About Us

map-of-nfa-bid 

ABOUT US 

It was over a quarter of a century ago, in 1974 to be exact, that a concerned group of residents,  owners  and merchants formed the North Flatbush Avenue Triangle Parks Committee. 

District Description:

The District is located in the heart of Brooklyn, New York.  North Flatbush Avenue is surrounded by history and some of Brooklyn’s oldest institutions such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Museum and Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower.  Over 170 merchants call North Flatbush Avenue their home with a vibrant mix of national/regional chains together with many locally owned businesses.  

                     
The BID was formed for the purpose of integrating the needs of the community with the construction of Flatbush Avenue. The group met with various New York City agencies to plan the intersections along Flatbush Avenue. The cooperative effort provided Flatbush Avenue with unique   pedestrian needs while promoting traffic flow. The triangle parks were furnished with trees, benches and gaslights, lending an old world charm to a modern thoroughfare.

img_0086In 1980, the work of the Triangle Park Committee evolved into the formation of the North Flatbush Avenue Betterment Committee. The Betterment Committee was active as a Local Development Corporation (LDC) working to revitalize the strip through promotional activities, facade improvement grants, and capital projects.

In 1986, the North Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District, commonly called “the BID”, continues to be an  active and stable organization utilized by the surrounding communities of Park Slope and Prospect Heights. The North Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District is an organization that promotes the community and development of North Flatbush Avenue from Plaza Street to Atlantic Avenue.  Bounded by Community Boards Two, Six and Eight, we represent a diverse population that enhances our ability to promote an active retail, residential and business base.

The BID has already instituted programs which serve to enhance the North Flatbush Avenue community. A supplemental sanitation worker empties and cleans corner waste receptacles and  sweeps our streets 7 days a week, 351 days a year. The district is beautified with 30 decorative banners which hang from our street light poles which are changed every few months and new holiday lighting is displayed from Thanksgiving throughout the New Year. Additionally, a Victorian Replica Clock graces the 6th Avenue Triangle and thanks to your generous contribution, its sister clock was reinstated on Flatbush Avenue and Sterling Place in June 2008.  The BID also provides marketing and promotion through newspaper advertisements, its’ website, a monthly E-news newsleter, Facebook fan page and Twitter.  We provide a co-operative merchant full page advertisement in our local Brooklyn papers at a low cost  that is only available to BID merchants.  We also offer business assistance and community information through our quarterly “Merchant Workshops” .  We host holiday events in December for our community and provide children’s programming twice a year  in the Pacific Street Bears Community Garden.  Our Earth Day event is held in April/May  and our popular Halloween Spooky-tacular Event in October. We provide press and media to merchants for those who celebrate a milestone in our district and will advertise any merchant event on our website. We coordinate with the 77th Precinct and the 78th Precinct Community Councils and provide them with complaints from our neighbors and make them aware of any illegal activities in our district. If you would like to be on our mailing list for the monthly newsletter, please fill in your email address at the HOME page of this website. 

In 2009, North Flatbush Avenue faced many challenges in maintaining a stable merchant and customer base. Retail vacancy rates have increased and some properties have been cleared in anticipation of the Atlantic Yards Project that occupies a large portion  of the northwestern boundary of the District. The cumulative effect of these factors has emphasized the need to create a design plan that will meet the future needs of the District.   We are anticipating a new streetscape design plan to our triangle parks that pays homage to the historic area while integrating new design elements that will create a visual transition to the “Downtown”.   2009 brings a new redesign to the Triangle Parks to create a respite for visitors that include seating, planting and lighting.   We hope this new project will expand the variety of goods and services of the retail businesses and foster the economic viability of the commercial district.  to view a preliminary plan of our streetscape design plan by W-Architects and landscape LLC, visit our website and click on the Streetscape Design Master Plan.

Thank you for visiting our new website and please take a few moments to explore the site to learn more about the North Flabush Avenue neighborhood.  Visit frequently and  find out all the latest information in our District. 

Funders

The North Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District is funded through an additional real estate tax assessment within the District. This additional assessment can either be paid directly by the property owner or passed on to the commercial tenant. The BID also receives funding through grants from the following funders:

  • Small Business Services
  • Council  Member Letitia James
  • Coucil Member  David Yassky
  • Avenue NYC Program
  • Brooklyn Borough President Hon. Marty Markowitz
  • Congressman Hon. Anthony Weiner
  • NYC Department of Transportation