Keeping the Bed-Stuy Gateway BID Clean !!

(New York, NY) February 19, 2013 – The Bedford Stuyvesant Gateway Business Improvement District, (BID) announced the implementation of a new sanitation program to significantly improve the cleanliness of the sidewalks and streets in the Gateway area.  The BID runs along Fulton Street from Troy Avenue to Classon Avenue and across Nostrand Avenue from Halsey Street to Atlantic Avenue.

The program will operate seven days a week throughout the Fulton /Nostrand corridor, where sanitation improvement is unanimously regarded as the BID’s most urgent issue.  The services began on February 15th and are being managed and served by Block by Block, which currently handles these services for seven other districts in New York City and is the nation’s leading provider of safety, cleaning and hospitality services for BIDs. 

“Improving the cleanliness of the City’s sidewalks and streets is a core function of business improvement districts, and I am excited to expand services for the Gateway community,” said Joyce Turner, BID Chairperson. 

A five-person Bed-Stuy Clean Team is providing the services.  Dressed in bright green and navy branded uniforms, they will be deployed into the service district between 7:00 AM and 7:30 PM five days a week for general cleaning, which includes the removal of litter, handbills, stickers and graffiti and wiping down of public fixtures.  A three-person team will work on Saturdays and a two-person team on Sundays to address the conditions on the heavily trafficked pedestrian corridors along Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue.

“The appearance of the streets and sidewalks in Bed-Stuy goes a long way toward communicating a sense of pride in our neighborhood,” Marcia Melendez, chair of the BID’s Operations Committee, stated.  “We are proud to work with Block by Block and to be a part of New York City’s effort to make its communities more welcoming and appealing to everyone who lives, works and visits here.”

Delivering these services will involve 200 weekly service hours from October through April and 312 weekly service hours during peak season from May to September, including a dedicated Special Projects Ambassador working 32 hours a week to address the cleaning of vacant lots, painting of street furniture and graffiti removal.  In addition, a two-person power wash team will be deployed eight hours a week from May to September to power wash district sidewalks.  

Lori Luis, Interim Executive Director at the BID, added “Our supplemental sanitation expenses account for 35% of our overall BID budget, funded by the assessments of district property owners.  Clean streets are a visible result of money well-spent, hopefully, leading to increased foot traffic and an economic boost to the Fulton/Nostrand corridor”

About the Bed-Stuy Gateway BID

Formed in 2009 as the City's 64th BID, Bed-Stuy Gateway provides one of Brooklyn's busiest business districts, centered at the intersection of Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue, with supplemental sanitation, safety and marketing services. The Gateway BID is home to 400 businesses contained within nearly 500,000 square feet of retail space with a community identity uniquely punctuated with African American, African, and Caribbean influences.  The Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District is easily accessible to Manhattan via the “A and C Trains” and to Long Island by the Long Island Railroad (LIRR).  Learn more at:  www.bedstuygateway.com

About Block by Block                                                                          

Block by Block, the nation’s largest provider of services to BIDs, provides sanitation, security and hospitality services to over 50 business improvement districts nationwide, including the Chinatown, Jamaica Center, Sutphin Boulevard, 165th Street Mall, 82nd Street Partnership, Atlantic Avenue and Montague Street BIDs in New York City. To learn more visit, www.blockbyblock.com