Nassau St BROOKLYN NAVY YARD N. Elliot Pl Flushing Ave N. Oxford St

COMMODORE Chapel St BARRY PARK

BROOKLYN QUEENS EXPY

Franklin Ave

Park Ave N. Portland Ave Gold St Gold

Prince St Prince Park Ave Park Ave Skillman St

Classon Ave

Emerson Pl Washington Ave

Steuben St Kent Ave INGERSOLL Taaffe Pl Grand Ave

Ryerson St

Vanderbilt Ave

Jay St. Jay Lawrence St Lawrence HOUSES

Waverly Ave Bridge St Bridge Clermont Ave

Carlton Ave Clinton Ave Hall St Adelphi St Auburn Pl Navy St WHITMAN HOUSES Myrtle Ave Myrtle Ave Flatbush Ave Ext MYRTLE AVE PLAZA St. Edwards St

Fleet Pl Fleet Ashland Pl METROTECH Washington Park CENTER

Willoughby Ave FORT GREENE Willoughby Ave PRATT PARK INSTITUTE LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY ST. JOSEPH’S BROOKLYN COLLEGE

NEW YORK Classon Ave Dekalb Ave Fulton St St. James Pl Dekalb Ave Ashland Pl St Felix St Fort Greene Pl S Elliot Pl S Portland Ave S Oxford St Cumberland St Carlton Ave Adelphi St Clermont Ave Clinton Ave

Vanderbilt Ave BID Boundaries

Livingston St Lafayette Ave

Schermerhorn St ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP Clifton Pl State St Lafayette Ave Lexington Ave Greene Ave The MyrtleAtlantic Avenue Ave Brooklyn Partnership fosters an inclusive, vibrant community anchored by Myrtle Avenue.

We do Pacificthis St by engaging and supporting our neighbors, cultivating partnerships, building community capacity, identifying needs and providing services that connect our neighbors to resources and opportunities.

ABOUT The Partnership is comprised of two entities, the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project LDC (MARP) and the This report summarizes the work undertaken by the Myrtle Front cover photo by Aundre Larrow. Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Business Improvement District (BID). Avenue Brooklyn Partnership from July 2018 - June 2019. Back cover photo by Carla Licavoli. MAY & OCT 56 tree pits BEAUTIFYING MYRTLE AVENUE received seasonal plantings, Creating a vibrant, clean and safe district is at the heart of our along with fresh work on Myrtle Avenue. mulch & soil aeration from Rain or shine, seven days a week, our street team works to keep Myrtle Avenue our crews at The Horticulture safe and attractive, removing litter and graffiti, emptying trash bins, maintaining Society of New street furniture, and nurturing street trees and plantings. This team is also tasked York. with creating an inviting area in the Myrtle Avenue Plaza, setting out our distinct orange umbrellas, tables and chairs daily during the warmer months. APRIL . Spring cleaning of the district’s Of course, the beauty of Myrtle Avenue and its plaza would not be complete 100+ custom without the abundant flora throughout the district. Year round, we work with our tree guards & partners to plant, prune, mulch, weed, and water the district’s tree pits. benches

45,000 5,496 165 246 MAY New, distinctive orange trash bags sanitation tree beds graffiti tags umbrellas, tables and chairs arrived removed hours worked nurtured removed in the plaza. Set out and put away 1,100+ 101 54 daily by our street crews staffed by seasonal tree guards young trees Streetplus. flowers planted maintained watered weekly YEAR ROUND. YEAR ROUND Our paint brushes are Streetplus’ always at the ready, removing graffiti team provides Partners Streetplus Inc., Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo, The Horticulture and applying fresh coats of paint to sanitation Society of New York, NYC Dept. of Transportation, NYC Dept. of Sanitation, the district’s street furniture services seven City 1 Maintenance, Foot Soldiers, Van Zee Sign Co. days a week Myrtle Merchant Breakfast

