The city announced Monday it would make $5.3 million in new grant funding available for its business improvement districts, including a program meant to help the organizations deal with rising insurance premiums and cut down on the amount of frivolous lawsuits they face.
That $500,000 initiative is called the “trusted partner” program, and the department of Small Business Services will administer it. It will get rid of many requirements the BIDs face that the city characterizes as cumbersome, such as lowering the amount of agreements they need to review, sign and comply with. It will help provide greater clarity around what BIDs are and are not responsible for as well, which should in turn cut down on the number of lawsuits filed against them over issues they are not in charge of, such as snow removal.
These types of lawsuits are a huge issue for BIDs, causing them to face significant insurance premium hikes and outside counsel costs, said Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
The funding also includes $400,000 for the “connected corridors” program, which aims to support public design and lighting projects in parts of the city that have not traditionally seen much investment. The initial BIDs chosen for the program this year are the 161st Street BID near Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx, the Pitkin Avenue BID in Brownsville and the Sunnyside Shines BID in Sunnyside.
The money is part of the mayor’s budget for fiscal year 2025 and represents a small fraction of the overall $112 billion plan. In general, the investments aim to help boost tourism and economic development while cutting red tape for BIDs.
The Adams administration timed the announcement to coincide with the city’s second annual BID Day, an occasion meant to celebrate the city’s 76 neighborhood organizations. The groups invested $194 million in their neighborhoods, collected almost 4 million trash bags worth of litter and held 4,561 public events drawing a total of 25.8 million people during fiscal year 2023, according to a recent report from the department of Small Business Services.
Eddie Small , 2024-05-06 17:33:01
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