TESTIMONY
Marshall Strawbridge on Support and Challenges for Bronx Business Improvement Districts
1:18:44
·
111 sec
Marshall Strawbridge discusses the support and challenges for business improvement districts in the Bronx.
- The Director of Small Business And Community Outreach at the Bronx Economic Development Corporation emphasizes the financial strains caused by the reimbursement to invoice system.
- Small BIDs, operating under $500,000, heavily rely on grants from the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS).
- Many BID executive directors work as the sole employees of their organizations, highlighting the need for more support.
- A new initiative, the Bronx Big Leadership Support Initiative, aims to provide technical support and resources to BIDs, showing early signs of positive feedback.
- There's a push for the initiative's continued support and expansion to other boroughs.
Marshall Strawbridge
1:18:44
Good afternoon.
1:18:45
Thank you.
1:18:46
My name is Marshall Straubridge.
1:18:47
I'm the director of Small Business And Community Outreach at the Bronx Economic Development Corporation.
1:18:52
We are the as the economic development agency for the Bronxboro president, I represent theboro president on each of the 12 business improvement districts here in the Bronx.
1:19:02
To avoid going over time and reiterating things we've been shared before.
1:19:06
I just wanna second a lot of stuff that has been said about the the grant making operation at SBS and how the reimbursement to invoice system places financial strain on a lot of our smaller bids.
1:19:21
The Bronx has a majority of bids that operate under $500,000, so they depend on the grants that SPS provides.
1:19:31
I also want to emphasize the role that SPS plays in providing technical support to its executive directors.
1:19:39
Many of our executive directors operate as the sole employees of the their organizations.
1:19:45
And so that places a lot of responsibility on there on them as as the directors there.
1:19:53
And so one of the initiatives that SBS and Bronx CDC alongside the Bronxboro president have launched recently is the Bronx big leadership support initiative where Bronx CDC is providing technical support along with additional resources, 2 bids, thanks to a grant from SBS.
1:20:15
This is an initiative that's still in its infancy.
1:20:18
But it's something that we are excited about and have gotten positive feedback from by both SBS and the bid directors themselves.
1:20:26
I think it's something that we should emphasize with being a priority to continue in future years both in the Bronx and expand it to other boroughs.
1:20:34
Thank you.