Q&A
Inquiry about potential grants to help BIDs with containerization costs
0:52:11
·
109 sec
Council Member Julie Won inquires about potential grants to help Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) with containerization costs. Commissioner Jessica Tisch addresses the question and expresses willingness to explore options.
- No specific grants are currently available for BIDs to cover containerization costs
- Tisch suggests working with Small Business Services to explore potential financial support options
- Julie Won highlights the lack of recent programs to help small businesses with such costs
- Tisch expresses willingness to work with council members, deputy mayors, BIDs, and Small Business Services to address cost concerns
- Tisch emphasizes that the containerization initiative is not intended to harm BIDs and that the city will partner with them through the transition
Julie Won
0:52:11
So how which grants are you referring to directly?
Jessica Tisch
0:52:15
I you would have to speak to our small business services about opportunities that they have to provide financial support to BITS because there currently is are no grants available for
Julie Won
0:52:26
my small businesses in any shape or form for the last 2 years since COVID has ended, and there has been no program to cover the supplemental for the cost of additional purchasing of these containers.
Jessica Tisch
0:52:39
I look forward to working with you and with some of our deputy mayors and with the bids and with small business services to understand what can be done to defray some of the cost.
0:52:51
But I wanna be really clear and on the record that, nothing about this is intended to target harm in any way are business improvement districts.
0:53:05
They are very important partners to the city in many things, but chief among them, cleanliness.
0:53:12
They provide an essential service, And what we are asking them to do is change a little bit.
0:53:17
And I understand that change is hard, and we, the city, will be partners with them every step of the way through that change.
Julie Won
0:53:24
Thank you so much.
0:53:25
Because I believe that our business improvement districts want to be a partner with us for cleanliness, for street cleanliness, and for containerization.
0:53:33
But right now, a lot of them are struggling with, especially small businesses that get barely keep their doors open, increasing their membership will opt them leaving the bid entirely.
0:53:42
And the bids themselves do not have access to capital to purchase mass purchase these containers.
0:53:48
So I'll definitely be following up with you and, the bid associations to work with SBS to get a grant to purchase these bids because once they're purchased because the question just come comes down to cost, then I think everyone will comply.
