A Community Driven Process
What is a BID?
A Business Improvement District (BID) is a nonprofit entity that provides services within a defined geographic area. The specific services are chosen by that community’s stakeholders, and funded through an assessment on the properties within its boundaries. By law, the existence of a BID does not reduce or replace services provided by the City of New York.
BIDs deliver supplemental services such as maintenance of the public realm, horticultural and public space improvements, supplemental sanitation pick-up and visitor services, community-driven programming, capital improvements, and technical assistance for businesses and residents. Since its inception over twenty years ago, the City’s BID program has contributed over $930 million in supplemental services to invigorate our neighborhoods.
The 76 BIDs in New York City are as diverse as the neighborhoods they serve. The BID model allows local stakeholders to define what services the neighborhood needs, and how best to share the costs. Across New York City, individual BIDs produce an iftar during Ramadan to celebrate Yemeni merchants (5th Ave BID, Bay Ridge), train young entrepreneurs in public housing (Myrtle Ave Brooklyn Partnership), pick up litter in public plazas (Flatiron), organize and run Open Streets (Park Slope-5th Ave), and maintain public parks (Union Square Partnership). This hyperlocal model of community service is well-suited to Gowanus, which has a mix of 19th-century homes, public housing, industrial uses, and soon-to-be-developed lots, each with its own unique relationship to the historic canal.
Formation Process
Gowanus BID Steering Committee
We, the Gowanus Improvement District Formation Steering Committee, represent a comprehensive array of stakeholders and leadership from the Gowanus neighborhood. Among us are property owners, developers, business owners, local nonprofits, advocates, artists, and residents who hope to leverage the existing Business Improvement District model in NYC to:
(1) ensure the maintenance of the public realm in Gowanus,
(2) guarantee that all members of the Gowanus community can enjoy emerging parks and public spaces, and
(3) reinforce a vibrant live-work neighborhood.
In late 2021, a Steering Committee was formed to help guide the formation process. Together in coordination with the NYC Department of Small Business Services, the Steering Committee of the Gowanus Improvement District is working to gather community input to inform the boundaries, scope of services, budget, and assessment for the future district. Learn more about the Steering Committee here.
In the spring and summer of 2022, the Committee collected information from Gowanus residents, property owners, workers, business owners and community stakeholders on current quality of life concerns and priorities for needed services in the neighborhood.
In the fall of 2024, the Committee began the outreach process. Cast your vote today!
Steering Committee Members
This Committee was brought together by Gowanus Canal Conservancy, which has been advocating and caring for the public realm in Gowanus for almost 20 years, and is lending its staff time and expertise to the formation effort.
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Alexandra Dadourian-Nelson
Friends of Thomas Greene Park
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Aimee Little
Owner, Gowanus Wine Studio & Tasting Table
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Andrea Parker
Executive Director, Gowanus Canal Conservancy
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Andrew Foley
Developer, Jonathan Rose Companies (Gowanus Green)
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Brian Ezra
Landowner/Developer,
Avery Hall -
Cassandra Dillenberger
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Chris Papamichael
Co-CEO- Developer/Landowner, Domain Companies
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Grace Freedman
Co-Chair, Forth on Fourth Avenue; Founder, Why Not Art; Member, Boerum Hill Association; Resident
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Johnny Thornton
Executive Director, Arts Gowanus
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Kim Maier
Executive Director, Old Stone House & Washington Park
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Lisa Lightbody
Member, Dolly’s Park; Resident
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Sabine Aronowsky
Friends of Thomas Greene Park
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Sam Alison-Mayne
Landowner/Developer, Tankhouse
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Theresa Davis
Resident, Gowanus Houses
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Veerle Arts
Owner, Breuckelen Athletic; Designer; Urban Planner
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Zack McKown
Owner, Tsao & McKown
Community Partners
Arts Gowanus
Arts Gowanus is a not-for-profit organization working to support, promote and advocate
for local artists and an affordable, diverse and sustainable arts community in Brooklyn. We nurture relationships among individual artists, arts organizations, local businesses, and the community. We believe that the diverse creativity of local artists contributes to the singularly vibrant cultural life and energy of New York City, and that it is critical not only for the artists, but also our society in general, that the arts continue to thrive in Gowanus. We produce open studio events, professional development workshops, public art works, artistic collaborations and exhibitions in our mission to ensure artists remain a crucial part of neighborhood identity.
Old Stone House & Washington Park
The Old Stone House & Washington Park is dedicated to preserving and teaching local and national history as it has impacted our historically significant Brooklyn neighborhood. We are also the conservancy organization for JJ Byrne Playground and Washington Park – caring for our neighborhood park, playground and gardens to create a vibrant public space. We support and contribute to the needs of the present-day community through family programs, arts and cultural events and neighborhood advocacy.
Learn More
Forth on Fourth Ave
FOFA stands for a greener, safer and more resilient 4th Avenue! Streets are the largest public space in a neighborhood – critical to safety, climate resilience and neighborhood identity. Forth on Fourth Ave (FOFA) has a 10-year history of successfully lobbying for 4th Avenue improvements (between Atlantic Avenue and the Prospect Expressway) including tree planting, tree bed maintenance (with tree guards), and public art installations. Our current focus is advocating for the city and developers to keep promises for a safer and greener 4th Ave, such as finishing the 4th Ave bike lane as promised, and to support continued investments in the streetscape, such as green infrastructure and public art.
Gowanus Canal Conservancy
Gowanus Canal Conservancy is dedicated to facilitating the development of a resilient, vibrant, open space network centered on the Gowanus Canal through activating and empowering community stewardship of the Gowanus Watershed. Since 2006, we have served as the environmental steward for the neighborhood through leading grassroots volunteer projects; educating students on environmental issues; and working with agencies, elected officials, and the community to advocate for, build, and maintain innovative green infrastructure around the Gowanus Canal.
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Friends of Thomas Greene Park
Our mission is to work with the surrounding communities and organizations to revitalize Thomas Greene Park and to support ecological, recreational, educational and economic uses that increase the park's attractiveness as a destination while respecting the character of the surrounding areas. We continue to develop the park to receive an eventual 200,000 Brooklynites annually from Gowanus, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Park Slope neighborhoods. The park has a pool (including a toddler section), playground with a water feature, skate park, basketball courts, new picnic tables and benches, and services and programs such as the School Food program, free swimming lessons, and serves as a cooling center.
Learn More