New improvement district around Madison Square Park

Talking Point

New improvement district around Madison Square Park

By Albert Amateau

The Flatiron 23rd St. Partnership began its daily sanitation operation on Nov. 1 to improve the cleanliness of streets in its new business improvement district between Third and Sixth Aves. from 21st to 28th Sts.

The BID, which received its approval from Mayor Bloomberg last December, will run two overlapping sanitation crews from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. One night a week a special crew with power-washing equipment will scrub the sidewalks and remove graffiti in the 38-block district.

By the end of the year, the BID intends to place special garbage cans throughout the district, mostly on high-traffic 23rd St. and Park Ave.

“Improving the cleanliness of sidewalks and streets is a core function of business improvement districts, and I’m excited to launch our first major program in the area,” said Jennifer Brown, recently named the Flatiron 23rd St. Partnership BID’s executive director.

Brown most recently was a consultant for public sector and nonprofit agencies and previously worked for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation as director of community development and community/government relations. Before her L.M.D.C. post, she was director of finance and economic development for the Union Square Partnership, the city’s first BID.

Brown appointed Timothy Cohen as the BID’s deputy director. Previously, Cohen was program director of the 23rd St. Association, the civic group that spearheaded the creation of the Flatiron 23rd St. Partnership.

Scott Kimmins, a 20-year veteran of the New York Police Department who served many of those years in the 13th Precinct, which includes the BID area, is director of operations and will be responsible for the sanitation initiative and for future security, social services and district marketing operations.

The BID’s projected annual budget of $1.6 million is funded by an additional assessment on commercial property in the district that includes more than 1,300 properties with over 20 million square feet of building space. The district around Madison Square Park includes such landmarked sites as the Flatiron Building, the Metropolitan Life and the New York Life towers and the Appellate Division courthouse on E. 25th St. on the east side of Madison Square.

“I’m delighted to welcome the new initiatives and programs that will be inaugurated by the BID,” said Sharon Ulman, president of the 23rd St. Association, which extends from river to river between 18th and 28th Sts. “Five years of advocacy for a business improvement district have finally paid off,” Ulman added.

Robert Frankel, managing director of GVA Williams Real Estate, is president of the BID’s board of directors. Eleven members with full powers represent property owners; three represent commercial tenants, and one represents residential tenants. Mayor Bloomberg, the city comptroller and Council Speaker Christine Quinn are also on the board of directors. Maxine Tailler represents Community Board 5 on the board, and Community Boards 4 and 6 will also designate representatives.