Proposed Morris Park BID plan passes in City Council

Nearly 200 businesses in Morris Park are one step closer to forming a new business improvement district after City Council approved the proposal and sent it to the mayor for consideration Tuesday.
The new BID has been in the works for about 11 years. Local merchants say it will help give them a competitive advantage in the face of new malls in the borough.
A BID is a public-private partnership that involves collective contributions to maintenance, development and promotion to the local commercial district from property and business owners.
Contributions include street and sidewalk cleaning, marketing and capital improvements -- like improved street lights. They ideally result in increased property values and security in the neighborhood.
Also, business owners say, BIDs allow local stakeholders to interface directly with city agencies, bypassing bureaucratic red tape to get things done.
The proposed new BID would encompass a little over a mile stretch of Morris Park Avenue from Unionport Road to Williamsbridge Road.
If the mayor approves the plan, the state comptroller would still have to give a final green light.