Castle Hill BID’s merchant support reaches 100%
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
Unanimous approval was garnered
among merchants for the creation of a
Castle Hill Business Improvement District,
which will now move to the legislative
phase after clearing the hurdle
of achieving support among merchants
and property owners.
In addition to the unprecedented
level of support among merchants,
about 60 percent of all landlords, merchants
and homeowners in Castle Hill
supported the creation of the BID, said
John Bonizio, a Westchester Square
business leader assisting in the effort
to create the borough’s next BID.
The proposed BID would fan out
over several blocks along Castle Hill
and Westchester avenues, where they
both intersect, along the commercial
corridor, said Bonizio.
Bonizio said that he and Lisa Sorin,
currently the Bronx Chamber of Commerce
executive director, were asked
by former Councilwoman Annabel
Palma to help with BID formation in
Castle Hill.
“Castle Hill needs a really strong
clean up (sanitation) program and an
advocacy program which a BID executive
director would provide,” said Bonizio,
adding the merchants need holiday
lights and marketing plans.
“It is a matter of being able to organize
the businesses, brand (Castle Hill)
This map shows the boundaries of the proposed Castle Hill Business Improvement District
along Castle Hill and Westchester Avenues. The BID is receiving unanimous support among
the merchants. Photo courtesy of John Bonizio
and market,” he added. “It should give
businesses there the opportunity to
come back and create a plan that will
make consumers want to come there
and shop.”
Bob Bieder, owner of Westchester
Square Plumbing Supply, which was
among the last businesses in the BID’s
proposed area to support the proposal,
said that be believes that the BID garnered
Seven-alarm fi re at Concourse Village apartment building
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 2 UGUST 9-15, 2019 BTR
widespread support because of
the job that Bonizio and Sorin did of
explaining the benefi ts of a BID to the
local merchants.
“When you present these things in
the proper light and when you explain
what it will do to improve and add to
their businesses, merchants respond
favorably,” said Bieder, adding “There
are BIDs all around the city and none
of them have ever failed.”
Bieder added that he believes a BID
in Castle Hill would make the merchants
and the community stronger.
As a property owner, who would
face a higher assessment to cover BID
fi nancing, Bieder said he was concerned
because his piece of property is
likely the largest in the area, with 110-
feet of frontage on a corner lot. Corner
commercial properties are assessed
higher rates to fi nance BID operations,
he said.
“My business would probably benefi
t the least from the BID,” Bieder said,
explaining that one of the things BIDs
do very well is generating foot traffi
c, however in the plumbing supply
business, foot traffi c is not a driver of
sales.
Nevertheless, the merchant said
that he believes it will add to the overall
area, which he also calls home.
“It is the only money that you give
to the city that you get back 100 percent,”
said Bieder.
Bonizio attributed the widespread
support of the BID in Castle Hill,
which was better received than the
Westchester Square, Throggs Neck
or Morris Park effort was at the same
stage, as a sign that merchants in the
area see greater issues, and greater opportunity
for a BID as a vehicle to handling
some of their concerns.
BY STEVEN GOODSTEIN
A fi re at an apartment building in
Grand Village resulted in injuries to
fi refi ghters and civilians, earlier this
week.
On the morning of Monday, August
5, a multiple-alarm fi re erupted
at 225 McClellan Street, a 40-unit, fi vestory
property with ground-fl oor retail
space.
According to the FDNY, the inferno
began in a grocery store on the fi rst
fl oor of the building before it quickly
spread to the four upper fl oors.
In order to properly extinguish the
fi re, fi refi ghters had to open up several
ceilings and walls to expose the fi re
while using multiple hose lines. The
FDNY also used a drone to obtain footage
of the blaze, which helped them
strategize a solution to douse the fi re.
Videos on social media show fi refi
ghters on the roof of the building
in an attempt to tame the blaze that
lasted for over three hours.
A total of 11 individuals were injured,
including eight fi refi ghters and
an infant boy. The cause of the fi re
was still being determined, as of press
time.
The fi re, which was classifi ed as a
seven-alarm fi re at its peak, was brought
under control at around 8:30 a.m. that
morning, according to the FDNY. They
also confi rmed that that approximately
50 units, including 225 fi refi ghters and
emergency medical service members,
responded to the blaze.
The Red Cross held a reception for
the affected families at the Family
School, 1116 Sheridan Avenue, providing
them food, water, health, emotional
support and fi nancial assistance while
offering temporary lodging to the displaced
residents.
A multiple-alarm fi re is part of a
system based on a fi re’s severity. The
higher number of alarms, the more intense
the fi re is. When a fi re is being
controlled and contained, the degree
of fi re alarms decreases.
Earlier that morning, just before 4
a.m., the FDNY responded to a separate,
four-alarm fi re which erupted at
806 Freeman Street, which resulted in
injuries to two fi refi ghters and one civilian.
The Red Cross registered a total
of 34 families, 81 adults and 52 children
for assistance between the two
fi res that occurred on Monday.
Ariel view of 225 McClellan Street, with FDNY on the roof trying to contain the fi re.
Photo courtesy of FDNY’s Instagram
Ground fl oor retail, including Halall Coffee
Shop and O.D.A. African Market & Grocery
on Sherman Avenue, which connects to 225
McClellan Street, was also destroyed by the
fi re. Photo courtesy of FDNY’s Instagram