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS $10,300 storefront improvement Our work with local businesses is focused on preserving the grants awarded district’s ability to meet the needs of local residents. 180 16 district new businesses 85% of the district’s businesses are independently-owned. Preserving this is at businesses 75% opened the center of our work in supporting existing businesses. In addition to being Women or available daily to help merchants troubleshoot issues and navigate resources, Minority Owned we work with Myrtle Avenue’s merchant community to provide technical Businesses assistance. This past year, we hosted workshops to help small business owners understand new regulatory requirements, scheduled “mock” inspections with WELCOME! city agencies to help avoid violations, brought Google to the district to discuss Opened this past year on Myrtle Avenue: free marketing strategies, and hosting events that celebrate local businesses’ NOVEMBER . Myrtle Merchant milestones, from grand openings to 10 year anniversary parties. ACE Thai G.M.A.C.C. meeting at Anda Cafe MedRite Petee’s Cafe 16 new businesses opened their doors this year (double the amount of those AT&T Urgent Care MARCH that closed), helping to drop the district’s retail vacancy by three points. By Calyer Salon Rhed Ribbon cutting surveying and listening to local residents about the types of businesses they Southbridge Fitness at Southbridge want to see on Myrtle, we advocated for these uses to property owners and CKO Kickboxing Fitness Center TB Coffee House brokers to help fill other empty storefronts. Crabby Shack MAY Green E-Bite Van Zee Sign Co. in BKLYN’s 10th Fleet Organic VooDo Fé birthday party Market JUNE. Storefront improvement grant Partners NYC Small Business Services, Volunteers of Legal Service, Property awarded to Salon & Business Owners Rhed CONNECTING PEOPLE ON MYRTLE

By hosting community events and promoting the local businesses, we strive to connect both residents and visitors to Myrtle.

Central to our work is spreading the word about Myrtle Avenue and all that it has to offer. Every day, we’re working around the neighborhood and online to connect people with local businesses, neighborhood attractions, community events, and resources or programs that serve our neighbors.

DEC Festive holiday light installations Boot camp classes, dance parties, bike rides, outdoor yoga, lunchtime concerts, SEPT Launched the new APR Annual Fort Greene Easter Egg Hunt It’s On Myrtle campaign crafts for kids, a back to school giveaway and walking tours are just a few of the Small Business Saturday free events we’ve hosted over the past year to draw neighbors together and to NOV 2019 Myrtle with appearance by Myrtle the Elf MAY Myrtle Avenue. Avenue Summer Series kicked off

OCT Costumed dancers 18,000 2,000+ 86 at the annual Myrtle online followers social media community Avenue Halloween + subscribers posts events Dance Party in the Myrtle Avenue Plaza

48,700 92 50 8,300 MAR (opposite page) marketing pieces street banners holiday light event Annual Women’s History distributed installed fixtures installed attendees Month story-telling series. Seen here, Kym Rodgers of The Brooklyn Partners Fort Greene Park Conservancy, TD Bank, NYC Parks, Apple Bank, NYPD Sweet Spot (photo by 88th Precinct, Local Myrtle Avenue Businesses Aundre Larrow). DECEMBER . Rabbi Simcha of CELEBRATING CULTURE THROUGH ART Hadas Gallery + Synagogue led a menorah Through public art installations and cultural events, we lighting in the Myrtle Avenue celebrate our neighborhood’s history, artistry and people. Plaza

By partnering with local institutions, community groups, and artists, we have JUNE Unveiled been able to fill Myrtle Avenue with public art and events that showcase and Wonderland celebrate local culture. In addition to staging our events, we work throughout by Elodia Wei, colorfully the year to provide necessary behind-the-scenes support and sponsorships wrapped utility that help make much-loved local events possible, including Soul Summit and boxes in the Family Days at local NYCHA communities. Through art we also showcase local Myrtle Avenue history and the area’s legacy as a creativity community, including our annual Plaza Photo by Pratt Institute Black Art Story Month series and historic walking tour series. FEBRUARY (opposite page) 8th annual Black Artstory Month art series in February 12 30 15 program & window arts & culture- participating public art pieces mural by Steven based events held artists installed + maintained Mosley at [salon]718. AUGUST. Artist Tanda Francis with her Partners Black Gotham, Pratt Institute, Uniqlo, Fort Greene Park sculpture Adorn Me Conservancy, NYC Parks, Fort Greene Park Jazz Festival, Afro Punk, Soul MAY Annual monthly Summit, American Opera Projects, The Walt Whitman Initiative, Local Artists historic walking tour and Myrtle Avenue Businesses Photo by [salon]718 Photo by Bklyner series kicked off SUPPORTING NEIGHBORS

Using Myrtle Avenue as an anchor, our community programs connect neighbors with resources in our neighborhood.

Connecting Teens to Jobs Last summer, we paired 19 local high schoolers with 12 local businesses, providing paid summer jobs and opportunities to learn about being a business owner through our Young Entrepreneur & Mentorship Program.

