Cleaning up Grand Street--By the numbers

Our 7 day a week clean team collects 5,700+ buckets of trash in a year

One of the Grand Street BID’s most vital functions in keeping the neighborhood thriving for shoppers and businesses is our robust cleaning + sanitation program. You may recognize our star sweeper Mamat in the picture above, and while he stopped to pose for this picture, Mamat is busy each day collecting an average of nearly 16 buckets of trash on Grand Street.

Those daily totals add up to an average of 5,700+ buckets of trash over the course of a year. That is in addition to the BID’s efforts removing stickers + stains and making 50+ quality of life calls to 311 + DSNY that total to 2,800+ hours spent cleaning up Grand Street. With help from Ridgewood Restoration Corp, the BID removed 159 incidents of graffiti on Grand Street in fiscal year 2019. That’s our version of talking trash.

But, the BID also performs a variety of other neighborhood essentials such as our greening efforts which maintained 33 tree beds and installing 22 new tree guards in FY19. With the Hort, the BID also plants + maintains native Brooklyn perennials in our tree beds throughout the district.

Next time you see Mamat on the street, give him a ‘thank you’ for working hard every day to keep Grand Street gorgeous.

It was a Grand summer in Williamsburg--Let's recap what happened

Grand Street has changed a lot since May, here’s what you may have missed.

Artist Don Rimx with neighborhood students

7 new murals celebrating our community

The summer kicked off with the painting of Olor a Azucenas, el perfume del barrio at 609 Grand Street by Don Rimx. Simultaniously, Chris Jehly painted Internal View on the gates at 98 Bushwick Ave. Rimx drew influence from the small business community on Grand Street and the Puerto Rican heritage of the neighborhood to produce his work as an ode to the community. Jehly used his style of “in the moment” creativity to create surrealist works reflective of the vibrant and colorful commercial corridor. This project was funded by Council Member Stephen Levin and managed by the Grand Street BID. The BID hired a local curation business Owley to record and produce videos to document the process, which you can see here.

Artist Chris Jehly painting the gates at Grand Seafood

These murals were followed up quickly by the BID partnering with the Lisa Project and Pride NYC to paint 4 Pride inspired murals at 723 Grand Street. Artists Damon Johnson, Paid MSD, Paul Richard, SINNED + Ria Burns-Wilder visited the neighborhood in June to bring each of their unique styles to create an original work to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. You can see their work below. Read our full article here.

Left to right: Paid MSD + SINNED

Damon Johnson returned to the district again in July to complement the BiscoSmith work “SET THE PACE” by painting hummingbirds and flowers on the Western facing wall of Key Food with his style of bright colors contrasting the stark work to its left. Read the story here.

Original work by Damon Johnson

Summer Restaurant Week Triumphs

14 restaurants on Grand Street took part in this year’s iteration of the annual summer foodie event. With prices from $12 to $35, the event offered an alternative to diners in BK who didn’t want to have to travel to Manhattan to enjoy a Restaurant Week. The event drew attention everywhere from national press like the Wall Street Journal to local blogs like Bushwick Daily. With a complete guide to every participating restaurants’ specials, locals were able to find deals at their favorite spots and try something new at a discount. See the guide and full list of menus here.

DOT parking regulations change the roadway

Shot of the new south side bike lane on Grand Street

To accompany the two new protected bike lanes on Grand Street, the DOT has placed new parking regulations designed to finalize the comprehensive plan for the roadway. Here’s what has changed:

Commercial Only Loading Zones have been added mid-block on the North side of Grand Street and at some side street intersections, enforced from 7am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday. The loading zones convert to regular 1 hour metered parking from 4pm to 10pm.

Metered parking has changed on Grand Street from 2 hour to 1 hour and is enforced from 8:30am to 10pm Monday to Saturday.

Meters have been added to the cross streets of Grand at Union, Lorimer, Manhattan, Humboldt, and Bushwick avenues. Side street meters will be 2 hours and enforced from 8 or 8:30am (depending on the block) to 7pm Monday to Saturday.

We’ve also seen increased enforcement on parking in commercial loading zones and bike lanes. To see the fees associated with each violation, click here.

New plantings + tree guards decorate the streetscape

The Hort planting perennials on Grand Street

With funding support from Council Member Reynoso, the BID oversaw the installation of 22 additional tree guards in the district from Bushwick to Leonard along Grand Street. Additionally, the Hort, with funding from the Council Member, planted additional Brooklyn native plants in tree pits throughout the district.

While the summer may be wrapping up, you can still look forward to more neighborhood improvements from the BID. With fall and winter months ahead, you can look forward to expansion of our savings/ discount programming as well as holiday decorations + events in the neighborhood.

DOT street changes take effect

Parking + loading zone changes to be enforced in the coming week.

Beginning next week, DOT will begin making additional changes to parking regulations on Grand Street. Look for new traffic signs + paint for direction as the following notable changes take effect on Grand Street:

Commercial Loading Zones will be added mid-block on the North side of Grand Street and at some side street intersections, enforced from 7am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday. The loading zones will convert to regular 1 hour metered parking from 4pm to 10pm.

Metered parking will change on Grand Street from 2 hour to 1 hour and be enforced from 8:30am to 10pm Monday to Saturday.

Meters will be added to the cross streets of Grand at Union, Lorimer, Manhattan, Humboldt, and Bushwick avenues. Side street meters will be 2 hours and enforced from 8 or 8:30am to 7pm Monday to Saturday.

Note: Parking in a bicycle lane in NYC is illegal and will result in a $115 ticket.

Plan to make adjustments ahead of time for deliveries, loading times, and parking to avoid fines.

Learn to Reduce + Save for your Business at the NYC Food Waste Fair

Reducing food waste presents opportunities for businesses to cut down costs

The NYC Food Waste Fair at Brooklyn Navy Yard is an annual interactive experience designed to connect food industry professionals with information and resources from the City to cut down and reach zero waste.

On May 23rd, with workshops from food sustainability experts, businesses can learn how to fully utilize “Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling” to save money by eliminating excess waste.

Coinciding with the Fair is the Zero Waste Food Challenge, where you can watch Michelin Star chefs like Michael Anthony from Gramercy Tavern and local leading chefs Naama Tamir from Lighthouse compete to make the best Zero Waste dish.

Buy tickets to the Food Waste Fair (10am – 6pm) + Zero Food Challenge (6pm – 9pm). Early Bird tickets are available at a discounted rate until May 10th.

Learn easy ways to reduce waste at your business + save money right now.

The fair also provides workshop series like a Q & A with the director of Wasted!, May 16th.