Extra Cleanup For Elmhurst/Jackson Heights Biz Strip
As part of the seven-point plan in the New Deal for Roosevelt Avenue, City Council Member Julissa Ferreras announced that supplemental sanitation and graffiti removal services have come to Roosevelt Avenue and Junction Boulevard through a program called “Taste of the BID.”
Expected to run through the end of 2013, the program will give businesses, property owners and residents a taste of what a business improvement district can do to improve the neighborhood’s quality of life by making its streets and sidewalks cleaner and safer.
Ferreras was joined at the announcement last Monday, May 13, by Deputy Commissioner Elizabeth De Leon of the Department of Small Business Services, community leaders and property owners.
“By bringing new sanitation crews to our heavily-trafficked business corridors like Roosevelt Avenue and Junction Boulevard, we are not only increasing safety and cleanliness, but we are also helping to drive new customers to our local businesses,”
Ferreras said. “A clean community is the pride of all, and today I am proud to see the next phase of developing a better business environment unfold. I am so grateful to have this wonderful partnership with SBS, the 82nd Street Partnership, our local property owners and Father George Anastasiou of the Transfiguration Church for graciously allowing the sanitation crew to store their equipment within his facilities. Together, we will continue to make our community cleaner and safer one block at a time.”
“New sanitation crews have already begun to make a difference along Roosevelt Avenue through cleaner and brighter streets, and by providing this neighborhood with a taste of what a BID can offer, this commercial corridor will only continue to get stronger,” added Rob Walsh, commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services .
Presently, the 82nd Street Partnership is undertaking a business improvement district expansion effort to include this service area in its new boundaries. While these efforts are underway, the “Taste of the BID” will give property owners, businesses, residents, and other stakeholders an immediate sense of the services/programs that BID can provide once formed.
Cleaning ambassadors will be in the district each day of the week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will be easily recognizable in the yellow and grey uniform.
The current boundaries of their services cover Roosevelt Avenue from 82nd Street to 114th Street and the dense commercial stretches of Junction Boulevard and 103rd Street that stem off of Roosevelt Avenue.
To report graffiti or any unsightly condition, contact the 82nd Street Partnership at info@82ndstreet.org or call 1-718-335-9421.
