City Council voted to approve legislation that will expand the boundaries of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID).
As of Jan. 1, 2022, the BID will be nearly doubled in size, bringing the Partnership’s supplemental sanitation and safety services, homeless outreach, public space management and beautification, marketing, business support, and advocacy to a larger footprint that will include 20th Street, the Sixth Avenue gateway to the district, and more of NoMad.
The areas joining the BID include 1,384 properties, 344 of which are commercial; more than 20 existing or under-construction hotels; a diverse array of retail and dining; a plethora of cultural destinations and historic sites; a growing residential community; and the dynamic Sixth Avenue mixed-use corridor.
“For 15 years, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership has helped cement the reputation of Flatiron and NoMad as two of New York City’s most vital and exiting neighborhoods and now we look forward to having the same impact in an expanded footprint,” said James Mettham, executive director of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership. “Our new stakeholders can look forward to cleaner streets, more inviting public spaces, and more support for small businesses. We are grateful to Mayor de Blasio and the City Council, in particular Speaker Corey Johnson and Members Carlina Rivera and Keith Powers, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and Community Boards 4 and 5 for their support of our BID expansion.”
The approval of the BID’s expansion follows four years of planning and stakeholder engagement by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership in close coordination with the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS). There was also a public review process that was delayed temporarily due to COVID-19.
“The Flatiron Partnership has been a lifeline to small businesses across the neighborhood, and this expansion extends critical services to where they are needed the most,” said Jonnel Doris, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “SBS works hard to provide all expansion efforts with resources to ensure they can reach deeply into their communities and engage everyone in the process. I applaud our partners in this effort, we are excited to continue working together to see services on the ground in this expansion area.”
Since 2006, the Partnership has served the Flatiron District and the southern part of NoMad, and business owners, property owners, and residents just outside of the BID’s original boundaries have increasingly expressed a need for BID services on their blocks.
