Enhanced Beautification Svces. Coming
The Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) will unveil tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 5, a new partnership aimed at keeping two public plazas along the Ridgewood shopping strip beautiful all year long.
Coordinated through the Ridgewood Local Development Corporation (RLDC), the Myrtle Avenue BID is teaming up with the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership (NPP) to bring enhanced maintenance and beautification services to the 71st Avenue Plaza, located at the corner of Myrtle and 71st avenues, and Venditti Square, located off the intersection of Myrtle and St. Nicholas avenues.
The NPP employs and trains former homeless persons and incarcerated individuals in an effort to rebuild their lives while also providing needed services for shopping districts across the city .
Working in conjunction with the Atlantic Maintenance Corporation-which operates supplemental sanitation services for the BID-NPP workers will provide daily street sweeping, litter removal and maintenance of trash receptacles at both plazas. Additionally, the NPP will set up and lock down street furniture at the 71st Avenue Plaza.
Moreover, the NPP will plant and nurture seasonal plants at the public plazas.
“Through the workforce programs of The Horticultural Society and the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless (ACE), we can deliver a workforce with the specialized horticultural training to keep these plazas clean, green and beautiful year-round,” said Laura Hansen, the NPP’s executive director.
Ted Renz, executive director of the Myrtle Avenue BID and the RLDC, thanked City Council Members Elizabeth Crowley and Antonio Reynoso for providing funding for the additional services. He noted the program will keep Myrtle Avenue a wellmaintained and attractive space for daily shopping and yearround events.
The partnership will be officially announced at a press conference tomorrow afternoon, 3:45 p.m. at 71st Avenue Plaza.
