Newark Councilman Ramos: Special Improvement Districts in Newark’s North Ward
The Big Idea:
● A well-respected leader and Councilman for Newark’s North Ward for more than 18 years, Anibal Ramos has sought to foster economic development via the creation of two Special Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) that will promote jobs, economic growth, small businesses, and better property maintenance.
● Newark’s North Ward is the city’s first ward to have two separate Improvement Districts — the Mount Prospect Partnership and the Bloomfield Avenue/Lower Broadway Alliance.
Background:
● The Business Improvement Districts are run by independent non-profit boards composed of local community and business leaders.
● Each district’s management board invests resources to provide services such as rehabilitating properties, providing sanitation and security services, and revitalizing the area with exterior improvements.
● Councilman Ramos has been a lifetime public servant, having worked in community non-profits, for Newark Public Schools and the Essex County Executive, before being elected to the city council in 2006.
Fun Fact:
In 2020, the district management corporation for the Mt. Prospect Avenue Special Improvement District partnered with local elected officials and business owners to provide a much needed $5,000 boost to the North Ward’s local food pantries right before Christmas.
Their Take:
Mayor Ras Baraka
“The improvement districts are a good thing, they're all over the city… They help the businesses, they help the residents. No one makes demands on you, the improvement decides on their own … it is an opportunity for us to organize.”
Councilman Anibal Ramos
"Bloomfield Avenue is a gateway to our city. It has tremendous potential to become a thriving commercial corridor that can provide jobs and new housing options for our residents. I am confident the new BID will result in improved properties along Bloomfield Avenue and Lower Broadway and improve the business climate."
- North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos
