Keeping business humming in the village

From keeping the commercial vacancy rate down to providing a unified voice that promotes its members’ interests, the 18-year-old Cedarhurst Business Improvement District has played a vital role in ensuring that merchants and business people are successful.

In partnership with the Village of Cedarhurst, the BID hosts several events that focus on bringing shoppers to the downtown area, and works with the village to maintain an attractive streetscape.

The BID replaced the Cedarhurst Business Association, which wasn’t very successful at collecting dues, and the money it collected wasn’t enough to implement needed improvements. The Cedarhurst Commercial Property Owners Association, a loose association of landlords, determined that a BID could be more effective.

“Most of the time it had little or no money and spent a lot of time trying to raise money [collecting dues],” Steve Schneider, the current BID chairman, said of the Business Association. “New York state had recently passed a statute providing for BIDs, and the feeling was that this would be a better arrangement, as there would be a definite source of money that the village would collect each year and that would fund the BID.”

Working in concert with the village, the BID collects money, considered an assessment, from member landlords that by law cannot exceed 20 percent of the village tax on commercial properties in the district. If the assessment is not paid, it becomes a lien against the property. The BID is bordered on the north by the Long Island Rail Road tracks, to the east by Prospect Avenue, to the south by Broadway and to the west by Washington Avenue.

“While there are some arrears, for the most part, collecting the money has not been a problem, and it is done for us by the village, which mails out the bills and collects the money,” Schneider said.

The district now collects approximately $80,000 annually, enabling it to support the annual three-day summer Sidewalk Sale, a winter “sidewalk” sale, a spring street fair and a health fair in Andrew J. Parise Cedarhurst Park. Last year the BID held its first “Black Friday” event, as it will again this year, and helped sponsor a movie-in-the-park event along with the village and Five Towns Community Chest. The group also advertises and promotes business in Cedarhurst and, with the village, sets up holiday lighting and decorations.

Cedarhurst Trustee Ari Brown, a 13-year member of the BID, serves as the village’s liaison to the organization. In his dual role, Brown seeks to keep communication open between merchants and the village.

“It is a strong entity because the relationship is not adversarial,” said Brown, who points to Cedarhurst’s low 7.7 percent vacancy rate as a major indication of how well the BID and village government cooperate. “We work together. There is cohesiveness between what the mayor wants and the chair wants.”

The village’s Architectural Review Board carefully examines signage before it is installed, Brown said, to ensure that downtown streets continue to have a consistent and appealing appearance to attract businesses and shoppers.

That is part of what original BID member Bob Block called a “cumulative effect” of the organization that also encompasses watching out for vandalism such as graffiti, finding suitable commercial tenants and financially supporting the Five Towns Auxiliary Police.

“It is a local merchant’s duty to be involved to help improve business in your community,” Block said in explaining why his business, the Jewelry Showroom, is a BID member. Block is also the current director of Five Towns Community Chest.

The BID meets on the second Monday of the month at Cedarhurst Village Hall, and on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m., the Cedarhurst District Management Association Inc., the group that manages the BID, will hold its 19th annual meeting there.

“I personally think that one of the most valuable roles we play is that we are an ongoing and organized voice promoting the interests of the Cedarhurst business community, both before the village and elsewhere,” Schneider said.