36 AUGUST 2, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES 110TH ANNIVERSARY WWW.QNS.COM
GREAT PEOPLE
Serving the community as more than just a lawmaker
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Public safety has always been a
top priority for Assemblyman
Mike Miller and was one of the
reasons he decided to get involved in
public offi ce.
“It was just an extension of what I’ve
done--helping preserve and protect
the quality of life for the community,”
said the assemblyman who has been
a Glendale resident for the past 47
years. Before moving to his current
community, the assemblyman said
that he lived in Bushwick on Stockholm
Street until he was about 11
years old.
Prior to becoming the District 38
assemblyman nine years ago, Miller
worked to improve the lives of those
living in his community. The assemblyman
was a board member for
Queens Community Board 5, where
he advocated for affordable housing,
expansion of senior services
and more aft er-school activities for
students.
Miller also worked as a G-COP in
the 104th Precinct Civilian Observation
Patrol, which according to their
website is the “oldest, largest and most
active civilian patrol” in New York
City. His responsibilities included
patrolling the streets and reporting
police, fi re and medical emergencies
to the proper authorities.
His robust community involvement
led to his role in public offi ce, where
the assemblyman said he works to
represent the 130,000 District 38
residents living in Woodhaven, Ridgewood,
Richmond Hill, Ozone Park and
Glendale.
Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Mike Miller’s offi ce
“I’ve helped seniors, veterans, the
developmentally disabled, anyone that
needs help,” said Miller, who actively
invites all of his constituents to bring
their issues directly to him.
Most recently, the assemblyman said
that he was involved in installing security
cameras in Forest Park that work to
“deter crime” and was also involved in
local funding for hurricane relief victims
in Puerto Rico.
The assemblyman said that
through the years The Ridgewood
Times newspaper has been an invaluable
tool in spreading news about the
community.
“The Ridgewood Times has always
been at the forefront of helping promote
great things in the community,”
Miller said. “Sometimes I get things in
the paper to promote things events
we have going on.”
Myrtle Avenue BID director speaks about organization's relationship with local paper
BY JENNA BAGCAL
The Myrtle Avenue Business District
(BID) and The Ridgewood
Times has had a longstanding
relationship since 1988, according to
BID Executive Director Ted Renz.
"The Ridgewood Times has always reported
and promoted what we do since
our inception," said Renz. "They've been
our partner in getting the word out."
Renz mentioned that the paper, which
is celebrating its 110th Anniversary
this year, has been fair and involved
in its coverage of the organization.
For 30 years, the Myrtle Avenue
BID has been responsible for providing
Greater Ridgewood residents on
Myrtle Avenue from Wyckoff Avenue
to Fresh Pond Road with "supplemental
services and programs for an
enhanced shopping environment."
Renz is a born and bred Ridgewoodite.
The BID executive director spent
his childhood in Ridgewood and grew
up in the neighborhood. He started
working in Ridgewood in 1980 and
moved to Middle Village in 1988.
Prior to the BID's inception, Renz
said that the Ridgewood Local Development
Corporation (RLDC) formed
in 1978 and was born out of residents'
concerns about adverse changes in
the area. In 1984, the RLDC completed
a $2.3 million Capital Improvement
project to repave Myrtle Avenue and
provide updated street and sidewalk
amenities. Four years later, the RLDC
founded the Myrtle Avenue BID, which
serves approximately 240 properties,
according to Renz.
Renz said that the BID is given
a budget of $560,000 to fund the
services that it provides to the community,
which include supplemental
sanitation services during the day,
upkeep of pedestrian plazas and snow
removal.
The BID also provides the community
with a plethora of programs
and amenities like the 71st Avenue
Plaza, sidewalk sales, two annual
street fairs, weekend walks with
the Department of Transportation
(DOT) and a youth-run green market
that teaches children the benefi ts of
eating healthy while cultivating their
entrepreneurship.
In the future, the executive director
said that one of the BID's goals is to
"keep the architectural integrity" of
the neighborhood's buildings in the
name of historic preservation.
"We want to preserve the look we
have," Renz said.
Renz said that the BID is trying to
provide the district with a better mix
of stores based on the community's
needs and also incorporate adjacent
areas near Myrtle and Wyckoff Avenues
as part of the BID.
Ted Renz (third from left) at a 2011 meeting of the Ridgewood Democratic Club