Stories of Philanthropic Leadership in Advancing Regional and ...

REGIONAL OPPORTUNITYIn 2001, thanks to Fruitvale Main Streets’ leadership,the district’s commercial property owners adopted aBusiness Improvement District (BID), throughwhich property owners pay an assessment for TheUnity Council to provide enhanced safety andcleanliness services. According to the Council’sexecutive director, Marsha Murrington, the BIDgenerates about $220,000 per year, paying for dailycleanup and for graffiti abatement. These activitiesimprove local businesses’ ability to attract customers.The Unity Council saw the BID as a greatopportunity to create jobs for its workforcedevelopment clients. It hired several clients to cleanthe Fruitvale commercial district and to serve asAmbassadors (a community based, uniformedpatrol). This later grew into a public spacemaintenance business, with 12 full-time cleaningstaff and two Ambassadors, that has successfully bidon other contracting opportunities.ResultsAccording to the Ford Foundation’s Anthony,regional equity involves connecting marginalizedcommunities to regional opportunities. Byconvincing the MTA to extend the Second AvenueSubway through East Harlem, RPA and its allies arehelping establish anew regionalRegional equity involves connection for EastHarlem residents.connecting marginalizedThis connectivitycommunities to regionalwas furtheropportunities.enhanced by RPA’ssuccessful advocacyfor a station at 116 thAvenue. Through the workshops and the WorkingGroup, RPA has worked with the community todesign stations that would serve and support the EastHarlem community with increased housing andeconomic opportunities. Through the WorkingGroup and its streetscape planning activities, RPAhelped to build the capacity of community intereststo have and build a long-term vision for EastHarlem. In addition, the RPA linked thesecommunity interests with regional agencies. Inpartnership with the East Harlem community, RPAhas built a model for community-based planningthat can be replicated as future transportationinvestments occur throughout the New York Cityregion, ensuring that commitments to jobs, housing,and transportation access persist.Similarly, positive results of the Fruitvale Main StreetProgram were identified by LISC’s Forbes. Since theinception of Fruitvale Main Street Program, 268 netnew jobs and 76 net new businesses have been createdin the Fruitvale commercial district. Over 115 façadeimprovements have occurred. The BusinessImprovement District (BID) was described as asignificant result in itself—LISC provided thetechnical assistance on how to start a BID, andprovided funding for a consultant to actually establishthe BID. Even more, the Main Street program andthe BID had dramatic impacts on InternationalBoulevard and the surrounding Fruitvale community.For example, International Boulevard saw doubledigit commercial vacancy rates in the 1990s andtoday the rates stand at effectively zero.Lessons LearnedAccording to Ford’s Anthony, “Communitymembers, particularly those most at risk ofdisplacement, must have specific, consistent, andculturally appropriate opportunities to access andinfluence the planning of any specific TOD.Affordable housing should be integrated into anynew transit-oriented development, paying particularattention to income levels in the surroundingneighborhoods. Business and economic developmentopportunities for local residents and entrepreneursshould be incorporated into the planning,construction, and operation of any new TOD.Again, community involvement is fundamental, butnot only at the project-specific level.” Anthonypoints out that the East Harlem Community LinkInitiative demonstrates that community interestsmust engage the regional decisionmaking processesand its practitioners to best ensure that any newTOD becomes a true community asset.The lessons for LISC and other funders of The UnityCouncil’s Fruitvale Transit Village are thatcommercial corridor revitalization programs arecomplex and each urban community has its ownchallenges and opportunities. Thus, a commercialcorridor revitalization program needs to be developedslowly, specifically based on the local community’sneeds. Because each community is different,providing technical assistance toward commercialcorridor revitalization “requires a toolkit with manydifferent tools,” explains Sheila Daniels, program105Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities