THE QUEENS
SEPTEMBER, 2017
New Bayside BID director wants to see the
neighborhood’s small businesses thrive
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Christine Silletti, who recently took
over as executive director of the Bayside
Village Business Improvement District
(Bayside Village BID), said she has been
struck most by the neighborhood’s sense
of camaraderie in her fi rst few months at
her post.
“I really love the neighborhood,” said
Silletti, who began in April. “Everyone
knows everyone here, everyone’s very
open and very supportive … I feel like
that’s part of what keeps a commercial
corridor strong, and a strong commercial
corridor also helps keep the neighborhood
healthy and strong.”
Th e Bayside BID supports the dozens
of businesses along the bustling Bell
Boulevard corridor between Northern
Boulevard and 35th Avenue, as well as 41st
Avenue from 213th Street to 214th Place.
Th e group works to promote local business
through marketing eff orts, community
events and support services, including
helping owners navigate through the
oft en-confusing world of city permitting
and regulations — a skill Silletti has come
to champion.
Th e executive director has years of
experience in business outreach, spending
time with nonprofi t groups as well as
the New York City Department of Small
Business Services (SBS) working to provide
services to businesses aff ected by
Hurricane Sandy.
“I have a real passion for small business,”
Silletti said. “I think I always have.”
For Silletti, the greatest goal is to create
a positive environment throughout the
commercial corridor. Th rough community
events, the BID works to bring businesses
and local residents together in a
fun, laid-back setting.
Later this month, Bell Boulevard
between 39th and 41st Avenues will be
closed to vehicular traffi c for the BID’s
annual Sunday Stroll. Th e free Sept. 24
event will run from noon until 5 p.m.
and will allow families to wander up and
down the corridor and take in a diverse
set of live music, food, games, activities
and giveaways.
Silletti hopes to tackle a number of
short and long-term goals in the coming
months and years, including streetscaping
and parking improvements.
Most immediately — and thanks to fi scal
support from Assemblyman Edward
Braunstein — the executive director was
happy to report that the greenery adjacent
to the Bayside LIRR station at 41st
Avenue is scheduled to undergo a facelift .
Plans for the area will be left largely up
to the community, she said, but creating
accessibility and user-friendliness at the
site will be a priority.
Residents can off er their input at an
upcoming community meeting this fall.
Further details will be announced at a
later time.
“I think the strength are the people
here,” Silletti said. “I meet so many people
who have been born and raised here,
or may have moved away but then moved
back. Th at speaks to a real strength and
love of the neighborhood.”
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Learn more about the Bayside Village
BID by visiting www.baysidevillagebid.
com or their Facebook page, “Bayside
Village BID.”
Christine Silletti, the new Bayside BID director.