The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) announced on Monday that a Queens business improvement district (BID) will receive funding to help improve the neighborhood businesses.
As a part of the SBS’ Avenue NYC initiative, the Jamaica Center BID will receive $300,000 to provide commercial revitalization services to businesses on Jamaica Avenue and in the Downtown Jamaica retail corridors.
With this grant, the Jamaica Center BID will be able to hire a full-time program manager, conduct an in-depth district needs assessment and execute commercial revitalization programming for the next several years.
“We are thrilled to have been awarded this grant, which will enable us to delve in and better understand how we can be most effective in serving our commercial and residential stakeholders,” said Whitney Barrat, Jamaica Center BID’s executive director. “We’re so grateful to SBS for their partnership, and to have this opportunity to plan and implement programming that will truly reflect the evolving needs of our community.”
SBS’ Avenue NYC initiative is a grant program that funds and builds the capacity of community-based development organizations. So far the initiative has awarded $1.17 million in grants to community-based development organizations throughout the city.
This is the first year that Avenue NYC will be awarding multi-year grants to allow community-based development organizations to understand the community’s needs while developing more impactful commercial revitalization projects.
“As New Yorkers, we take great pride in our neighborhoods, which is why the city is committed to empowering community-based organizations to strengthen and preserve their neighborhoods,” said Gregg Bishop, commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “With these new multi-year awards, we’ve taken this commitment to the next level by funding valuable commercial revitalization projects for up to three years.”
For more information about Avenue NYC, visit nyc.gov/avenuenyc.
