As local business and community leaders continue to work on the creation of a Business Improvement District (BID) for Farmingdale, some state legislators have been reviewing the effectiveness of BIDs throughout New York.

Senators Frank Padavan (R-C), chairman of the Senate Committee on Cities, who represents Queens, and upstate Senator Mary Lou Rath (R-C), chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, recently organized a public hearing in New York City to gather opinions about the entities and the state law which authorizes them.

The purpose of the hearing, which was held May 15, was to provide oversight, according to Kevin Webb, director of the State Senate Cities Committee, who works closely with Senator Padavan. "So far, the feedback I've gotten in the downstate area was 'Please, don't make any changes,'" Webb said, noting that an upstate hearing is also being planned.

Thirty witnesses from BIDs throughout downstate New York testified at the May 15 hearing, including representatives from the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and the Riverhead, Long Island BID. "So far, the results seem to be that it has been effective," Webb said of the hearing. "There aren't any major changes proposed."

The creation of BIDs is authorized by Article 19-A of the General Municipal Law of New York State, and involves a series of steps, culminating in the enactment of a local law that establishes the entity. The steps outlined by the law are as follows: After public outreach is achieved by the sponsoring group, the local municipality would adopt a resolution authorizing the group to prepare a formal plan; the BID Steering Committee would submit the formal plan, known as the District Plan to the local municipality; the municipality would adopt a resolution scheduling a public hearing; ten to 30 days prior to the public hearing, the municipality would mail notice of hearing to owners, tenants, and any others who receive tax notices for affected properties; the local municipality would hold the public hearing; after the hearing, property owners in the BID area have 30 days to file objections using a form provided by the municipality; 30 days after the close of the hearing, the municipality may adopt a local law establishing the BID, unless at least 51 percent of the property owners reject it. After the adoption of the BID, it would be reviewed by the New York state Comptroller's office. If approved by the comptroller, the local law regarding the BID would become effective immediately.

The state statute was enacted in 1981, and the last time it was revised was in 1989, when the process of creating BIDs was streamlined to enable villages and towns to participate.

Although Webb noted that there aren't any major changes to BIDs currently proposed, among those issues being reviewed by the state, according to the director of the State Senate Cities Committee, was how to administer BIDs that fall within two municipalities without duplicating effort. There have also been some requests to consider extending the period during which property owners can reject the proposal to form the entity. For example, there has been a request to change the period from 30 to 60 days. However, according to Webb, because the state wants to allow BIDs to be established "in a timely fashion," he said, "It was taken with a grain of salt." He added, "We haven't really decided what we're going to do with that yet."

Before the hearing, the Senate suggested a list of topics to which the witnesses could direct their testimony. These included the following: How effective have BIDs been in helping revitalize business communities?; Have residential tenants benefited from BIDs' improvements?; Do BIDS with shared management pose a conflict of interest?; Should one organization or individual be permitted to manage more than one BID?; Is the BID approval process flawed by requiring a negative referendum of property owners?; Is the 30 day window currently authorized by statute sufficient time for property owners to review a proposed BID and file an objection?; Are commercial property owners adequately informed during the process to form a BID?; Is there adequate outreach by the sponsoring organization?; Is there adequate disclosure by the BID sponsoring group of the proposed budget, operations and costs?; Are the BID boundaries manipulated/designed during formation to favor approval?; Is the current BID statute adequate to promote the development of BIDs in business areas that cross municipal boundaries?; and BIDs formation can be a complicated and arduous process...Should some sort of technical assistance from the state be developed?

In Farmingdale, the Chamber of Commerce and the BID Steering Committee have been working on the formation of a BID for the village for over a year. The BID Steering Committee is chaired by the chamber's president, MaryAnn Paras, and consists of various representatives of property owners within the proposed BID area. So far, the project has involved both research and public outreach. The research has included a local business survey conducted by a consultant hired by the chamber, Barbara Cohen. The public outreach has included open public information meetings and meetings with leaders of community organizations.

The proposed Farmingdale BID comprises both sides of Main Street from Melville Road to Fulton Street, and Conklin Street from Secatogue Avenue to the intersection of Fulton and Conklin, and would have a budget of approximately $62,000. The budget would be obtained from the collections of additional property tax assessments from property owners within the BID area, and would be spent primarily on marketing the area, but also on physical village enhancements and administration. The Village of Farmingdale would collect the fees. However, the budget would be appropriated by the 12-member BID Steering Committee, and would be spent entirely on the BID.

The latest development in the project was the passage of a resolution by the Village Farmingdale, which authorizes the BID Steering Committee to prepare and submit to the village a formal plan for the BID.

Now, the BID Steering Committee is gearing up to start working on the formal plan with experts provided by Nassau County's Operation Downtown program, an economic development program which provides technical assistance at no charge to downtown business leaders.

One of those experts, Andrew Forman, a Hofstra University marketing professor, working in conjunction with the school's Business Development Center, will help the BID Steering Committee with preliminary strategic planning. In an interview this week, he noted that a BID would help Farmingdale Village tap into the heavy traffic and commerce of the nearby Route 110 Corridor. "There's a need to find ways to sort of entice them into Farmingdale," he said of the consumers in and around the corridor.

In order to attract shoppers and diners not only from Route 110, but also from surrounding communities, Forman plans to help devise slogans and logos to help promote Farmingdale. In addition, he plans to discuss several strategies with the BID Steering Committee, chamber, and other community members. These include ways to recruit businesses to fill vacant storefronts, and, in doing so, complement the existing retail mix, he noted. More promotion of the area, such as cooperative marketing between merchants, as well as local events marketing, will also be discussed. In addition, ways to lend a "sense of place" to the village, such as new street signs and map displays, facades, and awnings will also be explored, Forman said.

Before beginning to devise these strategies, Forman said, he will meet with the BID Steering Committee, chamber of commerce, and other Farmingdale community members over the next few weeks to evaluate "where they are now," and "where they would like to be." He said he plans to have an interactive style with the community and is seeking public input.

Forman noted that the goal of the BID is to gain "synergy" between businesses in the district. "In essence, what it does is improve the business climate for the community as a whole," he said.