Downtown Brooklyn’s transformation into a classy business hub began last week with the median strip completion of “Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard.”
The “boulevard” is Adams Street coming off the Brooklyn Bridge, which already has a median strip full of greenery and flowers.
However, after Adams Street, the roadway turns into Boerum Place until Atlantic Avenue, thus roughly bordering what is Downtown Brooklyn.
“As our revitalized Downtown Brooklyn continues to bloom and flourish, the Boerum Place project is a colorful reminder that, as in all the great cities of the world, our vibrant urban thoroughfares are more than just concrete and asphalt—they are living symbols of movement and progress,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz.
The $4.1 million median extension contains more than 500 plantings, including a variety of small shrubs, roses and Hawthorne and Kwanzan Cherry trees.
The city money also paid for a series of pedestrian-friendly enhancements and traffic-calming measures including new sidewalks, sidewalk extensions, safer crosswalks and vehicle channelization.
The newly established Court, Livingston, Schermerhorn Business Improvement District (CLS BID) is responsible for maintenance and oversight of the planted median.
Similarly, the MetroTech BID is responsible for the maintenance and oversight of the planted median on the Adams Street section of the planted median.
The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP), a quasi-public local development corporation created by the Bloomberg Administration to oversee Downtown Brooklyn development following the area’s 2004 rezoning, recently signed an agreement to administrate the CLS BID.
Similarly, the DBP is in negotiations to do the same thing with the MetroTech BID.
A BID is a formalized way for businesses in a commercial area to fund extra services in their community.
These services normally include extra sanitation, security, marketing, holiday decorations and advocacy.
The way a BID works is every business and property owner in a determined area are assessed and each contributes a certain amount of money per year.
The money goes to the city, which holds it, and then reallocates it to the BID.
The BID, which is made up of the merchants and property owners, decides how to spend the money and create its own priorities.
The DBP is overseeing over $40 million in Bloomberg Administration capital funds for a series of streetscape projects that will beautify the area and improve conditions for pedestrians and traffic.
Beginning in August, the Flatbush Extension, marketed as the borough’s “gateway,” will undergo a $20 million facelift from Tillary Street to Hanson Place. Completion is scheduled for 2010.
This fall, work will also start on a $15 million modernization of the Fulton Street Mall. The project involves the installation of new streetlights, bus shelters, sidewalks and the creation of a public square.
“Thanks to the mayor, EDC [Economic Development Corporation] and the borough president, this project will have a notable impact on the revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn,” said DBP President Joe Chan, of the Boerum Place streetscape.
“This vibrant new streetscape enhances the environment for private investment, creates an attractive entrance to the district from the south and makes a pedestrian friendly connection between residential neighborhoods and the commercial core.”
