VILLAGE ALLIANCE FISCAL YEAR 2020 ANNUAL REPORT Dear Neighbors The past few months have challenged us in ways never imagined – a year that started off brightly with grand plans for public art projects, enhanced community events and a new seasonal food & craft market at Astor Place evolved into an all-hands-on-deck campaign to sustain our commercial landscape. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Black Lives Matter demonstrations have proven a once in a lifetime test of our ability as a region to come together and support each other. Throughout this time, every Village Alliance staff member has been working tirelessly to advocate for our small businesses, from educating our merchants on available government, non-profit and private resources to developing targeted marketing campaigns to raise awareness among our broader neighborhood audience. As many of our businesses begin to reopen after months of uncertainty, there are a few bright spots on the horizon. New York State is taking the public health crisis seriously and numbers are improving. Our elected officials in Washington recognize the tremendous impact the virus has on all aspects of the economy and are working toward additional stimulus measures as I write this letter – money for state and local governments, extended pandemic unemployment benefits, COBRA and rent subsidies, and more flexible relief packages for small businesses. All of these proposals will help bridge the time necessary to find new ways for merchants and customers to connect, to experience the neighborhood and ultimately to rebuild our economy. Throughout these demanding times, our hard-working street teams have been dedicated to the small details that improve quality of life for everyone in the neighborhood. Their services are more essential than ever, be it cleaning and sanitizing public spaces and furnishings, caring for greenery, removing graf- fiti, or connecting the public with services. We truly believe it is important to immediately address untidy street conditions before they intensify, so we have redoubled our efforts to ensure that the beautiful and historic Greenwich Village streetscape and welcoming spirit of the neighborhood shines through. We hope you take a moment to read this Annual Report and learn more about our service to the community. Over the past quarter century, the Village Alliance has been a major force in cleaning up our streets, beautifying public spaces and promoting Greenwich Village merchants -- we hope you will make every effort to support our local businesses as well during this unprecedented time. We thank our stakeholders for your continued support, and welcome feedback on how we can make the neighborhood a better place to live, work and visit. Sincerely, William Kelley Martin Dresner Executive Director President Improving Public Spaces Improving public open space is central programs at Astor Place this fiscal to the Village Alliance mission, our year, but we look forward to creating goal is to create and maintain beau- a Spring Food & Craft Market as well tiful streets, sidewalks and public as a new Greenmarket throughout plazas, ensuring a pedestrian-friendly the summer and fall as soon as we environment that embodies the are able to once again gather in authenticity of Greenwich Village. The public spaces. We also look forward Alliance is busy year-round caring for to advancing a partnership with one trees, tree pits, hanging baskets and of the area’s newest cultural desti- other public landscaped areas in the neighbors about our services, and nations, the Swiss Institute on St. district. Our green efforts add beauty ultimately build strategic partnerships Marks Place, as a means to reflect the to the everyday Village streetscape; that benefit our local businesses and artistic heritage of emerging artists, we now maintain a total of 145 tree the community at large. Thanks to the engage the public and enliven the generous support of our community pits, 55 street planters and 48 hanging neighborhood with public art. partners, the new public WiFi system flower baskets along with hundreds at the Astor Place plazas reached its of shrubs, flowers and grasses in 15 one year milestone, with a capacity large planting areas at Astor Place. of up to 400 simultaneous users and averaging an estimated total of 13,000 users per month. Over the past year, we activated our publc Over the past year we activated our public spaces with events featuring spaces with events local artistic talent and introducing featuring local artistic neighbors to our retail, restaurant talent and introducing and cultural partners. Events like neighbors to our the Positively 8th Street Festival, Creativity Cubed, Joe’s Pub @ Astor retail, restaurant and (Make Music New York, Friday cultural partners. Night Cabaret, and the Astor Alive! Performing Arts Series) and the inaugural Dinner on 8th: A Village Food Festival all offer the community The Village Alliance has increased opportunities to discover new expe- our visibility in these public spaces riences and enjoy the neighborhood, over time, largely through community 1. The recently reconstructed Astor Place will while providing valuable patronage to soon house a new weekly farmer’s market. events, often in partnership with local Village merchants. (Photo: Village Alliance) businesses or advocacy organiza- 2. Ruth Wittenberg Triangle provides respite tions. This gives us the opportunity The global pandemic did lead us amid bustling Village avenues. to broaden our audience, educate to postpone our new public market (Photo: Village Alliance) Supporting Local Merchants At the core of Village Alliance 15,000 members. Offering exclusive programming is the belief that a truly deals and incentives, Village Access successful neighborhood contains encourages neighbors to put local Our neighborhood not only beautiful public open space, businesses first when shopping and merchant loyalty but also a diverse array of restaurants dining. Our mobile app for iOS now and retail establishments. Through allows consumers to search and program, Village the years we have promoted and advo- access deals without having to carry Access, remains cated on behalf of local merchants, around a physical card. And new for as popular seeking to connect community with 2020, the Village Access app features commerce. Now, more than at any exciting local events to connect users as ever with time in recent memory, our local busi- to all that Greenwich Village has over 75 nesses need the tools to survive in a to offer. post-COVID future – e-commerce plat- participating forms, contactless payment systems, Greenwich Village is also a popular merchants and shared neighborhood resources and destination for many who live nearly 15,000 less red tape to minimize economic elsewhere and travel from afar. To burden. And they need the communi- encourage visitors throughout the members ty’s foot traffic and financial support year to support our local merchants, to flourish. we created 25 curated digital walking tours, focusing on every- in learning about and/or visiting Our neighborhood merchant loyalty thing from art, architecture and Greenwich Village. Follow these program, Village Access, remains literature to food and pop culture neighborhood pages on Facebook, as popular as ever with over 75 (greenwichvillage.nyc/tours). Twitter and Instagram for the latest participating merchants and nearly The Village Alliance also supports neighborhood news, events and local businesses by distributing thou- business information. If social media sands of neighborhood dining guides is not your focus, visit our website, to NYC hotels, tourist and university https://greenwichvillage.nyc, information centers, and at our and sign up for our biweekly e-news- Village Information Booths at Astor letter, The Village Beat. Place and Ruth Wittenberg Triangle. Our neighborhood communication channels continue to engage over 40,000 followers under the Greenwich Village NYC, Astor Place NYC and Made on 8th Street names, reflecting The Village Alliance has been working our intent to provide content that hard to provide regulatory resources to our businesses, who need your support now appeals to the broader neighbor- more than ever. (Artwork: Lynn Lieberman) hood as well as to those interested Enhancing Quality of Life Quality of Life initiatives were the Most Reported initial funded programs at the Village Street Incidents: Alliance over 25 years ago and remain Digitizing street the foundation of our work, focusing 2018 vs. 2019 conditions allows us 00 on keeping Greenwich Village streets to track maintenance 700 clean, safe and beautiful. In 2019, our Clean Team worked hard to keep our and safety needs in 00 streets clean, logging 21,938 sani- real time, as well as 500 tation hours, removing 91,000 bags 00 (1,138 tons) of garbage and caring for giving us the ability 170 pieces of plaza furniture (and one to chart seasonal and 00 giant spinning cube!). Our largest and longitudinal trends 200 most visible program, the Clean Team 100 painted 12,796 areas of streetscape 0 and removed 306 large incidents of Aggressive Suspicious Illegal Encampments Noise Panhandling Activity Vending Crowds graffiti this past fiscal year. From year to year the statistics vary, but this With quieter streets our dedicated year’s work represents a 6% increase public safety ambassadors are valued 2018 2019 in garbage collected and nearly 30% more than ever, patrolling seven days increase in removing graffiti, stickers per week for