The Grand Street BID

The Emergence of the Grand Street BID

Established in June of 1985 by property and business owners, residents, and the support from the St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation the BID had a tumultuous task of improving the conditions along the commercial catchment of Grand Street from Bushwick to Union Avenues in East Williamsburg Brooklyn. The neighborhood depicted the urban problems of crime, graffiti, litter, and a general dilapidated condition greatly due to a growing drug abuse epidemic. Five years into its inception on January 13, 1991 an editorial of the New York Times (When City Hall Fails, Do It Yourself)  informed the public that the new Business Improvement Districts that were tackling on major problems. From Grand Street in Brooklyn to Grand Central Station -- and soon to the Times Square area and a strip of Greenwich Village -- New York City businesses are banding together, and taxing themselves, to relieve their neighborhoods of grime and crime." As a result of the collaborative efforts of the principal stakeholders the drugs and crime diminished and vacancy rates declined on Grand Street. This positive influence initiated a resurgence of the local economy, which began to sprout interest throughout the community and nearby neighbors. Today, it is reassuring when private and public interests work together in revitalizing neighborhoods.

Today's Reinforcement of the Grand Street BID

This past March 2005 the New York Times once again wrote an article “Williamsburg Reinvented” that created a stir in East Williamsburg as property owners on the Grand Street corridor (between Bushwick and Union Avenues) visualized an increase of their property value. The flourishing Real Estate market is one distinction that presents a far better state of affairs than that of 20 years ago, which is partly by the efforts and investments by those residents, business & property owners, and leaders that have continued to provide positive energy into the community. Nonetheless, the BID has its work cut-out as the shifts in demographics and the new booming real estate market has property and business owners along with residents in a state of transformation, which can be difficult for some. The organization is now preparing to invoke in an ambitious program to improve the streetscape, business façades, and the overall “feel” on Grand Street. In this objective, with the collaboration of the Department of Small Business Services, other city agencies, and community organizations like the East Williamsburg Valley Industrial Development Corporation the BID has been able to work with local leadership in submitting a Capital Funding request for the repair of sidewalks and streets along the business corridor.