1JULY 14 - JULY 20, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP Park BID marks accomplishments
BY JAIME DEJESUS
0Sunset JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
It was a celebration of Sunset.
The Sunset Park Business Improvement
District (BID) held its
22nd Annual Meeting on Thursday,
June 29 to honor several contributors
to the neighborhood and mark BID
accomplishments over the past year
as well as discuss the future.
Held at the Young Dancers in
Repertory Studio, 5602 Fifth Avenue,
the meeting counted members of the
BID, officers from the 72nd Precinct,
business and resident owners in
attendance.
“My family has been on the avenue
since 1984 so we got to see the inception
of the BID,” said Llamil Nunez,
current president of the BID. “I’ve
seen the changes that the BID has accomplished
over the years. It’s great
to be a part of it."
"The BID is very active,” added Executive
Director Renee Giordano. “Every
month, we try to have some kind of an
event or project. A lot of what we do,
we manage to get through in our budget,
and we try to get grants or people
volunteering time in between.”
Giordano mentioned the BID's
social media initiatives, including
a smart phone app that notifies customers
of local discounts and news, a
new website that lists all businesses,
a new logo and the utilization of live
streaming.
“Facebook Live has been very effective
as we don’t just go to our events,
but also to different businesses and
do a tour, and talk with the owner and
they give a history and explain what
they do,” she said.
Looking forward, the BID is hoping
to upgrade its free Wi-Fi service
provided on the avenue. “The way I
found out it was successful is when it
started failing, I got emails and phone
calls,” Giordano said. “Many people in
the neighborhood didn’t have access
to wifi and kids would do their homework
using ours. We’ve had it for five
years and our equipment has reached
the end of its life. We're going to put in
new equipment over the next month
or two."
Giordano also discussed two campaigns
started at the BID, one featuring
the 'You are Beautiful' signs that
are scattered around the avenue and
the other, ‘Hate Has No Business Here’
signs. “We are trying show people
we are a very diverse group and our
businesses and residents are very
diverse,” she said. “We don’t want
any hate going on in the avenue. It’s a
campaign that 20 other BIDs will be
doing with us.”
Awards were given to BID
volunteers, businesses, property
owners and police officers including
Community Affairs officers, Police
Officers Gerber Fernandez and Shawn
Spencer of the 72nd Precinct.
The Business of the Year award
went to Q-Spot, 5405 Fifth Avenue,
which sells clothing and accessories.
The Valdes family took home the
Property of the Year award.
Ortiz enters NYC Council race
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
It’s official.
After months of speculation
and rumors, Assemblymember
Felix Ortiz has announced to this
paper that he is officially running
for the 38th Council District Seat,
currently held by Councilmember
Carlos Menchaca.
As recently June 20, Ortiz, the 51st
A.D. representative, wasn’t on the
crowded list to join the Campaign
Finance Program for the 2017 election
cycle, according to the New York
Campaign Finance Board. That has
changed.
According to a spokesperson for
Ortiz, it was made official that the
assemblymember was throwing
his hat in the race on the morning of
Tuesday, July 11, after he submitted
nominating petitions containing
over 3,300 signatures to the city's
Board of Elections. His campaign
activity was noticed by some area
residents who said that, over the
weekend, volunteers for Ortiz were
at the 36th Street station collecting
signatures and handing out flyers.
“I am extremely proud that our
team of volunteers was able to
collect over 3,000 signatures in a
few weeks’ time while every other
campaign used paid workers from
outside our community,” Ortiz wrote
this paper in a statement. “The 38th
Council District needs a leader that
can motivate people and get results
that people want. I am that person.”
In the statement, Ortiz also
thanked the many volunteers who
helped collect signatures. “Their
hard work and commitment is why
we will win this race and our community
will get the services they
need and deserve,” he added.
The day before Ortiz's candidacy
was officially announced, Ortiz’s son
Felix W. Ortiz III took to Twitter to
share the news as well. “I support
my father @Felixwortiz for his bid
to become the next @NYCCouncil
district 38; it's time we have leadership
#Representative 4 All,” he wrote.
Ortiz has been very active in
recent weeks. According to his
Facebook page, he has spent a lot
of time in the Sunset Park and Red
Hook area, making appearances at
events such as the Burma Summer
Festival, the Muslim community’s
Give Back Program, the Faith Meets
Medicine event at Coffey Park, the
End Broken Windows Town Hall,
and a community block party on
36th Street where he talked to locals.
Ortiz has been assemblymember
since 1994 when he defeated Javier
Nieves, who is also running for the
council seat. He was named assistant
speaker of the Assembly in 2015 and
is the first Hispanic to hold that title.
Ortiz will battle Menchaca, who
won the 2013 election against
then-incumbent Sara Gonzalez, and
who announced his bid for re-election
months ago.
Other candidates include Nieves,
Delvis Valdes, Chris Miao, Gonzalez
and Carmen V. Hulbert.
Photo courtesy of Assemblymember Felix
Ortiz
Assemblymember Felix
Ortiz.
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Jaime DeJesus
Honorees and BID representatives posed for a group photo.