MERCHANTS MAKE A 'BID'

Members of Brooklyn Community Board 4 heard details on the proposed East Broadway Business Improvement District during the advisory body's Dec. 17 meeting at Hope Gardens Senior Center. Creating the first business improvement district in Bushwick was the hot topic at last Wednesday's Brooklyn Community Board 4 meeting at Hope Gardens Senior Center.

Two proponents of the East Broadway Business Improvement District informed members of the advisory body of their efforts to create the commerce group that would provide support services to businesses along Broadway between Kosciuszko and Cooper streets.

Matthew Schneiderman, deputy director of the East Broadway BID, told the advisory body that the organization seeks to make numerous improvements designed to attract shoppers from within and outside the community while also providing jobs and boosting the overall quality of life in the area.

Surveys completed by local property owners and merchants indicated that they wanted "a cleaner community with more officers on the street," Schneiderman said. He noted that the creation of the BID would bring all businesses together into one voice that will speak directly to city agencies to seek supplemental services and other aesthetic and security improvements.

Currently, there are more than 50 business improvement districts in place across the five boroughs, with the Myrtle Avenue BID in Ridgewood the closest serving the Bushwick area. The members of each district collect assessment fees from business and property owners which are then used for services supplementing those provided by the city, including security and trash collection.

Schneiderman projected that if approved, the East Broadway BID would have a budget totaling $285,000. Of this funding, 44 percent would be used for maintenance and sanitation services such as capital improvements to the streetscape, sidewalk snow removal and graffiti cleanups.

The BID also provides funding for marketing and promotional campaigns as well as beautification and landscape projects. The deputy director added that the organization would also use proceeds to install holiday decorations and lighting.

At the conclusion of the year, the BID will reassess services provided to determine if some are unnecessary or if additional provisions are needed, noted BID director Eric Feldman.

Each BID is controlled by a board of directors, which Schneiderman noted is largely comprised of commercial property owners in the area. The community board as well as City Council members and other elected officials additionally make appointments.

Business and/or property owners the district will be assessed an annual fee of $55 per linear foot, the width of their store or property along the avenue. For example, a location with 20 linear feet would be charged a total of $1,100. Schneiderman noted that owners may make 12 monthly payments, which in this case would be less than $100 each.

"We feel that now is the perfect time for the BID to [help] improve the area more quickly," Schneiderman added.

The section of Broadway is split between Boards 3, 4 and 16. District Manager Nadine Whitted noted that the BID must get the approval of each before it can be referred to the City Planning Commission, the City Council and mayor for final approval.

From start to finish, Schneiderman stated, it could take up to 15 months before the BID may be officially formed and activated by law.

Standing against hate crime

Whitted and Board 4 Chairperson Julie Dent informed residents that they attended two recent rallies held in the wake of the Dec. 7 beating of an Ecuadorian immigrant at the intersection of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place who later died from his injuries.

As previously reported, 31-yearold Jose Sucuzhanay suffered a fractured skull and head trauma after he and his brother were attacked by four suspects who allegedly hurled racial and homosexual slurs before and during the beatdown.

While his brother was able to escape with minor injuries, Sucuzhanay was beaten unconscious and died on Dec. 12 at Elmhurst Hospital Center. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Whitted denounced the attack, noting that the vast majority of residents in the community are "tolerant of each other." She implored anyone with information regarding the case or the whereabouts of the perpetrators involved to call police immediately.

"It could have been any one of us," she said. "We hope those who did this are found and brought to justice. We need to do what we can to ensure this doesn't happen again."

Brooklyn Community Board 4 generally meets on the third Wednesday each month at 6 p.m. at Hope Gardens Senior Center, located at 195 Linden St. in Bushwick. For more information, call 1-718- 628-8400.