PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Noah Sheroff, Executive Director of Bayside Village Business Improvement District (BID)
2:09:40
·
134 sec
Noah Sheroff, Executive Director of Bayside Village BID, testified about the challenges that small BIDs face with the new waste containerization mandate. He highlighted the financial and operational difficulties that his BID would encounter in implementing the new requirements.
- The Bayside Village BID covers about 10 blocks in Northeast Queens with an annual assessment of $230,000
- Currently, 30% of their budget ($69,000) goes to supplemental sanitation services
- The new containerization mandate would create additional burdens for their single sanitation worker and squeeze the BID's budget
Noah Sheroff
2:09:40
Good afternoon to the chairs and members of the New York City Council Sanitation Committee.
2:09:46
My name is Noah Sharoff.
2:09:47
I serve as the executive director of the Bayside Village Business Improvement District in Northeast Queens.
2:09:53
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
2:09:57
I would like to provide some in some insight into what a small bid is.
2:10:03
Our situation applies to several bids across the 5 boroughs.
2:10:07
The Bayside Village Business Improvement District is a small district covering Bell Boulevard in Northeast Queens from 35th Avenue to Northern Boulevard in 41st Avenue, just off of Bell, about 10 blocks of commercial, residential, office, and mixed use property.
2:10:24
Currently, our assessment is $230,000 per year.
2:10:28
Of that, approximately 69,000 per year is paid to our contracted supplemental sanitation service provider, Streets Plus.
2:10:39
The bid receives grants, but they are not guaranteed year to year and are often, if not always, reimbursement money generally received from the assessment and get that money back.
2:10:46
The bid contracts 1 worker, a rock star named Yao, who worked 6 days per week.
2:10:50
According to the September monthly snapshot, a 175 service hours were clocked and 501 garbage bags were used.
2:11:05
Yale currently places the bags next to each receptacle.
2:11:08
The new mandate to containerize bags will not just create a greater burden for Yao, but the bid as well.
2:11:15
Plain litter pickup services are costing close to 30% of the assessment.
2:11:21
Adding additional services like hauling all the bags to a central carting to a sanitation garage will further squeeze the budget and make it extraordinarily difficult to run programs.
2:11:33
Another matter that I would like to bring to your attention is that the situations such as
Jessica Tisch
2:11:49
this.
Shaun Abreu
2:11:50
Thank you very much.
2:11:51
Let me see it.
Noah Sheroff
2:11:53
Yes.
2:11:53
I can submit this as well.
Shaun Abreu
2:11:55
Please submit.
