Village Of Farmingdale Launches Main Street Business Improvement District

First BID to be established in Nassau County in two decades

The latest example of municipalities rebounding from the economic wallop of the pandemic is the recent announcement that the Village of Farmingdale is forming the Main Street Business Improvement District (BID). A BID is a commercial district that assembles funds to be used to collectively enhance the area within its boundaries. This new BID allows the merchants to better plan and pay for maintenance and enhancements to the Farmingdale Downtown that may be inadequately handled by government via existing tax revenues.
Some examples of what funds can be used for would be street cleaning, snow removal, advertising, special events, security cameras, a directory kiosk, capitol improvements, etc. The BID can also apply for grant money from federal, state and local municipalities to promote downtown business. The Main Street BID will encompass the portion of Main Street from Prospect Street to N Front Street, just past the railroad tracks. This constitutes a major economic milestone as there hasn’t been a new business improvement district in Nassau County in more than 20 years. Farmingdale’s BID Board of Directors is comprised of village business owners Nick DeVito (president), Tony Kathreptis (vice president), Walter Priestley (secretary), Joe Fortuna (treasurer), Maria Josephine Winant, Chris Werle, Christina Bisbee, Bill Carman and Joe Garcia.

At the most recent count, 63 businesses are joining the Main Street BID. According to DeVito, the idea came up a few years back and only started to formulate in 2019.
“It took some time to coordinate; get everyone on board, establish the Guidelines, select a board of directors, etc.,” he said. “Also, there was some resistance to the initial proposal, so we worked with the members to find something that was more suitable.”

The establishment of a BID in the Village of Farmingdale goes back to an initial attempt roughly 15 to 20 years ago. DeVito explained its failure to take was due to a lack of support from local business owners. It’s a situation that has changed in recent years.
“Currently, there seems to be a better spirit of cooperation and enthusiasm to work together, not only for special events, like Music on Main, Parades, Festivals, etc., but for the everyday welfare of the Downtown,” DeVito explained.

Among the projects and initiatives the BID has on its wish list are more advertising to promote what’s going on in the village via signage at the train station and other locations, trolley service, the purchase of security cameras and possibly a marquee. For DeVito and the rest of the board, the establishment of a BID couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Without the Business Improvement District, it will be difficult to raise funding for collective advertising, special events, security and snow removal from walkways,” he said. “Many of these things are not the responsibility of the village government to pay for through resident taxes. Since we have had the BID in place, we can also apply for grant money from federal, state and local municipalities for our projects.”