Brannan Awards Neighborhood Development Grant To Merchants of 3rd Avenue For BID Formation
City Council member Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, Bensonhurst) announced the award of the Fiscal Year 2019 Neighborhood Development Grant Initiative to the Bay Ridge Merchants of Third Avenue last week.
Brannan’s grant will help fund the first phase of 3rd Avenue’s Business Improvement District (BID) formation project which will include help from Perch Advisors, who together will work on the development of a BID along the 3rd Avenue commercial corridor. Additionally, the grant will fund the first phase of BID formation, which will include the formation of a steering committee, defining a vision and geographical boundaries for the district, the development of a database, a needs assessment survey, and the drafting of a district plan.
Third Avenue in Bay Ridge already has a long history as a robust commercial corridor. Since 1933, the Merchants of Third Avenue has covered the stretch of businesses nestled against the backdrop of the Verrazano Bridge on 3rd Avenue from 65th to 101st Streets.
The Merchants of Third Avenue expect that the formation of a BID would help provide a cleaner, safer, more attractive business district, create a reliable source of funding for neighborhood programs, offer effective and prompt responses to the changing needs of the business community, and increase property values, improve sales, and decrease commercial vacancy rates.
“It will always be my priority to support local business and the positive effects that a strong local commerce community can have on our neighborhoods. That’s why it is my honor and privilege to help the Merchants of Third Avenue explore the possibility of a BID along their corridor. The Merchants already do great work, but a BID will have even more power to benefit local business owners, consumers, and residents,” said Brannan.
A formal award presentation is slated for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9, at Greenhouse Café, at 7717 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge.
CM Williams Denounces Kavanaugh Confirmation
City Council member Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood) denounced the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) over the weekend.
On Saturday, Kavanaugh was confirmed for a lifetime to the Supreme Court in a climatic 50-48 roll call vote, that included U.S. Senator Susan Collin’s (R-ME) vote after a controversial judicial committee hearing on allegations of sexual assault against women, specifically Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, according to The Guardian. Opponents of President Donald Trump’s nominee allege the new Justice will sawy the bench toward a more conservative agenda in the decades to come.
Trump will hold a ceremony for Kavanaugh at the White House on Monday evening and he is expected to take his place on the court this Tuesday.
“This afternoon an accused sexual offender, who was nominated by an admitted sexual offender, was elevated to the highest court in the land for a lifetime appointment. As if the accusations weren’t enough, he demonstrated the most egregious lack of judicial temperament, or even basic impartiality, ever before witnessed. This confirmation was about power and privilege, and the perverse desire to maintain those at all costs,” said Williams.
Even in this dark moment, we must acknowledge the efforts of so many in the face of overwhelming odds. And those efforts have seen some success. Tonight we can mourn together. Tomorrow, with all strength we can muster, we should wake up encouraged- knowing that the moral arc of justice is long, but it STILL bends towards justice,” added Williams.
Persaud, AM Williams To Host Domestic Violence Workshop
State Senator Roxanne Persaud (D-Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown, Ocean Hill, Starrett City) and Assembly member Jaime Williams (D-Canarsie, Georgetown, Mill Basin, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach) will host a Domestic Violence Workshop this month.
The free event will focus on identifying the signs of domestic violence including physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse amongst other indicators.
Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence,(NADV) 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced some form of physical violence by an
intimate partner; on a typical day, domestic violence hotlines receive approximately 21,000 calls, an average of close to 15 calls every minute; and intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crimes.
The event is slated for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20 at NYCHA Bayview Community Center, at 5955 Shore Parkway in Canarsie.
