BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Bed-Stuy’s business improvement group is looking to help building and business owners revitalize the neighborhood’s major commercial corridors.
The Bed-Stuy Gateway BID is set to apply for a grant in partnership with local businesses that would beautify properties along Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue, according to Michael Lambert, the group's executive director.
“We have some long-term property owners that do have some buildings that are in dire need of repair,” Lambert told residents at a recent community board meeting, adding that the funding and improvements would be another way to help “stabilize the neighborhood.”
“These are folks who have been in the neighborhood for decades.”
Through the New York Main Street program, eligible applicants can get matching grants for façade renovations, interior commercial and residential building upgrades, and streetscape enhancements.
Lambert cited Brooklyn’s Myrtle Avenue as an example of improvements, with many stores undergoing upgrades such as new awnings.
The Bed-Stuy Gateway BID, which was established in 2009, is home to more than 400 properties and more than 300 business, stretching along Fulton Street from Classon to Troy avenues, and Nostrand Avenue from Halsey Street to Atlantic Avenue.
The BID aims to reach out to owners — many of whom are individuals who own both the building and business, according to Lambert — to identify structures in need of help.
