The Local’s piece yesterday on the Fulton Area Business Alliance felt like a bit of a take-down, so here’s the glass-half-full take on the five-month-old BID. Sure, there are still some business owners who aren’t on board with the program, which levies a mandatory tax on retailers surcharge on property owners along the commercial thoroughfare through Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in return for much-needed quality of life improvements and marketing exposure for the area. Many commercial leases allow a owner to pass along the surcharge to his retail tenant; to help out tenants put out by this, the BID was able to offer $500 grants thanks to Council Member James and the Pratt Area Community Council. But there are plenty of merchants in support of the BID (especially after the recently concluded ’21 Blocks in 21 Days’ program where BID officials met block-by-block with all the business owners) and lots of reasons right now to be excited about the BID going forward. On April 17-18, the BID will be set up at the Putnam Triangle giving away 200 trees as a way to draw people down to the long-neglected stretch of Fulton; MET Foods, which was once a vocal opponent of the BID and is now featured on the organization’s homepage, will be providing carts for tree delivery. Anything that replaces the illegal trade that has dominated this location for decades is a huge step in the right direction as far as we’re concerned. On the same weekend, the BID is spearheading a graffiti-removal effort up and down the street. In June, the BID has a number of events, from street festivals to musical performances, in the works. And in the meantime, the BID continues to work on bringing planters, bike racks and green spaces to Fulton. With all these positive changes in the offing, it’s still hard to reconcile why some businesses in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill remain resistant to the idea of investing in improvements that only stand to bring more consumer spending to the area when their counterparts on Fulton Street in Bed Stuy “get it”. Update: In related news, PACC and Bed Stuy Restoration are putting on a “Roll Up The Gates” event on Fulton this weekend to attract new retailers to the area.
Fulton Street Businesses Still Wary of BID [NY Times]