A Message From Our Executive Director Trey Jenkins

The month of September and early October were busy for us with the return of the New York Yankees to the MLB playoffs. Unfortunately the Yankees lost in the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays ending the season and as a result some of our small businesses will miss out on the additional revenue that a Yankees playoff run brings to the neighborhood. Luckily for our small businesses, on Saturday, November 14th the Cortaca Jug rivalry game returns to Yankee Stadium between SUNY Cortland and Ithaca College. This game between two NCAA Division III schools brought in over 40,000 people to Yankee Stadium back in 2022 making the game the second largest crowd in NCAA Division III history. The game was massively successful for our businesses in the BID. Also on Saturday, December 26 the annual Pinstripe Bowl makes its return to the Stadium.

With the Yankees season coming to an end, we turn our attention to the looming baseball lockout set to occur on December 1st. The last time there was a lockout was in 2022 which lasted 99 days. During this time no regular season games were missed but the regular season was delayed by one week. We're hoping the same happens with this lockout but it not we're in the process of connecting with other business improvement districts throughout the country located in or around Major League Baseball stadiums to band together to support each other in the name of helping our small businesses that would suffer greatly with a prolonged lockout. Just last week we had conversations with the Downtown Phoenix BID where Chase Field is located and the Arizona Diamondbacks play. In the coming weeks this conversation will expand to other BIDs throughout the country and we're hoping to bring in the NYC Hospitality Alliance and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce to provide guidance on a worst case scenario for our businesses should the lockout be a long one.

In other news mid-October is here and we have done some exciting things in our public space of Lou Gehrig Plaza. Check out our social media for more intel there. Otherwise read about it in the next newsletter that will go out in two short weeks. We're also preparing for our 5th Annual Halloween Fun in the 161.

Happy start to the NBA season for those who celebrate and the New York Knicks fans in defending their championship.

All the best,

Trey Jenkins

Executive Director

This month, for the fifth consecutive year the 161st Street BID had the opportunity to attend the International Downtown Association Conference, this time in Toronto. Alongside many of our BID partners from across the city, we joined downtown organizations from around the world to exchange ideas and learn how other communities are approaching challenges related to operations, public safety, place management, curbspace, and the evolving needs of urban districts. We also explored new tools and partnerships that can help organizations like ours strengthen the services we provide to our district.

Trips like these deepen our resolve to address the challenges facing our public realm on 161st Street while adding new tools to our toolkit. Seeing how other cities approach common challenges reminds us that effective place management is an ongoing process of learning, adapting, and finding new ways to create public spaces that bring life to our neighborhoods.

Closer to home, we are excited to add 12 new trees and shrubs to Lou Gehrig Plaza—literally and figuratively planting the seeds for more shade and comfort in a plaza that has long struggled with adequate shade. Together with our SAIL structure, these improvements are part of our continued effort to make Lou Gehrig Plaza a more welcoming and comfortable space for everyone who uses 161st Street.

Looking ahead, we are also preparing for the exciting transformation of the 161st Street public realm that will accompany the 161st Street crosstown bus lane project. In the coming weeks, we will be meeting with city agencies to better understand the changes ahead and ensure that our district is prepared to make the most of this significant investment in our corridor.

As always, our goal is to help make government more responsive to the needs of our businesses and community while serving as thoughtful and responsible stewards of our district.

Questions about operations or public realm issues? Any ideas or want to learn more about how to get involved? Email me at mtorres@161bid.org. Email me at mtorres@161bid.org.

Respectfully, 

Michael Darryl Torres 

Once the month of September comes around, galas and meetings are aplenty throughout New York City as summer "vacation" is over. One event that has recently been a staple for our BID and many of the other 77 BIDs in NYC is the annual International Downtown Association Conference.

This year many BIDs headed to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to learn about placemaking, using AI in our BID work, taking tours of an international city to see how the city runs and networking with other BIDs throughout the world. This conference is extremely important to our BID because its where we learn about different visions that other cities have and how we can apply those visions to our commercial corridor. It's especially key to young staffers from a professional development standpoint to attend these types of conferences to get outside of their typical NYC comfort zone. Next year we'll head to Houston and we can't wait.

Last month we partnered again with DJ Saddam for a end of summer Afrobeat concert at Lou Gehrig Plaza. With a significant African population in the Bronx we always try to show love when we can. This year we had fewer concerts than usual in the plaza but hope to have a few more in 2027!

Last month our BID along with the NYC BID Association met with Speaker Julie Menin for the New York City Council and Council Members Virginia Maloney and Shanel Thomas-Henry to discuss the work that we do in our 78 BID commercial corridors throughout New York City. We look forward to continued discussions and doing the work to make our neighborhoods the best that they can be.

Baseball season is over but there are still a lot happening in the neighborhood for pre or post outing drinks and eats. For our final merchant spotlight video of the year we focused on Vega Alta Sports Bar (880 Gerard Avenue). Thanks to Patrick Downer for capturing it all!

This month we continue to stay on top of the latest in politics and beyond. Check out some of the links below.

• Yankee Stadium cooling tower tests positive for Legionella, NYC says - Gothamist
• What’s next for the Squadriano after Adriano Espaillat’s loss? - City & State NY
• NYC deploys robotoilets. The public bathrooms have a strict 10-minute time limit. -Gothamist
• What Yankees fans need to know about new ownership as Hal Steinbrenner changes the calculus - Yankees Go Yard
• How the playoffs might impact the lockout, and ... unfair to the Yankees? What? - Los Angeles Times
• A summer worthy of the greatest city in the world - New York Daily News
• Analyzing Mamdani's first year: The wins, gaps & growing pains - You Decide (YouTube)

Don’t miss out on the latest news and updates! Follow us on social media on our Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook pages, shoot us a note at hello@161bid.org and visit our website at 161bid.org for more information on upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and ways to get involved.