BID Budget Cap Increase – At the LIC BID’s Annual Meeting on June 22, the BID membership voted unanimously to increase our annual budget cap to $450,000, to allow for a full assessment of Tishman Speyer’s Gotham Center project and for flexibility with future cost increases or service demands. There was a City Council hearing on all BID budget cap increases on December 21 and the cap was approved.  This increase only applies to the budget cap, not the BID’s actual annual budget.

Graffiti - If you have any graffiti on your buildings, or would like graffiti removed from any adjacent property, please let us know. Either the property owner or a tenant in the building may sign the waiver allowing the City to remove the graffiti at no cost.

Loitering on Queens Plaza – Complaints from property owner Andover Realty about men loitering in front of the Clocktower Building on Queens Plaza North, and trespassing into the building, have been resolved. The men were participating in a Department of Corrections community service program as an alternative to incarceration. Working with the BID and DSBS, the pick-up and drop-off location for that program has been moved out of Long Island City into Brooklyn.

Marketing & Rebranding – In October, the joint BID and LICBDC marketing committee approved a Request for Proposals (RFP) for marketing/rebranding firms to help us choose a new name and logo for both organizations, and jumpstart our marketing of Long Island City. Once a consultant has been selected, the BID will be able to tap into the $50,000 in matching funds that the City has promised the BID and BDC for the marketing of Long Island City. Since October, we have been waiting for the NYCEDC to approve the RFP and sign a funding agreement with us, so that the RFP can be released to the various consulting firms.

The BID, in concert with LICBDC, applied for a separate $55,000 in-kind grant from the Taproot Foundation, which would help us identify our key messages and brand strategy – the first phase of an effective marketing campaign.

NYC & Company – The BID, along with three local hoteliers and the chair of the Long Island City Cultural Alliance, made a presentation about LIC on November 16^th to the CEO and senior staff of NYC & Company, the City’s official tourism and convention services bureau. We highlighted our exciting dining scene, cultural and nightlife offerings, real estate developments, and growing list of area hotels. The audience was excited to learn about what LIC has to offer visitors. All three hotels said that the majority of their overnight visitors are from abroad. Also, the Holiday Inn Manhattan View, with 136 rooms, has told the BID that they were completely sold out in December.

As a result of the meeting, NYC & Co. has placed copies of the Time Out New York Long Island City neighborhood guide, produced with the BID in 2007, in their visitor’s center at 810 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. We are also in the midst of discussions with Big Apple Greeters to determine how to attract more visitors to LIC.

Jackson Avenue – Work along Jackson Avenue has concluded for the winter season. Most of the medians have been installed along the roadway, sidewalks have been replaced, and the three new pocket parks have been landscaped. Because of separate underground MTA work between 44^th Drive and 43^rd Avenue, median construction and sidewalk replacement in that area are on hold. Also, due to the ongoing construction of the connection between the 7 and G trains at 45th Road, the median there will not be installed until next year.

The local project manager has told us that landscaping within the medians will begin again in March, during the spring planting season.

Queens Plaza – NYCEDC has told the BID that work on Queens Plaza will kick into high gear after the annual holiday construction embargo expires on January 3. We are still awaiting specific details about the construction timetable, and will e-mail the BID and BDC membership once we learn what will happen there. We have asked the NYCEDC to assist us in securing more timely information so that we can update BID members as to the status of block-by-block street reconstruction.

2010 Goals – We are now formalizing our list of BID goals for 2010, which will include increased outreach to residents, additional marketing of the area, new banners, a new website, and enhanced business and tourism attraction efforts in Long Island City. We will present our goals for your approval in our next Board meeting, which scheduled for January 28. If you have any suggestions for 2010 goals or would like us to do anything differently in the new year, please let us know.