Improving Access to Healthy Food With our partners, we distributed 130,000+ pounds of fresh produce to hundreds of local households through the monthly Fort Greene & Farragut Fresh Pantry.

Supporting Neighbors in Shelters By partnering with Myrtle Avenue businesses and neighbors, we raised $10,000 to MARCH. Members JULY Ingersoll Houses purchase daily need items for shelter residents. We also connected local restaurants with area shelters, providing daily of the Myrtle Avenue NSTAT Stakeholder donations of prepared foods and holiday meals. Senior Advisory Team following their Council at the community clean-up day Age Friendly Myrtle Avenue With support from the Brooklyn Community Foundation’s new Brooklyn Elder’s Fund, we Brooklyn Community reactivated the Myrtle Avenue Senior Advisory Council and began work to advocate for neighborhood improvements and Foundation’s MARCH Volunteers Brooklyn Elders Fund from the Brooklyn Navy hosting events, making it easier for neighbors to age in place on Myrtle Avenue. announcement Yard at the Fort Greene & Farragut Fresh Pantry Neighborhood Safety We worked with neighbors at Ingersoll Houses in developing community-led initiatives that sought to OCTOBER Myrtle increase neighborhood safety and reduce violent crime, as part of the citywide NSTAT program. business owner Jill NOVEMBER Staff from Lindsey at her store Key Food on Myrtle Partners City Harvest, Brooklyn Community Foundation, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Corbin Hill Food Project, Council Member with staff from the ICL Avenue delivering and Tillary St Women’s distributing 400+ turkeys Laurie A. Cumbo, Farragut, Whitman & Ingersoll Tenant Associations, Navy Yard Boys & Girls Club, NYC Mayor’s Office of Shelter during a to families at the Fort Criminal Justice, Center for Court Innovation, Ingersoll Cornerstone Community Center, One Community, Con Edison, The fundraiser to support Greene & Farragut Gilbert Rivera Charitable Foundation, Pratt Center, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Taconic Fellow Maria Baker shelter residents Fresh Pantry OUR FUNDERS OUR TEAM MYRTLE AVENUE REVITALIZATION PROJECT LDC MYRTLE AVENUE BROOKLYN BID STAFF BID BOARD OF DIRECTORS MARP BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Foundation + Grants Sponsors Annual BID Assessment Chad Purkey Kevin Shirley, Chair Class A P. Ann Daniels, Interim Chair Pratt Institute BID Executive Director John Dew, Vice-Chair Class A Dr. Georgianna Glose, Vice Chair Brooklyn Community Foundation Apple Bank NYC Department of Transportation - Michael Weiss, Treasurer Class A Emily Ahn Levy, Secretary Con Edison Aufgang Architects OneNYC Plaza Equity Kristin Brown Larry Esposito, Secretary Class A Michael Banach, Treasurer The Gilbert Rivera Charitable Brooklyn Family Dental Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo Director, BID Services Doug Bowen - Class A John Dew Foundation Brooklyn Navy Yard Dale Charles - Class A Leah Flax Development Corporation Raome Quiñones Gurvan Duncan - Class A Bernell Grier Government Clinton Hill Co-ops Streetscape Manager Tony Guzman - Class A Gary Hattem Doug Bowen NYC Small Business Services Larry Hoy - Class A Mike Massiah Gentleman Farmer Fort Greene NYC Council Majority Leader Asea Thompson Mutale Kanyanta - Class A Jed Marcus Key Food Laurie A. Cumbo Program Specialist, Tamara Browne - Class B Sudha Seetharaman Long Island University Fund for the City of NY Community Programs Elissa Olin - Class B Madison Realty Capital Amanda Neville - Class B Medrite Urgent Care Stephanie Wong-You Gerry Rooney - Class B Pratt Institute Neighborhood 360 Fellow Carol Thomas - Class B Putnam’s Pub & Cooker Samantha Johnson - Class C THE HALL - RXR Carol-Ann Church - Class E The Society for Clinton Hill NYC SBS Commissioner Gregg Bishop St. Joseph’s College Class A - property owner NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer TD Bank Class B - business owner Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams The Phoenix Rehabilitation & Class C - resident NYC Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo Class E - non-voting Nursing Center Wellcare Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership 472 Myrtle Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11205 (718) 230-1689 | [email protected] @myrtleavebklyn | myrtleavenue.org