Letter: Village BID Reports On Grants, Parking Signs

This letter was contributed to Patch by Dennis Smith, Executive Director of the Patchogue Village Business Improvement District.

The BID was able to move ahead yet again in 2012/2013 despite working with a reduced budget of $160,000. All regular services were maintained and a few new initiatives started. The working budget for 2013/2014 will be 166,600.

2012/2013 saw the successful completion of our second NYS Main Street Grant. This grant, for $500,000, saw a total of $930,000 in improvements to 19 buildings, 3 apartments and several streetscape projects. When the 2008 grant for $200,000 is combined with this $500,000, 2010 grant, we have realized just under $2,000,000 in total improvements to our downtown business district.

The good news is; we’re not done yet! The BID was awarded a third NYS Main Street Grant in 2012 for another $250,000. Again, thank you to Marian Russo from the Village CDA Office for lending her expertise in writing and helping to secure this grant. This grant encompasses the area from 10 South Ocean Avenue to the south side of East Main Street from South Ocean Avenue to Route 112, and across to the north side of East Main Street from Route 112 to Maple Avenue. To date we have issued 10 applications, 5 have been returned, for improvements to be considered at a meeting of the Grants Approval Committee later this month. Many additional positive projects are anticipated with this grant.

With an eye toward trying to work projects that might help with parking throughout the Village, the BID this past year initiated a “Way-Finding Sign” study. This program would number all of the downtown business district parking lots identifying them with white and blue signage, and also have blue and white signs installed on major streets and roadways pointing the way to the numbered lots. This would be a way to maximize parking choices, particularly with people new to the village and not familiar with our parking lots.

After approval from the Village Board for this project, the BID presented it to the Community Development Agency Board (CDA) as an avenue for funding. We, the BID, thank the CDA Board for agreeing to fund this project up to $25,000.

The signs are in the process of being installed, look great and will hopefully accomplish what we had planned. To better facilitate village parking.

This past year, we also attended our second HIA-LI B2B Trade show on May 23rd, at the SCCC campus in Brentwood. Again, we made many great contacts and were joined by the Chamber, Theatre, CDA Office and elected Village Officials at the show, in marketing and promoting Patchogue Village to business professionals attending the trade show.

In the upcoming year, it is our hope to attend the Javits Center Retail Trade Show in January 2014, with our sights set on purchasing a booth and participating in the show to market Patchogue there in January 2015.

The 2012/2013 year was the last year of our five year commitment to help in the dredging of the Patchogue River, which in kind, freed up $30,000 which was a help in broaching the gaps that would have occurred in this lien budget year.

We continually improve and upgrade the BID web site keeping Krystle DiNicola on as consultant and hands on tech rep for this purpose and we thank her for the diligent effort she’s expended in improving our site.

We continually extend the vegetation control parameters each year, last year adding Route 112 and this year extending West Main Street from West Avenue to Waverly Avenue. This service has proven to be extremely worthwhile over the past five years.

The BID Board of Directors, on a suggestion from President Pete Roe, has added new “quadrant committees”. This basically divides the village into four squares, or quadrants, starting at the Four Corners. The quadrants are broken down as Southwest, which includes the river, Northwest, Southeast and Northeast. Each quadrant has three to four board members assigned with a committee chair for each one.

The significance of each quadrant is to have a BID Board member who owns a building or business in his or her quadrant, to canvass their area and determine the needs and issues in each section and report back to the BID Board at our monthly meetings. This way the BID Board could consider specific situations in each quadrant and try to figure a way for the BID to be helpful and better serve each.

In addition to the major events and happenings that I’ve just spoken of this past year, we’re still in the business of day to day services. Valentin still does a great job in maintaining cleanliness on our streets and in our parking lots. Along with street maintenance, we still provide;

• Purchase and maintain the flowering hanging basket program

• Garden plantings & maintenance in village parking lots & R.R. station

• Tree and planter watering maintenance

• Holiday decorations & lighting and their maintenance & storage

As always, the BID Board of Directors works hard all year donating their time and talent for the betterment and wellbeing of Patchogue Village and are to be commended for their untiring efforts.

Personally, and on behalf of the BID Board of Directors, I want to thank Mayor Pontieri and the entire Village Board for your continued support and assistance as we take on and accomplish the endeavors with which we become involved.

Also, the BID would like to thank the Village DPW, Department of Recreation, Chamber of Commerce, Garden Club and all other groups throughout the Village that we have a great mutual support system with.

In closing: We’ve just finished another very exciting and successful year in Patchogue Village. It’s amazing how every year just brings an abundance of forward thinking ideas and fresh new projects from all corners of the Village. One idea seems to play off of the last great idea and so on and so on. It’s never boring and it’s all good.

With that being said, the Business Improvement District looks forward to yet another positive and fulfilling year ahead.

Thank you,

Dennis A. Smith, Executive Director, B.I.D.