Myrtle Avenue BID

Pictured (left to right)

Hon. Antonio Reynoso (District 34), Councilman; Hon. Elizabeth Crowley, Councilwoman (District 30); Laura Hansen, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership,The  Horticultural Society of New York; David Agialoro representing Hon. Catherine Nolan, Assemblywoman (District 37); Theodore M. Renz, Executive Director, Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District; Vincent Arcuri, Chairman, Community Board #5; Stanley Epstein, Myrtle Avenue BID Board Member. 

Also in attendance but not pictured:

Hon. Nydia Velazquez, Congresswoman (District 7) with Evelyn Cruz, Director of Community Outreach; David Breen, Associate Project Manager, NYC Dept. of Transportation; Vikan Sinha, NYC Dept. of Transportation; Cheryl Tse, Project Manager, The Horticultural Society of New York; Angela Mirabile, Executive Director, Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation; Catherine Schmitt, representing Herman Hochberg, Myrtle Avenue BID Chairman. 

Unveiling of the partnership between the Myrtle Avenue BID and Neighborhood Plaza Partnership at 71^st Avenue Plaza and Venditti Square.

On Friday, September 5^th 2014, a new program initiative at a DOT pedestrian plaza will be unveiled in Ridgewood, Queens at the intersection of 71^st Avenue, Stephen Street and Myrtle Avenue.  Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District, with Ridgewood Local Development Corporation, is the city’s partner in caring for this space – providing additional programming as well as daily maintenance.  The space is also maintained by Atlantic Maintenance Corporation, the BID’s sanitation service provider for the district.   The additional maintenance partner for the plaza is Neighborhood Plaza Partnership (NPP) -- a unique workforce development and neighborhood revitalization program that provides transitional employment and job placement to hard-to-employ individuals while helping communities throughout the city maintain green public plazas in their commercial districts.  

Funding from the City Council Queens Delegation is helping underwrite NPP’s service in 7 plazas in Queens, including 71^st Avenue Plaza, represented by Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. Funding has also been allocated by Council Member Antonio Reynoso for horticulture and maintenance of Venditti Square, another public space along Myrtle Avenue dedicated to Detective Anthony J. Venditti in 1989.

“City Council support is crucial for plazas in communities without the significant resources it takes to manage these heavily used public spaces.” said Laura Hansen, Executive Director of The Neighborhood Plaza Partnership.   “Through the workforce programs of The Horticultural Society and the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless (ACE), we can deliver a workforce with the specialized horticultural training to keep these plazas clean, green, and beautiful year round.”

Theodore M. Renz, Executive Director of the BID, agreed saying “I also want to thank our local city council representatives, the speaker and other city council members for this vital and necessary support.”  The program will ensure that the plaza continues to provide a well-maintained, attractive space for the BID’s year-round calendar of events and the daily enjoyment of residents and shoppers.   

Service at 71^st Avenue Plaza includes: seasonal plantings with variety and color, watering and general plant care, daily lock down of street furniture, daily sweeping, litter removal, as well as bagging and relining of trash receptacles

To find out more about the Myrtle Avenue BID check out their website at : http://www.ridgewood-ny.com/