the hort

Adopt-a-Tree on Grand Street

Help keep our neighborhood green this summer

Walker’s Low Catmints between Graham Ave and Humboldt Street.

Walker’s Low Catmints between Graham Ave and Humboldt Street.

It’s not easy being green for the trees and flowering plants on Grand Street. That’s why the BID, through partnerships with The Horticultural Society of New York and Council Member Antonio Reynoso, works to bring new greenery to the corridor and care for our budding plants. However, given all the uncertainty we currently face in tandem with many of our neighbors expressing interest in taking part in a community project, we’re introducing our Adopt-a-Tree program. Our goal is to ensure that even if we were to face funding challenges in the near future, our growing greenery will stay green.

Our Adopt-a-Tree program is simply an ask that you water the tree pit in front of your building whenever possible. To participate, fill out this form so we can match you with a tree pit that will be yours to water. We’ll pencil you in to care for your assigned tree pit and you’ll be responsible for watering the tree and flowers. Anybody who likes to can participate—whether you are a business, a building owner, a resident, or you work in the area.

Perennials newly planted by the Hort in May 2019.

Perennials newly planted by the Hort in May 2019.

There are over 85 tree pits in our district (on just 6 blocks!)—and the process of planting perennials has been years in the making. It started two years ago when the BID received funding from Borough President Eric Adams to place tree guards in our previously unprotected tree pits. With each new tree guard installed, the BID is able to team with The Hort to plant perennials native to Brooklyn. Over the past two years, with additional funding support from Council Member Reynoso, the BID has been able to install over 60 tree guards—with plans to protect all of our trees in the near future.

Our collection of Brooklyn-native perennials includes “Purple Tears” switchgrass and “Wood’s Blue” asters. These choices were intentional to bring Brooklyn wildflowers back to our streetscape, but even as native flowers it can be difficult to survive the city summer. Sidewalk heat, pollution, litter, and our beloved neighborhood dogs misusing the pits can inhibit growth and require plantings to be tended with extra care.

Our trees do tremendous work in combating some of the above factors—the trees within the Grand Street BID district alone save the City over $5000 a year draining water, removing smog, and conserving energy. Pin Oaks, Japanese Zelkovas, Kentucky Coffeetrees, and Swamp White Oaks all find a home on Grand Street—and many of our trees are young and newly planted. Similar to our perennials, it can be difficult for a young tree to make it on a city commercial corridor.

So we’re asking for your help. Fill out this quick form—and we’ll reach out via email some more detailed instructions for your assigned tree pit. We’re asking for nothing more than a weekly watering that will make a substantial difference. Share this form with anyone you know who may be interested—we’re looking for the help of our entire community.

For questions, please reach out to info@grandstreetbk.org and follow @grandstreetbid for updates.

News banners to line Grand Street--Sponsorship available

The BID is now seeking sponsorship for new streetlight banners

Logos will be placed at the three dots.

Logos will be placed at the three dots.

Our street lights are receiving a makeover. After 2 years of our previous blue-green street banners, we’ve worked with Brooklyn artist Morgan Winter to shake things up.

Drawing inspiration from the Brooklyn-native perennials the BID planted through the Hort this past spring, Morgan applied her vibrant technique of stencil drawing over water color to bring life to our banners.

While we cannot wait to install our newest art piece following a busy summer of 10 new murals, we first need sponsorship from local businesses that make our work possible. Whether your business is ground floor retail or out of your apartment, displaying your logo on these eye catching canvasses shows everyone your contribution to the community and bring more attention to your brand.

As a 501(c)(3) non profit, the majority of your contribution will be tax deductible and your sponsorship will go directly towards improving our shopping corridor with our 2,800 hours of cleaning in fiscal year 19.

The implementation of new colorful street banners is central to our Grand Street Arts Initiative to invest in Brooklyn artists and to cultivate an art collection that better represents the community of creatives that make Williamsburg unique.

If interested in sponsoring, please reach out to john@grandstreetbk.org. Look out for the streetscape changes in the coming months.

Cleaning up Grand Street--By the numbers

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

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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

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

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

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

Original work by Damon Johnson

Summer Restaurant Week Triumphs

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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

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

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.