The FABulous Alliance on Fulton Street
Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by Jennifer Stokes in Agents of Change
I was fortunate enough to meet with both Phillip Kellogg, the Director of the Fulton Area Business (FAB) Alliance and Deb Howard, Executive Director of the Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) at Marquet Patisserie on Fulton Street earlier this week. Over croissants, coffee and hot chocolate, we chatted about the vision and future of the FAB Alliance. The interview reflects both their responses:
When was the FAB Alliance officially started and what was the situation that led to its creation?
The idea for a Business Improvement District (BID) along the Fulton Street corridor began in 2004 when the 42 local merchants who had formed the Fulton Area Business Association expressed the need for directed funds. They hoped to help implement activities that contribute to a vital and thriving shopping district: tree plantings, holiday lighting, graffiti removal, coordinated merchant-led events and regular sanitation and maintenance to address issues such as overflowing garbage cans and sidewalk debris as a few examples. Merchant dues were in the past collected for holiday lighting and other events but proved not a sustainable method to achieve these goals.
PACC, along with local merchants contacted the NYC Department of Small Business Services about the interest in establishing a local BID for the area. The official announcement of these efforts took place at a kick-off event held at Crunch Fitness in December 2005. 2006-2007 was used for considerable outreach to property owners and merchants, hashing out a budget and other foundational work. The balloting process, which involved gaining written support from property owners, began in 2007 but took longer than expected, due in large part to resources needed to address the extensive two-year construction project then taking place on Fulton Street.
The Fulton Street Business Improvement District was signed into law on December 31, 2008 with official commencement of BID activities beginning on October 1, 2009.
J + S Tire Shop owner, Mirai Wellness and Spa owner. All photos were taken by Francesca Andre, http://www.francescaandre.com, a photographer and artist who is currently at work on "The Haiti Project," dedicated to her grandmother.
What is the primary purpose of the FAB Alliance BID?
The FAB Alliance seeks to promote the wellbeing of merchants and small businesses in the Fulton Street area; to attract shoppers to the area, including recapturing local dollars by reminding residents of the wonderful businesses (merchants, products and services) that are in the area; to maintain what is terrific about Fulton Street, including the wide array of unique businesses and local entrepreneurs; and to merge the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill sections of the Fulton business area into one vital shopping strip.
How does the FAB Alliance differ from PACC? Do the two organizations work together?
FAB and PACC are two separate and distinct organizations in terms of budgets and boards of directors (a FAB board is planned in the coming months).
Organic produce at Met Foods
The two organizations have shared vision which includes a thriving and vital Fulton business district. This shared vision will offer opportunities for collaboration and leveraged resources. The two service areas largely overlap: PACC’s service area extends a few blocks further east to Bedford Avenue and Bed-Stuy and also includes Grand and Clifton. This overlap means that funds from either organization will assist businesses located within the service area. PACC’s $200,000 in Main Street funding from the NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation will help to rehabilitate historic properties on Fulton.
Until the FAB Alliance becomes a not-for-profit (the application is in progress), PACC will be the fiscal conduit for capital dollars and other additional monies raised by the BID to service the district.
What is the catchment area of the BID?
The Fulton Street Business Improvement District includes 23 contiguous commercial blocks: Fulton Street, from Rockwell to Classon on the north side and Ashland to Classon on the south. The BID also includes three blocks facing Fulton Street: Lafayette, Greene and Putnam Avenues.
Stem shop owner, Mercantile Antique Gallery store owner
What will BID funds be used towards?
The FAB Alliance budget is $300,000 per year. Particular emphasis will be placed on marketing, sanitation and security. In the immediate-term BID funds will be used to enhance the visual condition of the strip and to provide a marketing push: graffiti removal, sanitation and maintenance and also the upcoming FAB Alliance website and branding campaign launch (December 2009). Area-wide business events, such as the several businesses currently participating in the Borough Hall ‘Shop Brooklyn’ initiative will continue.
The FAB Alliance recently attracted $400,000 in capital dollars from DOT through the office of Councilmember Tish James for other physical enhancements and amenities, including street furniture such as benches, bike racks and additional landscaping for the district. These enhancements will extend to the three pocket parks along the strip where landscaping and cleanup efforts are planned.
What are some of the upcoming near and long term plans for the FAB Alliance?
FAB Alliance plans are many and varied. Many of the most immediate plans are related to physical improvements, resulting in a greener, more pedestrian- and shopper- friendly district. Also, there is an upcoming design charrette planned for February to provide us with community input on the entire BID area. There are also a series of town hall meetings planned around the same time, where we hope to exchange ideas and receive input from local residents, property owners, and business owners in the district block-by-block. The initiative is called “23 blocks in 23 days”.
DOT has asked the FAB Alliance to be responsible for maintaining a triangle park at Fulton, South Oxford and Hanson, so we are looking forward to this also.
Additionally, the FAB Alliance is meeting with owners of vacant lots to discuss opportunities for physical improvements, may include murals or other paint spruce ups in the immediate and middle-term.
Diamante Cigar Lounge owner, Cure Beauty Bar owner
There are also partnering possibilities with cultural and arts organizations involving weekend walks, talks and other activities for summer.
Lastly, commercial revitalization does not occur in a vacuum, so our work also involves reaching out, building relationships with and possibly leveraging resources with others whose work directly impacts Fulton area businesses specifically and Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, downtown and of course, Brooklyn more generally. We do consider organizations such as BAM/the BAM Cultural District, the Society for Clinton Hill, the Fort Greene Association, Bed-Stuy Gateway, Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, the DeKalb Avenue Merchants’ Association, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Schermerhorn BID, Atlantic Avenue BID and others to be our community partners. We also consider relationships with our local precinct, elected, block associations and some others to be essential.
Are there opportunities to volunteer with the FAB Alliance? In which areas might you need assistance?
There are absolutely opportunities to volunteer with the FAB Alliance for anyone with the interest, energy or skills.
FAB will be forming its Board of Directors in the coming months so will be looking for good people to fill the positions. The best way to find out about the details of the Board positions is to keep an eye out on the FAB Alliance website (www.faballiance.org) when it is launched later this month.
Additionally, we could use lots of willing hands of all ages, to move our work forward generally. As a few examples, I foresee that we will need photography and story contributors for the upcoming website and newsletter and visual artists, booking agents, staging manager, flyer distributors for our planned summer and special events. Additionally, we are already reaching out to college and high school students to solicit help with upcoming retail and other surveys. These surveys are very important as the results will directly inform our business attraction and other activities.
