News & Views

Residents Receive “Golden Broom Award”

Residents Receive “Golden Broom Award”

Residential stakeholders that live in and around our commercial corridors have a tremendous impact on the level of cleanliness and beautification that we see in the community. This past spring State Senator M. Teresa Ruiz and North Ward Councilman, Anibal Ramos Jr. saw the value in highlighting the important acts of neighborhood stewardship that are demonstrated each day by many stakeholders throughout the North Ward. In April, May, and June, residents...
Chris
Business Improvement Districts get places “Investment ready”

Business Improvement Districts get places “Investment ready”

By Chris Bernardo, President Commercial District Services LLC Delivering value and having an impact with limited resources is always a challenge. BIDs are often presented with issues similar to the municipalities in which they operate. The problem can often be traced to the imbalance created between the funds needed to provide meaningful impact and the assessment revenue generated to create the budget. The value proposition of a BID for real estate...
Chris
Public Safety Investment Paying Off for North Ward BIDs

Public Safety Investment Paying Off for North Ward BIDs

Several arrests in recent months that have taken guns and drugs off the streets in two commercial corridors in Newark’s North Ward are the direct result of supplemental policing funded through the two Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). “Our focus from day one has been the improvement of quality-of-life on the street for business owners and potential investors,” said P.J. Calello, Board President for the Bloomfield Avenue/Lower Broadway Alliance. “We’ve made public...
Chris
Commercial District Services President, Chris Bernardo on Strong Towns Podcast

Commercial District Services President, Chris Bernardo on Strong Towns Podcast

It happens all the time: there are things entrepreneurs and commercial property owners know they need in their business district to really thrive—a relentless approach to maintenance, a high level of cleanliness, increased public safety, splashes of beauty, physical improvements, etc.—yet their town or city can’t afford to provide them. How to fill those gaps? For an increasing number of places, the answer is to form a business improvement district. Business...
Chris
Journal Square Clean Team and Public Safety Ambassadors Making a Difference, Business Owners Say

Journal Square Clean Team and Public Safety Ambassadors Making a Difference, Business Owners Say

By Steve Lenox Published May 5, 2021 at 2:37 PM Jersey City, NJ - As Jersey City’s business districts prepare for post pandemic recovery, it’s become more important than ever before to focus on the most critical issues that impact small businesses and property owners in our commercial centers, advocates say. For Journal Square, those important quality-of-life issues are addressed head-on by the men and women that serve as Clean Team and Public...
Chris