The 20th Anniversary of the 125th Street BID and the 200th Anniversary of 125th Street
20 years ago when Mayor David N. Dinkins signed the 125th Street BID into law, it became the first and still the only BID in the Harlem Community. Since its inception, the BID has been an important part of the economic development of 125th Street as well as the Harlem community as a whole. In 1993, there were just 31 BIDs (13 in Manhattan and 18 in the outer boroughs). Today, there are 67 in the City of New York, and we at the 125th Street BID are excited to be a part of this rapid growing global public/private partnership movement.
125th Street today is a cleaner, safer and more attractive business district. We are skilled to respond quickly to the many changing needs of the business community, and for the past two decades, the property values have increased, sales have improved and our vacancy rate has remained at 8%.
Our organization is taking this moment in time to emphasize our commitment to the Harlem community, and to highlight and reflect on some of the accomplishments of the BID, it’s staff, and the support of many different board members.
200 years after John Randel placed 125th Street on the greatest grid, the BID is also positioned to recognize the significance of this bold visionary move that, according to Susan Henshaw Jones and Ronay Menschell of the Museum of the City of New York, provided the framework for “125th Street to bring to mind the energy and vibrancy of Harlem”. Throughout the year, the BID will be engaged in aggregating, promoting and celebrating the evolution of 125th Street and its significance to the Harlem Community.
From the very beginning, we adopted a policy of addressing the unaddressed issues and making sure that we did not duplicate what was already being done. We have delivered a range of supplemental services by coordinating with city agencies.
These have included, but are not limited to cleaning the street and sidewalks and removal of graffiti from street furniture. We serve as the eyes and ears of the district to identify and report crime and service conditions and provide visitor assistance. We remain vigilant with our strategic planning and the resulting recommendations have helped us tremendously with business mix improvement, our cultural vision and streetscape improvements.
We’ve held special events, promoted the district, installed holiday lighting decorations, street banners and more.
On Thursday, November 21, 2013 the BID will kick off the holiday shopping season with our annual Light It Up celebration. Each year the BID (with the assistance of contractors) stream holiday lights across 125th Street while a parade of vehicles decorated with holiday lights form a procession that travels along the entire 125th Street corridor. Residents and visitors line the street to watch the parade and celebrate the launch of the holiday season in Harlem.
This year the event will include an outdoor festival with in-store and on the street activities as well as a scavenger hunt in which residents and visitors can participate. This free event, open to the public, will celebrate these two significant milestones.
This event seeks to:
(1) Drive foot traffic into the 125th Street Business Improvement District
(2) Provide visibility of specials offered by participating businesses
More about our History:
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