161st Street Business Improvement District

Posted • SAIL is up in Lou Gehrig Plaza! What a fantastic energy this community in the Bronx brings. Created in collaboration with and to support and the vision for the neighborhood, the project transforms the overlooked and after-thought public space with simple yet necessary components: shade, seating, color, and joyful expression of togetherness.

Developed with neighborhood residents, merchants, and community partners, SAIL will be the epicenter of activities and engagements throughout the year as it launches a district-wide initiative to reimagine public spaces in the neighborhood - starting with a community bench painting tomorrow!

This project is a part of the Local Center: Connected Corridors, an initiative of and . It is supported through program.

SAIL was fabricated by and supported by .structural Building Equity Initiative.

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Learn more about the project in our bio.

Commemorating the tenth anniversary of the unveiling of Rivera Avenue, and the completion of public space improvements to nearby Lou Gehrig Plaza earlier this week, our Executive Director Trey Jenkins joined in presenting a Rivera Ave ceremonial street sign to Peter Katsihtis of the Court Deli Restaurant in recognition of their long and active participation of the 161st Street/River Avenue business community and support for the effort.

Big day tomorrow in the 161 BID! SAIL at Lou Gehrig Plaza celebrations continue as we have a community paint day from 1:30-4:30. All are welcome to paint the gray platforms at SAIL. will be having their annual health and resource fair at Joyce Kilmer Park from Noon-4pm as well. Stop by and see us!

This past Tuesday we unveiled SAIL at Lou Gehrig Plaza for the district with a concert and a fun ice sculpture with baseballs inside the ice from . Those who were lucky to get a ball received a gift card to a business within our district.

This structure is essentially a place within a space and will be an area that provides shading for those who want to enjoy the Plaza throughout the day as we transition from summer to fall. SAIL will be up on display at the Plaza through December.

It was a pleasure working with , and to design this project. Special thanks to for having the confidence in our organization to pick the right designers to incorporate the long term vision we have for Lou Gehrig Plaza.

Our next activation at SAIL will be our Community Painting Event this Saturday, August 24 where we will paint the gray platforms of the structure. We will also be installing solar powered lights. We hope you can join us at 1:30 on Saturday!

Join us tonight at 6pm for our third 161 BID Summer Flicks with the showing of at Joyce Kilmer Park. There will also be a special musical performance before the movie by at 7pm. Join our BID, , and at Joyce Kilmer Park tonight for the FREE showing!

NAME CORRECTION: Yesterday we posted about playing next Thursday at Joyce Kilmer Park with a musical performance from before the movie at 7pm. We spelled her last name wrong so wanted to correct that with this updated flyer. We are also including a short bio below for :

Carla Auld is a flute soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician. Her passion in promoting new works for the instrument has brought her admiration from composers, critics, and concert goers alike. Visit carlaauld.com to learn more.

We hope to see you next Thursday, August 15 at Joyce Kilmer Park for the FREE showing!

161 BID Summer Flicks continue next Thursday, August 15 with the showing of ! There will also be a special musical performance before the movie by at 7pm. Join our BID, , and at Joyce Kilmer Park next Thursday for the FREE showing!

Late last year our BID was awarded a $175,000 grant from the (UDF) to reimagine what was possible inside Lou Gehrig Plaza. Using these funds we hired two design forums, the and and a lighitng design company to help design a tempoary art installation inside the plaza.

Over the past two years our BID has increased activites in the plaza with concerts, events and our popular art installations with our friends at . With the UDF grant we were able to engage the community through a steering committee created by the BID to see what key community stakeholders wanted to see in the plaza. We also engaged the community at events like the during Bronx Week in May.

From these survey’s we learned that the community loves the plaza but wanted the plaza to be more shaded to help increase activity during the summer and fall months and more welcoming throughout the day for those visiting, working and living in the district. As a result we developed a sail structure installation that will live at Lou Gherig Plaza over the next couple of months that will allow our BID, the community and businesses to gather for events and activations inside the plaza. This is essentially an intimate event space within an event space.

The photos in the post show the jorney of how we got to the creation of the activation and what you can expect starting on Tuesday, August 20 at 4pm which will include a kickoff concert with ’s Boogaloo Crew and the along with an ice sculputre from where the public will be able to win prizes from the businesses on 161st Street and some other surprises.

We look forward to unvieling this exciting installaton to the community on Tuesday, August 20 and we hope this gives you all a preview of what Lou Gherig Plaza truly can be in the future.

Weather looked iffy yesterday and it’s supposed to storm this afternoon so we canceled today’s lunchtime concert with . We’ll be back back with a special concert on August 20. Stay turned for details…

This fiscal year our BID has more resources and time to address some quality of life concerns in the district. One of the main issues that we have come across is the taping of flyers for events, concerts and political candidates on city property that is painted by our BID on a weekly basis. Taping these flyers on lamp posts strips the paint and creates a general overall feel of a lack of cleanliness throughout the BID. Making things worse, when the event or task has been completed the flyers still remain up.

Moving forward we will be taking down any flyers that are posted to city property including lamp posts, benches, trees, etc when we see them in our daily walk throughs. If you would like to promote an event happening within our BID we're happy to promote on this feed or on our website. As a reminder the event needs to be happening within the BID boundaries of River to Morris Avenue. Send us a note at [email protected] or just DM us on Instagram.

We are also cutting left over items that are attached to city property as well if they are left for an extended amount of time. Executive Director Javier Medina at the Southern Boulevard BID showed us how its done two weeks ago, suit and all.

Will we catch everything? No, but we're certainly going to try.

This Tuesday, August 6 we welcome The Afro-Latineers to the Bronx! Join us at Lou Gehrig Plaza from 12 - 2pm for some Latin Jazz with West African rhythms!

Today we say goodbye to the apple in our neighborhood. Once again it has been a pleasure to partner with for this installation. Through the help of the we were able to bring the apple back for the past month but because of an old policy rule with the we are being forced to take the apple down a month early as it was scheduled to be up through August even through the community, elected officials and businesses love it. Until next time and stay tuned for an eye opening installation coming to the plaza on 8/20. Hint: it involves ice...

Today we say goodbye to the apple in our neighborhood. Once again it has been a pleasure to partner with LeMonde Studio for this installation. Through the help of the Mayor's Office we were able to bring the apple back for the past month but because of an old policy rule with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation we are being forced to take the apple down a month early as it was scheduled to be up through August even through the community, elected officials and businesses love it. Until next time and stay tuned for an eye opening installation coming to the plaza on 8/20. Hint: it involves ice...

🚨4 DAYS LEFT🚨
Businesses with outdoor dining setups must apply to the new outdoor dining program by August 3, 2024, or remove their current setup. Apply now at nyc.gov/DiningOut or visit the link in our bio!

Our Lunchtime Concert series returns tomorrow with a performance from Manny’s Boogaloo Crew, a Latin Funk Band. Join us tomorrow in front of the apple at Lou Gehrig Plaza from 12-2pm!

Join us tomorrow at 8pm for our second 161 BID Summer Flicks this year with the showing of ’s 1994 animated film. Join our BID, , and at Joyce Kilmer Park for the FREE screening!

161 BID Summer Flicks continue next Friday, July 19 with the showing of ’s 1994 animated film with it being the 30th anniversary of its debut. Join our BID, , and at Joyce Kilmer Park next Friday, July 19 for the FREE showing!

HAPPENING NOW!

Our Lunchtime Concert series returns with a bang with four familiar acts and one new act tomorrow Tuesday, June 25 at 11am. We welcome back for performances and sound, , , , and ! Join us tomorrow in front of the apple at Lou Gehrig Plaza for a special day.

Celebrate. Reflect. Recognize. Happy Juneteenth from the 161st Street BID.

Happy Father’s Day from the 161st Street BID. Enjoy your day!

Posted • We recently collaborated with & for the Shop Your City Video for 161 street

We finally have a proper office storefront!

Today we say goodbye to an art installation that truly captured our neighborhood. Thanks again for another hit. What do you all think? Should this be permanent?

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Posted • WE ARE SO READY FOR YOU! Bring picnic blanket, chairs, and spend the day with us! We can’t wait to see y’all!!

🗽The Bronx, NY • May 26th, 2024 • 11am - 7pm • 981 Grand Concourse, The Bronx, NY 10452

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“The skies clouded over Lou Gehrig Plaza in the Bronx last Friday as motorists and pedestrians traveled along 161st Street. The area’s most famous attraction is Yankee Stadium, of course, but the 161st Street Business Improvement District (BID) is trying to entice both locals and tourists alike to spend time in the plaza just three blocks east of the home of the Bronx Bombers.

Trey Jenkins, the director of the 161st Street BID, has ideas about how to make the spot that overlooks Yankee Stadium “a proper plaza that you see anywhere else in the city.” Drawing on inspiration from Flatiron Plaza in Manhattan and the Dumbo Archway in Brooklyn, he said his vision is to help give the people in the area a comparable public place, something he says the neighborhood deserves.

“It’s a really good space for the public, for the BID, for the people in the neighborhood,” Jenkins told the Bronx Times. “Possibilities are kind of endless.”

‘Possibilities are kind of endless’ for 161st Street BID in Lou Gehrig Plaza – Bronx Times The skies clouded over Lou Gehrig Plaza in the Bronx last Friday as motorists and pedestrians traveled along 161st Street. The area’s most famous attraction

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there from the 161st Street BID!

"If you want to get a true taste of one of New York City's boroughs, just go to its night market.

Saturday at Lou Gehrig Plaza it's your chance to attend the Bronx Night Market.

It's all a part of the ongoing "Bronx Week" festivities.

Eyewitness News Anchor Pedro Rivera visited the Throggs Neck section to try some of the food out and meet the chefs at the "Bankers Breakfast" on Friday morning."

Bronx Night Market provides a true taste of the borough Saturday at Lou Gehrig Plaza it's your chance to attend the Bronx Night Market. It's all a part of the ongoing "Bronx Week" festivities.

This week the NYC Department of Small Business Services released their FY23 BID Trends report. Our BID was shown some love with photos of Bindlestiff Family Cirkus in front of the Big Apple at Lou Gehrig Plaza and one of the Aaron Judge murals located at Yankee Tavern (72 East 161 Street). We also were acknowledged regarding our partnership with CITIBIN to keep trash bags off the streets (we should partner again CITIBIN…). Lastly we more than doubled our BID assessment from many grants creating an operation budget of over $500,000 for the BID which has allowed us do more beautification efforts, events and activations throughout the district. As always, we’re just getting started.

You can view the entire report below:
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/sbs/downloads/pdf/neighborhoods/fy23-bid-trends-report.pdf