The New York City Council unanimously voted to create a new business improvement district in Queens called the Greater JFK BID.
The 51-0 afternoon vote Thursday at City Hall came after the legislation to start the BID won approval from the Finance Committee in the morning. The NYC City Council took over passing laws creating individual business districts around the city back in 1990.
Last month, the finance panel held a public hearing to hear comments and then held a 30-day waiting period to hear any objections.
The Queens BID is on the route to the John F. Kennedy International airport and is mostly industrial in nature, with warehouses and cargo businesses dominating a smaller residential neighborhood.
The district, which is located in the Springfield Gardens area adjacent to the airport, is made up of 525 parcels of which 199 are commercial or industrial lots, 154 residential, 103 vacant or undeveloped, 10 mixed use and 59 tax-exempt.
This law creates an area of designated properties in Queens and allows for the collection of a special tax assessment to pay for additional amenities above the normal city services.
The BID District Management Association is in charge of improving security and sanitation, making physical and capital improvements, and using marketing and advertising strategies to promote the area. The BID will be managed by the Greater JFK District Management Association, Inc., which has a budget of $500,000 a year.
