At the board’s general meeting Wednesday, it voted unanimously to designate as its No. 1 capital budget priority additional funds for the reconstruction of Court Street. The repair of the towering and often-leaking subway station at Smith and 9th Streets came in second.

CB 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman said the improvements on Smith Street are responsible for the increase in foot traffic as well as increased occupancy rates and property values along the corridor. Court Street, filled with pedestrians yesterday afternoon, is benefiting from the new energy in the neighborhood, too, but more could be done, according to Tom Chardavoyne, executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC).

The GCCDC has secured a $20,000 contract with the city’s Department of Small Business Services to study the feasibility of a Court Street BID, which is a monthly tax, generally around $50 to each business for one of this size, that all business owners in the district would have to pay.

The roughly 200 businesses along the 22 blocks in the proposed BID would vote on the tax, and if it passes with a majority, all businesses in the district would have to pay it.

“We want this to be as close to a large [majority] of businesses as possible,� he said, “because in the end it does cost them more money.�

The money would be pooled for initiatives voted on by district members, which Chardavoyne said could include a number of items, such as joint marketing campaigns, benches and plants for the street, holiday lights, or a Web site that has a group e-mail system.

Carla Barbosa, owner of Olá Baby on Court Street, said she wasn’t sure a BID was necessary, but would support it more if the money were used for street beautification than advertising.

“Businesses here do well based on word of mouth and customer service,� said Barbosa. “Promotions are always good, but I don’t know if that’s necessary.�

Less Foot Traffic,
More E-mail Orders
Joan D’Amico, owner of D’Amico Foods with her husband Frank, said the changing neighborhood has meant that the older businesses have to change as well. D’Amico Foods has been around for 58 years, but the influx of professionals in the neighborhood has meant that fewer people are home before the store’s 7 p.m. closing time.

“People are working longer hours. There’s more professionals, the street traffic has increased and there’s not enough pedestrian traffic.�

Joan, who also heads the Court Street Merchants Association, said D’Amico Foods has started taking online shipping orders for its fresh roasted coffee beans to adapt to the decreased foot traffic. “Just this week, we sent a bag to Croatia,� she said. An employee said he sends out about 12 bags of coffee beans a day, which are roasted right next to the front door so customers can smell them immediately.

Frank D’Amico said more money for sidewalk improvements and the creation of a BID could help the entire street to adapt to the changing demographic as well. “There’s a lot of families, more baby carriages, so the street itself has to be accessible.�

Sanitation is also sometimes a problem, he said. “These are the kinds of things a BID can help you with.� But others on the street think it’s just fine the way it is.

“There’s kids in the neighborhood who need after-school programs,� said Rachel Sorano, who was shopping with her toddler at Olá Baby. “I think the sidewalk is fine, the time that it would take to do all that construction, if anything that would be a hindrance.�

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2006
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