Secret Recipe for BID Formation
Three years of conversations. 41 Meetings. Three hundred and eighty NYC tax lots housing over 300 businesses. One and a half miles of Fulton Street. Nearly 2,290 mailings & 2475 phone calls. 20 neighbors, including property owners, business operators, service providers--all of them considered investors in their future.
When Business Improvement District (BID) formation becomes a topic of conversation in supporting neighborhood commercial corridors, Perch Advisors helps. Our team has experienced a number of conversations around Brooklyn about what is arguably the best model to support local stewardship and place management. The BID formation process is arduous and requires consensus-building, and considerable planning and outreach. This week, Cypress Hills Fulton Street in East New York, Brooklyn has hit a major milestone in their efforts and will begin filings for the legislative review process of their organizing efforts. Perch Advisors cherishes the opportunities to support stronger communities, and with this significant milestone met, I want to share some thoughts of what is the “secret recipe” of initiating and stewarding a BID formation in local communities.
As with any great recipe, you start with what you have in your “community pantry”. This is the “kitchen basics” , foundations, strong local leadership-hungry for change. These are the neighbors, businesses, and property owners that can envision change, growth, and a better future. These are the ones that build strong connections across the community, raise their voices to power about concerns, and encourage others to join the conversation. These are the leaders of the steering committee that drives the BID formation process. A process that can take years (in this case 3 and counting) and it cannot be understated: the commitment of local leadership is the singular “ingredient” to a successful BID formation. These stakeholders host discussions about the vision and mission, the desired programs, costs, and funding mechanisms. Iteratively determining these details and projected outcomes. It is imperative that a strong steering committee feels empowered, encouraged, and stays committed to the process.
A recipe requires a “recipe”, directions, instructions--or education. Taking time to understand the needs and wants of the community will undoubtedly make for a better “dish” or community organization. Perch Advisors’ early focus during the engagement was to manage expectations of what a BID can accomplish, reviewing the process and ensuring that these community members knew what they were doing and why they wanted to do it. A well-informed group will lead to more successful outcomes--especially in outreach and messaging the proposal to others.
Season to taste as the process continues through outreach to gain support for the proposal. A strong element is the ability to adjust tactics to meet the needs of the moment. A dash of door-to-door canvassing, a pinch of demonstration projects to illustrate projected outcomes, a healthy portion of phone banking, mailers, and social media all come together to articulate the vision and address concerns from caucuses of stakeholders. Be responsive to current events and circumstances-show value via business advocacy initiatives, schedule clean-up projects to focus on graffiti removal, dumping, sidewalk conditions; or increase visibility and vitality with store-front window lighting displays. By remaining flexible in outreach efforts, successful groups can activate projects that speak and respond to neighborhood concerns--demonstrating what an organized, supported effort could accomplish--giving them a flavorful taste!
Like many dishes, you often bring it to a boil then let it simmer for hours. But it still needs to cook! The outreach or support gathering period of this work is similar. Our experience in BID formations has shown that once outreach begins there is an initial rush as everything is bubbling in the initial outreach. The excitement is filling the community as early supporters come out to sign statements. Everyone can smell the finished products as it starts to simmer. You must stay committed to the project. Keep making connections-stirring the ingredients. Season to taste as instructed above. A committed steering committee is the only way to move through this work. And Perch Advisors strives to understand the needs of this local leadership group. Encouraging words, public praise, technical support, messaging and strategic conversations, and brainstorming are all useful in inspiring the group, improving engagement, and achieving goals.
Good products come from a good process. We at Perch strive to deliver that. It is no mystery that BIDs are successful, there are 78 in NYC, and that the local process to create them is tedious--by design, to ensure comprehensive outreach and review. My recipe for recent success looks like this:
great foundational ingredients in the form of community stakeholders and local leadership; a proven recipe of increased awareness and education of the stakeholders; adjusting the flavor/season to taste with visible demonstration activities and tangible results; a long simmering commitment to outreach.
