WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 6, 2017 9
Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood will sparkle with extra trash pickups & holiday lights
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDCE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Summer may have just started,
but the Myrtle Avenue Business
Improvement District (BID) is
already thinking ahead to the holiday
shopping season.
During its 29th annual meeting in
Ridgewood on Wednesday, June 28,
the BID outlined its yearly budget, and
a familiar project was one of the top
priorities for the BID: holiday lights
along the corridor.
Making the season bright on Myrtle
Avenue is of the utmost importance
to Herman Hochberg, president and
chairperson of the BID.
“That’s something that motivated me
to start a BID,” Hochberg said of the
holiday lights.
For July 1 to June 30, 2018, the Myrtle
Avenue BID has a budget of $533,976
before expenses. Those funds came
from: $507,676 from the BID assessment;
$5,000 from the Department of
Transportation (DOT) Weekend Walk;
$20,000 from the DOT Equity Fund;
$1,000 from the street fair; and $300
in interest.
Throughout the year the Myrtle
Avenue BID will use those funds to pay
for important services for the participating
members of the BID — which
Holiday lights, similar to those shown
along Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood,
will again light up Myrtle Avenue in
Ridgewood later this year.
runs along Myrtle Avenue from Wyckoff
Avenue to Fresh Pond Road.
“I call this taxation with representation
because we tax ourselves and
we spend the money the way we want,”
Hochberg said. “That, to me, is a great
pleasure because we know what’s
important for our street.”
The BID’s fi scal year 2018 expenses
include $137,550 for sanitation
services; $3,800 for security; $10,000
for beautifi cation projects; $2,500 for
streetscape improvements; $37,700 to
bring back holiday lights to the strip;
$117,900 for marketing and promotion
for the BID’s businesses; and $196,766
for administrative costs, including
approximately $36,000 for insurance
costs. In total, the BID’s FY 2018 expenses
total, $506,216, leaving the BID
File photo/QNS
with $27,760 in surplus funds from
this year’s budget and approximately
$42,000 from prior years, which will
remain as contingency funds.
When it comes to sanitation, the BID
will get seven-day-a-week sidewalk
and curbside sweeping, with two
Green Machine drivers year-round;
one additional manual worker for
the weekends during select months,
and use of an anti-graffi ti program as
needed.
“I think, in the city Myrtle Avenue
has always come out on top as far as
cleanliness,” Hochberg said.
As far as security is concerned, the
BID will continue to work closely with
the 104th Precinct. The BID will also
consider looking into creating a crime
prevention brochure for merchants
and property owners, and a safety
seminar with members of the NYPD,
as well as looking into obtaining security
cameras.
The beautification of the area
includes landscaping, weeding and
watering the plazas within the BID.
Streetscape improvements include
brick repairs in the plaza areas, and
the installation of additional benches
in front of businesses that have requested
them.
When the holidays roll around,
Myrtle Avenue is guaranteed to be
lit up with illuminated decorations
on 24 light poles, 25 lighted arches at
various points along the avenue, and
two Myrtle Avenue BID signs at either
end of the BID.
Marketing and promotion funds
will go toward supporting sales,
promotions, ad books and events
including the Youth Farm Market,
street fairs, holiday events and other
strategies.
Finally, the administrative costs
will go to pay staff , utilities, supplies,
insurance and other expenses.
Middle Village sewer project sparks
up again after Fourth of July holiday
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Now that the July 4 fireworks
die down, residents of
Middle Village can expect
to hear the familiar sounds of
construction as work on the Penelope
Avenue sewer project picks
back up.
According to the city Department
of Design and Construction (DDC),
work began on Wednesday, July
5, and will last until Friday, July 7,
for a pair of projects involving the
installation of sewer pipes.
The DDC is installing 24-inch RCP
combined sewer pipes on 66th Road
between Gray Street and 77th Street.
This work is expected to last until
July 7.
Then, on July 7, DDC will install
15-inch ESVP combined sewer pipes
on 77th Street between Gray Street
and 66th Road.
Work days will start at 7 a.m. and
last until 3:30 p.m.
Curbside parking and driveway
access will also be restricted during
times of construction. DDC requests
that vehicles be removed from the areas
before 7 a.m. on July 5 for the 66th Road
work, and July 7 for the 77th Street work.
Signs will be posted in the aff ected areas.
Only emergency vehicles will have
full access to the streets, and pedestrian
access to will be maintained at
all times.
Photo: Shutterstock
Throughout the duration of the
construction, DDC will monitor operations
and work within Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Noise Code Regulations.
Residents with any questions
regarding construction are encouraged
to call the DDC fi eld offi ce at
718-326-3858. The fi eld offi ce hours
are Monday to Friday between the
hours of 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
