Throggs Neck is ready for Mayor de Blasio’s BID approval
Bob Jaen, Steven Kaufman and other BID members celebrate at City Hall. Courtesy of Steven Kaufman
REGISTER AND S AVE BIG
FOR WINTER PROGRAMS!
Saturday, Dec 15
11am-2pm
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 4 ECEMBER 7-13, 2018 BTR
This is the day to SAVE BIG, learn about our
programs, meet staff, and take tours.
• Fitness Memberships - $0 Registration Fee
• Up to $20 Off Group Classes
• Save up to $300 Off Day Camp
BOUNCE HOUSE ARTS ‘N CRAFTS TATTOOS
PROGRAM DEMONSTRATIONS
FITNESS TOURS & ASSESMENTS
FUN &
HEALTHY HOLIDAY COOKING DEMO
FREE!
Discounts valid from Dec 10–16, 2018.
Camp discount is for full season and requires $500 deposit.
Fitness special applies to all categories except teen and senior.
990 Pelham Parkway South
Bronx, NY 10461
718.792.1800 bronxhouse.org
A better life for everyone.TM
BY ALEX MITCHELL
It’s fi nally coming. The long
awaited business improvement
district for Throggs Neck was
approved by the city’s Committee
on Finance on Wednesday
November 28; representing the
penultimate step in s long and
arduous process, that will conclude
when the mayor signs it
into law.
For Throggs Neck, the corridor
of East Tremont Avenue
from Bruckner Boulevard to
Miles Avenue will become the
76th BID in New York City as
of the new year and the 11th in
the borough, and Throggs Neck
Merchants Association president
Bob Jaen couldn’t be more
elated.
“Now we want to see the big
footprint stores come in,” Jaen
said, noting the community’s
eagerness to support local retail,
especially as far as food
service goes.
“That’s what people know
the area for, people know your
name and remember your face,
we would like to see more of
that and continue to bring in
powerful retailers,” the president
added.
Jaen, who has been instrumental
in the BID’s approval
process, said that ideally he
would want to attract a Panera
Bread or a Modell’s Sporting
Goods to the Throggs Neck
BID to realize his vision of
strenghtening the area’s retail
offerings.
Since 2014 when the project
began moving forward, BID advocates
cited the Mall at Bay
Plaza and other nearby malls
for divertinging retail customers
away from the Throggs
Neck retail corridor.
Bringing new, popular retailers
onto East Tremont Avenue
would help offset the ramifi
cations that the malls and
super shopping centers have
done to the local commercial
base.
However, the effort to restore
the commercial viability
to the BID area is a marathon
rather than a sprint, it will
take time.
The BID’s inaugural year
will be mostly spent in hiring
an executive director along
with other committee personnel.
Then it will get down to
business, literally.
For Jaen and the rest of the
BID board, that doesn’t mean
the fi rst year is not going to put
to good use.
“Even thought the fi rst year
will probably start slow, we’re
working on a beautifi cation
campaign in Throggs Neck to
get the area up to speed with
the BID,” Jaen said.
He along with Community
Board 10 district manager
Matt Cruz has embarked on a
campaign with the NYC Department
of Transportation to
install improved street lighting
throughout Throggs Neck,
from East Tremont Avenue
and Bruckner Boulevard all
the way to Marina del Ray at
Schurz Avenue.
DOT agreed to fund and install
the lighting, according to
Jaen.
The BID’s anticipated
$340,000 budget from the get-go
will be used to enhance street
cleaning and install 360-degree
security cameras.
“Before we can even start to
bring in businesses, we want
the residents to appreciate the
area. We’re ready to start the
ball rolling,” Jaen said.
In the meantime, the BID
plans to focus some of its efforts
on celebrating and promoting
the rich history of Fort
Schuyler and the surrounding
waterfront area.
Similar to Sag Harbor on
Long Island, Jaen envisions
the BID supporting an emerging
historic district based in
and around the Throggs Neck
shoreline.