Project Summary: An environmental scan will serve to identify the degree to which protected asset classes are included (or not) from BID sponsored activities, investments, programming as well as the degree to which BID managed spaces are accessible to a diverse population, historically marginalized groups and those with physical disabilities. This baseline information serves as a critical starting point for identifying what issues need to be addressed by the BID.

STEP-BY-STEP

1. Review the decision-making process to ensure that it is inclusive and equitable. Conduct interviews with staff to understand how decisions are made and if those decisions are open to participation by underrepresented communities.
   

2. Assess the diversity of decision makers and partners. This should include the demographics of Board members, staff and committees to determine if there are meaningful gaps in representation that undermine inclusive decision making.
   

3. Evaluate community engagement – how are marginalized communities integrated into decision making. Are language or cultural barriers making it difficult for some communities to participate?

Project Summary: Small, minority owned businesses often face obstacles to success in part because of their limited access to traditional loan capital. Minority business owners are more frequently rejected by traditional lenders owing to lower credit, lower net worth and fewer assets to serve as collateral. A targeted loan or grant program to help businesses access capital for needed improvements can help businesses remain competitive in the face of neighborhood change

THE STEPS:

1. Identify potential funding sources. Good sources include community development financial intermediaries, financial institutions (including local banks), and business support organizations.

2. Develop a program framework and eligibility criteria, which may include some or all the following:

   1. Business Ownership: Majority-owned by one or more individuals who are members of a protected class, including minorities, women, LBGTQ, disabled, and/or veterans

   2. Business Location: business with an address within the BID.

   3. Business Viability: # of years in operation

   4. Business Size: businesses under a certain threshold of sales, # of employees, or SF of existing business

   5. Business Type: The program may be focused on specific industries (food & beverage establishments, for instance)

   6. Credit History

3. Identify Purpose of Funding. Some examples might include:

   1. Purchase of new equipment

   2. Renovations, repairs, and tenant improvement upgrades

   3. Technology, including point-of-sale systems or websites to improve the customer experience or streamline operations

   4. Marketing and advertising (however the BID may want to prioritize funding District-wide marketing over that of a single business)

   5. Working capital to cover on-going expenses including rent, utilities, or salaries

4. Develop an application program and other program details which should include basic financial information such as financial history, revenue, expenses.

5. Distribute applications – targeted and in-person distribution is best. Options for distribution include:
   1. BID newsletter
   2. Workshops or webinars
   3. Social media or other previously established mechanisms for business communication, pamphlets or flyers distributed in-person
   4. Partnerships with local organizations, including the Borough Chamber of Commerce to help spread the word

6. Select Recipients

Project Summary: In New York, millions of people do not speak English as their primary language. All of these people are consumers, and many are business owners or hopeful entrepreneurs who miss out on critical information because it is only available in English. For BIDs with large non-native English-speaking communities, assisting with language accessibility programs and services can have a huge impact on improving economic outcomes for their district’s businesses.

STEP-BY-STEP:

• Understand the range of languages that are spoken in your district by business owners, residents, and visitors in your district. The City of New York’s Population FactFinder (popfactfinder.planning.nyc.gov) can offer BIDs a quick Demographic and Social snapshot using the 2017-2021 American Community Survey, which will help offer demographic information including Place of Birth as well as detailed information for Hispanic and Asian subgroups.

• Think critically about the information networks you use to share information. This might include:

Email newsletters – provide your newsletter copy/information in multiple languages that are important to your district. For example, 82nd Street Partnership who has a large Spanish speaking population sends their emails in both English and Spanish.

Project Summary: Cultural appreciation programming can help cement and center a district’s cultural identity by shining light on the neighborhood’s history and drawing in new consumers who will support local businesses. To be successful, they need to be sustainably developed with the community to achieve community benefits for small businesses and residents, rather than displacement.

THE STEPS:

1. Understand the existing conditions of the district. Are there current destinations or events in the district that are already functioning as a naturally occurring cultural appreciation programming? Where is there potential for more cultural appreciation programming? Ways to gain a better understanding of the answers to these questions may include:

   1. Survey of small business owners and residents

   2. Tenant mix analysis of key corridors in the district

   3. Site analysis

2. Build a team with key community members. It is critical that the program is built from the ground-up and shaped by the community. The team should consist of a mix of business owners, residents, community groups in the district, and local cultural institutions. The BID should take on a role of facilitator, but allow the stakeholders to lead program development and design.

   1. Trust in the community is paramount to the BID’s success in helping produce this kind of program. If the BID is not well integrated and its role not understood, community participation may struggle preventing local buy-in.

3. Choose where to start!

Project Summary: Public spaces are equitable when they are accessible, enjoyable, and comfortable regardless of a person’s physical ability, age, gender, race, ethnicity, income level, or social status. Equitable public space is a critical tool for fostering tolerance and trust within a community.

THE STEPS:

1. Conduct a Public Space Equity Audit. Consider the APA’s Planning for Equity Policy Guide list of exclusionary design tactics and evaluate how the BID’s public spaces stack up. Some considerations include:

   1. Lack of places to sit or gather

   2. Overly rigid spaces with limited opportunities for interaction

   3. Limited opportunities for local art, events, greenspace

   4. Poor safety and comfort

   5. Lack of access for people with physical abilities

   6. Lack of access for people of all ages, including teenagers who are often shunned from public spaces

   7. Hostile features such as fences or signs that prevent seating or reclining

   8. Overly policed spaces with overwhelming presence of police, security, curfews, cameras, or other restrictions
      Source: Modified from the APA, Planning for Equity Policy Guide
      

2. Listen to the Community. Conduct stakeholder interviews and community surveys to understand the range of how people in the community currently experience public space in the district and what improvements could be made.

3. Work with local schools to gain input from young people in your district who may not be on the BIDs email listservs or lists of community contacts. Teenagers, specifically teenagers of color, lack options for accessible and safe ​“third-spaces”, that are not school or home, which are critical for teens’ social development and happiness. As you plan for improvements, consider creating spaces and programming in partnership with local schools to create spaces welcoming to youth. Handball courts, life-size jenga, draw carts, ping pong tables are all examples of youth friendly programming.

4. Talk with your Business Owners. Business owners may have been socialized to be concerned about the homeless and teenagers as populations that are bad for business. Be prepared with calm talking points about how these groups are doing nothing illegal by utilizing and enjoying a neighborhood’s public space.

5. Think critically about the use of private security by the BID. Understand what the specific roles of these officers are and the impacts they may have on inclusivity in the space. A large presence of security/police officers in public space can feel unwelcoming and uncomfortable to members of the community. Pay attention to any curfews that are instituted for public spaces, what are they achieving? Are they implicitly excluding certain groups?

6. Promote Inclusive Activation and Programming. Invest resources in diverse programming and activations that will appeal to different groups. Aim to have at least components of all programming and activation that are free to enjoy and participate in.