New Rochelle BID chairman outlines priorities: cleaning, grocery recruitment and downtown marketing

Mark Jerome, chairman of the New Rochelle Business Improvement District and longtime president of Monroe University, told the City Council’s Committee of the Whole on June 10 that the BID’s work has focused on cleaning and streetscape improvements, business recruitment and supporting downtown quality of life.

The Business Improvement District, Jerome said, covers the downtown between Huguenot and Main streets and is funded by an assessment on property owners; its current annual assessment revenue is roughly $500,000, supplemented by a city subsidy tied to the former downtown manager position. Jerome said the BID budget is “fairly modest” and that spending is focused on visible services downtown.

The BID’s main functions and why it matters

Jerome traced the BID’s origins to a statutory BID established under New York state law three decades ago and described the organization’s role as a partner with city departments on public safety, sanitation and placemaking. He highlighted a longtime program, Clean Streets, that combines sidewalk cleaning, litter and snow removal and seasonal plantings; Jerome said that program’s contract historically…