Plans to set up a new business improvement district (BID) in Williamsburg have been in the works for a few years, and now they need the buy-in of local residents.
Several community stakeholders hope that a new Northside BID can provide additional resources to one of the city’s biggest commercial hubs.
BIDs are geographically distinct areas that partner with the city government to help shore up services such as sanitation and maintenance. BIDs are funded through annual financial contributions from local property owners, called a special assessment. The program has been around since the 1980s. New York City has 78 BIDs, including one on Grand Street in Williamsburg.
“The City of New York assists with the collection of the special assessment, which in turn, is distributed directly to the BID,” the Northside BID site explains. “The BID receives 100% of the money collected, which must be reinvested in the local community within the BID boundaries.”
The maximum BID assessment, the most they would be able to collect from property owners remains at a fixed amount—it does not increase year-to-year with property value.
North Brooklyn Parks Alliance and City Council Member Lincoln Restler are spearheading the Northside BID’s formation group, alongside other local residents and property owners. They started the process in 2023, which could take several more years to be completed. The group is currently circulating a ballot for local property owners to vote on whether or not to approve the BID; it needs 51% approval to advance.
If successful, the BID then moves forward to the legislative process, which entails review and approval from the Community Board, City Planning Commission, and City Council. Only after that can the BID be fully implemented.
The Northside BID would extend from the East River to Bedford Avenue, from North 15th to Grand streets. As big chains continue to flock to Williamsburg, a BID could allow these places to give back, as their business brings increased foot traffic to the area (and ergo, increased sanitation issues — think of all the trashcans overflowing with dog poop bags).
BIDs are crafted through neighborhood feedback, which determines what they should focus on. Respondents for a recent Northside BID survey identified sanitation and litter removal as their biggest concerns. Aside from sanitation, a BID could also help promote small businesses, install holiday lights and decorations, maintain local green spaces, and put on special events (for example, the Grand Street BID hosts a restaurant week).
Some residents feel apprehensive at the thought of having to shoulder an extra cost, especially at a time when small businesses and residents have been pushed out by exorbitant rents. However, “[t]here is no BID fee levied on residential tenants, and it is against the law for a property owner to pass down their BID assessment to their residential tenants,” the Northside BID’s website states.
A landlord could choose to increase rent to compensate for the new fee, however, based on the Northside BID’s calculation tool, that amount would likely come out to $25-30 extra per month (you can play around with this tool to see what that would mean for you and your landlord). For purely residential buildings, that amount would likely be even less.
Each BID’s formula is different, but assessments are generally calculated based on property value and square footage, meaning that the bigger commercial property owners will end up paying the most. That means the bigger chains and some of the area’s pricier hotels will foot a lot of the bill.
To pick a random example, properties on the largely residential block of 83-101 Berry Street would pay about $200-400 per year. By contrast, the William Vale hotel would pay at least $46,600.
To fill out the ballot and learn more, check out the site here.
This is inflationary. It will drive up rents and taxes and worsen the affordability crisis.
It is not needed. Northside already has access to TWO chambers of commerce to promote their businesses.
How is it fair for a landlord of a single 2 – 8 family building to pay ANOTHER fee on top of what might be a 9% increase to property taxes in the future AND the ability of NOT to raise rents on stabilized apartments if Mayor Mamdani has his way? PS And if said landlord DOES sell his/her building, as someone elsewhere suggested, what happens next? They usually turn into the “affordable” condominiums, which is what has happened near me.