Dyker Heights’ 13th Avenue To Get BID – Public Meeting This Saturday

We have some exciting news for 13th Avenue business and property owners. The bustling Dyker Heights corridor is about to get the area’s first-ever Business Improvement District (BID).

A BID would put 13th Avenue on the map and turn it into a more competitive shopping district, according Carlo A. Scissura, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

“Thirteenth Avenue has long been Dyker Heights’ ‘Main Street,’ and the many small businesses on the corridor deserve a strong, unified voice,” said Scissura. “As a Dyker Heights resident and property owner on 13th Avenue, I believe a BID would be a terrific resource for the merchants, and the additional services — including sanitation services — as well as the beautification of the area with holiday lights and other projects, will improve the neighborhood significantly for residents and draw people from across the borough.”

A BID is a nonprofit organization built on the partnership of property owners, commercial tenants, and the city to improve the business climate and the community’s quality of life. Currently there are over 69 BIDs across New York City, including 23 in Brooklyn,

The three nearest BIDs are in Bay Ridge and Brighton Beach, but there are none representing commercial strips in Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, or Bath Beach, according to this map from the New York City BID Association:

The 13th Avenue BID – which will stretch from 65th Street to 86th Street – would fund beautification projects, community services, and activities such as holiday lights, youth services, tree and flower beds, private sanitation removal, graffiti removal, fundraising events, and more. It would also grant community stakeholders a unified voice in negotiations for capital improvements and government relations.

The operating budget of the 13th Avenue BID would be kept at around $201,000 and would be funded by the collective contributions of property owners and commercial tenants. Commercial property owners would pay annual assessments based on the street frontage of their properties. Stakeholders on 13th Avenue can expect the following assessments:

• The average commercial property owner will pay $650 per year, or $32 per foot – plus an extra $100 for a corner property
• Residential property owners, including condo owners, will pay an yearly assessment of $1
• Not-for-profit building owners would not incur any assessment

The entire community is invited to two upcoming public meetings where they can learn more from the president of the 13th Avenue Merchants Association, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce president, local elected officials, and community partners:

• Saturday, March 21, 11am, at Saint Bernadette School Cafeteria, 8201 82nd Street
• Monday, March 23rd, 7pm, at Ridgewood Savings Bank, 7020 13th Avenue

Light refreshments will be served.

For more general information about BIDs, click here.