Does Roosevelt Avenue Need a BID?
A controversy is brewing on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights and Corona, where some residents want to expand the existing Business Improvement District while many business owners are against it. The NY Daily News reports that a proposed Jackson Heights Corona BID would span from 82nd to 114th Street on Roosevelt Avenue, taking in around…
A controversy is brewing on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights and Corona, where some residents want to expand the existing Business Improvement District while many business owners are against it. The NY Daily News reports that a proposed Jackson Heights Corona BID would span from 82nd to 114th Street on Roosevelt Avenue, taking in around 4,000 businesses. The current BID, the 82nd Street Partnership, currently encompasses eight blocks of the neighborhood and includes 125 businesses. The expanded BID is part of a “New Deal” initiative for Roosevelt Avenue, which addresses resident complains concerning safety issues, poor lighting and cleanliness. But business owners worry the BID will spur gentrification and push longtime tenants out. The owner of Terraza 7, a bar and jazz club, claims: “They want to clean Roosevelt Avenue of that diversity.” Business owners are also worried about already rising rents, and BIDs require businesses to pay an extra fee in exchange for sanitation, security, and other quality of life services. As a landlord told the News, “We have to find ways to preserve our local flavor… Not allow gentrification to happen.”
New Merchant Group in Jackson Heights and Corona Facing Resistance [NY Daily News]
82nd Street BID Expansion Reimagines Longer Stretch of Roosevelt Avenue [Q’Stoner]
The BID is a necessity for Roosevelt Ave. It will not magically transform the neighborhood but it is a step in the right direction. Roosevelt Ave is a complete eyesore. It is dark and dirty. These businesses are short sided in their opposition. The BID will try to create a cleaner, more enjoyable shopping corridor.
“But business owners worry the BID will spur gentrification and push longtime tenants out.” “They want to clean Roosevelt Avenue of that diversity.”
BIDS don’t do that – that’s the market. It drives me bonkers when I, like join a graffiti removal project or a “sweep the streets” project in my neighborhood and a bunch of people complain that that is “gentrification”. I’m sorry but if a good quality of life is gentrification, then I’m all for it. These people don’t care that they live in shiatholes and they don’t care to make their shiatholes any better. These are not the type of people you want as your neighbor.