Op-ed: Why it’s time for a Williamsburg BID

By Lincoln Restler, Karen Valentine, Katie Denny Horowitz

April 23, 2026

North Brooklyn’s moment continues apace.

Twenty years after the Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning, the neighborhood has added more than 11,000 jobs, built over 26,000 new homes, and grown its residential population by 41%. As Crain’s recently reported, the Northside section of Williamsburg is now one of New York City’s strongest retail corridors, attracting new brands, independent operators and sustained foot traffic that many neighborhoods would envy.

From a business owner’s perspective, that growth is tangible. Customers returned after the pandemic. Retail corridors are active again. Parks, waterfront access and new public spaces have helped make Northside a destination that drives foot traffic, supports local businesses and, as new research underscores, contributes directly to rising property values and neighborhood economic growth.

But growth without sufficient infrastructure investment has consequences. Recent analysis from Center for an Urban Future highlights a broader citywide challenge: The very public spaces that drive economic value often lack reliable funding to sustain them.

On the ground in Northside, small business owners are grappling with resulting challenges that fall outside any one storefront’s control: overflowing trash, inconsistent sidewalk cleaning, graffiti that lingers for weeks and a maze of city agencies that is difficult to navigate without technical assistance. These are not abstract quality-of-life concerns: They directly affect foot traffic, employee safety, operating costs and whether customers choose to linger or leave.

Northside is one of the city’s fastest-growing and most economically productive areas, yet it lacks a basic form of civic infrastructure that exists in essentially every comparable commercial district across New York City: a Business Improvement District.

BIDs are not about replacing city services; they are about making growth work and ensuring that some of the value created in thriving commercial districts is reinvested back into the streets, public spaces and small businesses that sustain that success. We see this across more than 78 districts citywide — from SoHo to Dumbo to Downtown Brooklyn — where BIDs provide supplemental sanitation, public safety coordination, small business support and stewardship of public space. Over the past two decades, they have invested nearly $1 billion into local neighborhood economies, delivering cleaner streets, safer corridors and more resilient commercial districts. BIDs are led by local businesses, residents and property owners, and the money raised is reinvested back in the neighborhood.

Williamsburg’s Northside deserves that same level of care.

That’s why, in fall 2023, a broad coalition of stakeholders, including business owners, residents, property owners and community organizations, launched the effort to form a Northside Improvement District in Williamsburg. Nearly 1,000 people participated in a district-wide needs assessment, and the message was consistent and pragmatic: cleaner streets, better coordination and reliable day-to-day maintenance of public space.

The proposed Northside Improvement District is designed to respond directly to those needs. From an economic development standpoint, the fundamentals matter. A dedicated sanitation team would provide seven-days-a-week sidewalk sweeping, trash management, graffiti removal and power-washing. These are services that directly support retail corridors and commercial activity. Centralized technical assistance would help businesses navigate policies more efficiently, supporting both merchants and the city.

From a public space perspective, the Northside Improvement District would also help fill a chronic funding gap for parks and open space maintenance, which is an issue increasingly recognized across the city as demand for quality public spaces grows faster that the resources to care for them. Bushwick Inlet Park, DOT plazas and waterfront parks and esplanades drive foot traffic, support local retail and nightlife and shape how people experience the neighborhood. When these spaces are clean, safe and well-maintained, nearby businesses thrive. When they are neglected, the entire district feels the impact.

Through partnerships with city agencies and non-profit stewards, the Northside Improvement District would help coordinate maintenance for these shared spaces and ensure that the quality of North Brooklyn’s public realm keeps pace with private development.

After two decades of growth, Northside has proven its economic strength. What it lacks is a management structure to sustain that success for small businesses, residents, workers and visitors alike. A Northside Improvement District is a practical, proven tool to do exactly that: supporting commerce, caring for public space and protecting the investments that have made Williamsburg a retail and waterfront destination.

Over the next several months, property owners and businesses will be asked to vote on whether to form a Northside Improvement District. This vote is a chance to invest collectively in the streets, parks and public spaces that underpin our local economy. We urge eligible voters to vote yes for a cleaner, better managed and more resilient Williamsburg.

Lincoln Restler is a New York City councilmember; Karen Valentine is co-owner of Kokomo Restaurant and a board member of the NYC Hospitality Alliance; and Katie Denny Horowitz is executive director, North Brooklyn Parks Alliance.