business improvement district, said Dominick Bruccoleri, vice president of the Bayside Business Association (BBA), as he presented information to Community Board 11 about the BID. However, the BBA has performed most of the jobs over the years that will now be taken on by the new BID, he said, and by forming the BID, the BBA will have more time to focus on other areas of Bayside besides Bell Boulevard.
A Board of Directors, including community leaders, representatives for local politicians, and a majority of seven property owners, will direct the BID. Any changes to the budget or boundaries of the BID must go before the City Council.
The BID, which will stretch along Bell Boulevard from 35th Avenue to Northern Boulevard and include businesses on 41st Avenue between 214th Place and 213th Street, will provide marketing and cleanup for the 119 stores included in the area.
“Part of this BID is to look into these particular problems,” Bruccoleri said.
With a budget of $81,000, the BID will pay an administrator to handle daily business, perform graffiti and street cleaning, buy holiday lights, and advertise local businesses. Nearly half of the budget will cover administration, and most of this will go towards the salary of a full-time administrator - a job that Bruccoleri compared to a Community Board district manager.
Organizers opted to establish a small budgetary figure for the BID by charging businesses about $15 per linear foot of storefront, instead of setting a fee based on the square footage of any given store.
“That’s why we fixed the budget low, to not burden owners,” Bruccoleri said.
As a standard city practice, residents are assessed a charge of $1 per year, but the BBA will pick up the tabs for all residents who live within the BID’s boundaries.
Although required by the City to obtain approval from 51 percent of businesses included, BID organizers found 63 percent in agreement.
“A few owners voiced opposition,” Bruccoleri said.
Bruccoleri explained that the organizers were often asked why they did not make the BID’s area larger and include businesses on Bell Boulevard north of 35th Avenue, like Tequila Sunrise. However, other commercial strips in Bayside are free to form their own BIDs in the future.