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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Dirk McCall de Paloma, Executive Director of New York City BID Association, on BID Funding and Challenges
1:57:17
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Dirk McCall de Paloma, representing the New York City BID Association, testified on the importance of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and their funding needs. He expressed gratitude for baseline funding in the FY 2026 preliminary budget while highlighting concerns about contract registration delays and the upcoming sanitation containerization mandate.
- Praised the baselining of funding for small BID operational support and BID formation/expansion
- Raised concerns about late registration of contracts for FY 2025
- Expressed deep worry about the Department of Sanitation's containerization mandate and its potential impact on BID operations
- Mentioned struggles with addressing quality of life issues, particularly street homelessness
Dirk McCall de Paloma
1:57:17
Chair Feliz and members of the New York City Council Committee on Small Businesses, my name is Dirk McCall de Paloma, and I'm testifying today on behalf of the New York City Bid Association.
1:57:27
I'm also the executive director of the Sunnyside Shines bid in Queens.
1:57:31
The New York City Bid Association represents all of the city's 76 business improvement districts, which are just as diverse as the city itself.
1:57:38
We're very proud serve nearly 300 miles of commercial corridors, including around 100,000 businesses, and to invest more than a combined 94,000,000 back into our communities.
1:57:48
We are very grateful for the partnership with Mayor Adams, SBS commissioner Dinah Shaul Gross, and the city council over the past year.
1:57:55
As demand for biz services and the cost of providing those services continue to increase, support for bids is more important now than ever.
1:58:02
We are therefore very heartened that fiscal year twenty six preliminary budget included the baselining funding for the small bid operational support as well as the formation and expansion of bids.
1:58:12
These funding streams have become critical for smaller bids, and baselining this funding will allow bids to do even bigger and better things over a longer term horizon with more strategic planning.
1:58:22
There are still some major improvements needed to the contracting process for this funding, and we look forward to working with SBS on that.
1:58:29
The big problems include late registration of contracts.
1:58:31
We're in March, and contracts for fiscal year twenty five.
1:58:35
Some of them still have not been registered.
1:58:37
There are also concerns about the ability to subcontract and provide the most additional services possible to communities with these awards.
1:58:44
We know that SBS is doing their best to move these contracts forward, and we hope the agency will receive all the resources necessary to support small businesses and bids alike in fiscal year twenty six.
1:58:54
Bids are seeing major headwinds on the horizon.
1:58:57
We are deeply concerned about the looming containerization mandate from the Department of Sanitation of New York, which is a draconian rule which is forcing all bids to purchase and site containers and to haul the public's trash.
1:59:07
This is a major departure from current operations, and especially smaller bids may struggle to comply.
1:59:13
While the goal of containerization is laudable, I think we all agree.
1:59:17
The worst case scenario here is that bids might cease supplemental sanitation services altogether, which would lead to overflowing corner baskets, and nobody wants that.
1:59:27
Many bids are also struggling to address quality of life issues outside of our authority, especially street homelessness.
1:59:33
So we've been up in Albany testifying on this, but we really need help on it.
1:59:37
Thank you very much for this opportunity to comment.